Using Your Niche To Define Your Role

There is always a role in any company for those who can properly carve out a niche for themselves.

What is a niche? A niche is an area of specialization that makes you uniquely qualified to solve certain problems.

Think in terms of doctors. You may have a primary care physician who you see on a regular basis. This doctor makes a general health assessment and treats minor problems. When you have a specific illness, he sends you to a specialist. That specialist has a niche.

A niche also creates distinction, career opportunities, and job security for those who carve them out. Those who have a role that others cannot easily fill have a niche.

Because we now live in a world where so many think it's sexy to credit branding with all things positive, niches are like Coke; they are the real thing. Branding is you methodically distinguishing yourself in what you do; a niche is about the instantaneous distinction of what you do, and the relevance of that role in the success of a business or company. How can you use your niche?

1.) Understand what you are passionate about, and in what area. 

When choosing your niche, stay close to your heart and the topics that matter most to you. Purposeful engagement is the key - and the condition - which breeds expertise.

2.) Know the business you are in, and the purpose of the company you work for (or want to work for).

You'd be surprised by how many employees don't know what their company actually does, or how their job truly impacts operations.

3.) Evaluate your role and the unique opportunities that exist to make yourself essential to that function.