Everywhere you look - at least on LinkedIn - people tout the fact that they are disruptors.  They wear this name like a badge of honor.  It is their personal brand.  In other words, they are saying "if you hire me, I am going to shake things up".  Hopefully for the better.

CNBC recently published its list of industry disruptors.  SpaceX, Uber and Airbnb top the list.  And truly, these companies - and their leaders - are disruptors.  These companies are disruptors because they upended an entire industry - similar to Paypal 10+ years ago.  Corporate behemoths who were mired down in rules, regulations and bureaucracy couldn't see it coming and then couldn't change fast enough to compete.  Their innovations are changing the world, the way people operate in that space and the way people think about that industry.

Industry leaders like Elon Musk are true disruptors.  The question is: do you need to be a disruptor to work for a disruptor?  Should you market yourself as a disruptor?

Disruptors inherently seek out risk.  These people enjoy risk.  They thrive on it.  They are gamblers.  They are HUGE multi-million dollar gamblers.  If you want to market yourself as a disruptor, you need to think of yourself the same way - as a gambler.  It is their brand.  It is who they are.

Here are 3 reasons you either should (or should not) put disruptor on your resume:

1. You want to limit the number of roles and companies that are a good fit for you

If you want to market yourself as a disruptor, you need to be able to gamble that you might lose 80% of the jobs out there.  You are marketing yourself as someone who swims upstream, against the culture and who wants to change things  Not everyone likes change.  Not everyone wants change.  And you may not come across as someone who does not play well with others.

In essence, you are putting yourself in a box - it is a small box.  Think of all the available jobs as a pizza.  Only one slice of the pizza might be for disruptors.  Only companies that live in this space are seeking you out.  They are the only ones comfortable with constantly shaking the boat and keeping their culture and company on edge for the sake of change.  The number of available job opportunities is considerably smaller than the rest of the job seekers out there.

2. You seek out big risk and big rewards

To inherently be a disruptor, you need to be exponentially comfortable with risk.  You have to be willing to risk it all.  This doesn't just apply to founders, incubators and people with millions of dollars to bet on a venture.  Even as an individual with less money at stake, by the nature of being a disruptor, you are trying to change how things are done.  And if that doesn't work, you will be out of job.  Quickly.  But if it does work, you will be rewarded tenfold for your efforts and for the money you are generating.  You are motivated by the thrill of the hunt and you don't mind losing and moving on to the next opportunity.  You can stomach the losses.

3. You truly believe in the mission behind the change you are driving

Disruptors believe in what they are doing.  They want change.  They seek change.  They believe the change will make the industry - or the world - a better place.  Not all disruptors are trying to colonize Mars.  Some are trying to upend stagnant markets or industries to make it better for consumers.  It is this passion - this belief - that drives disruptors.  Being a disruptor is a deep-seated personal belief that drives everything you do and how you do it.

Once you decide you truly are a disruptor and that is how you want to market yourself, it should be the mainstay of your brand and highlighted on your resume and LinkedIn profile.

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