📍 Positioning

Positioning is a marketing term that refers to the process of establishing the exact position of a product in the minds of consumers.

🤷‍♀️ Why is positioning important?

Companies and hiring managers aren’t just looking for a “great software engineer” or a “software engineer with 5 years of experience.” They’re looking to hire the right software engineer for their team’s specific needs.

Every software engineer brings different experience, skills, strengths, weaknesses, potential, and fit, which is why hiring managers write job descriptions (JDs) to outline the exact qualities they’re seeking. Most JDs will mention the skills, experience, and strengths they expect from candidates.

In other words, the JD acts as a positioning guide for the type of software engineer the company wants to hire.

This means you need to understand what kind of software engineer the company is looking for based on the JD and position yourself accordingly by highlighting your relevant experience and strengths. While the JD may not list every detail, you should align with it as much as possible while showcasing your strengths and experience.

🔒 Positioning Example

If you’re not sure how to position yourself, let’s go through some examples to make it clearer.

🔒 Practical Positioning Tips

Here’s examples of how to position based on real job descriptions to simulate a real-world scenario.