Over the last few months of my active job search, I’ve been labeled a “non-traditional candidate.”

At first, this was driving me crazy.

I cringed when I would hear the recruiters and interviewers say it. They’d say things like:

“Dana, you have a lot of great experience, but we would classify you as a non-traditional candidate for this position.”

So I’d ask for a definition, and hear the following:

“Well, you haven’t actually had experience with business-to-business.”

Hmmm. Business-to-business, also called B-to-B or B2B, is a type of transaction that exists between businesses, such as one involving a manufacturer and wholesaler and a retailer.

So I supposed that in some worlds, I don’t look like a B2B employee.

But instead of worrying that I was a “non-traditional candidate” with no B2B experience, I decided to own the phrase.

Yes, I’m a non-traditional candidate! Did you all hear me?!

I’M GLAD I’M A NON-TRADITIONAL CANDIDATE!

This probably started long before I ever looked for professional employment. Early indicators of my non-traditional candidacy are tthat I didn’t like to color within the lines in grade school, and in college, I wore pajamas bottoms with my loafers.

So how does this all help you as you look at new opportunities in your work? Here’s what I learned.

1. Own Your Experience

I have loved my career. I just have not been in love with it for the last two years. The success and failures have defined me for a lifetime and provided excellent sources for continued learning.

You, as a new candidate, should know it’s okay to be different, because no great company wants to fill an entire team solely with the same type of people.  Highlight your ability to contribute to an engaged community and evidence of your readiness.

It’s important to stay true to your experience. If they’re not interested in you, then they don’t deserve what you can bring to them.

2. Own What You Love

If you’re a business-to-consumer type of person (B2C), then follow that path. Make a list of what you love.

If you love to be engaged, commissioned, enabled and unified, then a job in a cubicle won’t do. Don’t convince yourself you will love something.

Trust me–I’ve tried and failed greatly.

Clarity of what you love sometimes appears when there’s evidence of what you don’t. If you stand up for yourself and stop being a negative nelly, I promise you the exact position will come along.

“Thoughts are boomerangs, returning with precision to their source. 

  Choose wisely which ones you throw.”

-Author Unknown-

Now it’s your turn. Go own it!

Peace.