Comments (1)

By thejobcoach, June 11, 2009 12:51 pm

  THE ELEVATOR PITCH–Is Yours Working?

Your brand [Elevator Pitch] is the promise you make to a prospective employer.  Shivonne Byrne, Microsoft Branding Executive.

Do people respond to it with questions about your work, your success or processes? Do they want to learn more? Do they invite you to talk about your credentials? Do they offer to introduce you to others? Do they show interest so you can invite them to meet at a future date? Do they ask for your business card?

Simply stated, the Elevator Pitch is a powerful tool to gain the attention of a person who will offer leads, an opportunity and introductions to people who can provide them.  The whole idea of the elevator pitch is to communicate very quickly why they want to learn more.

The tactic you use is to relate what you do to what they do. Understand your client. If, for example, you are talking to a financial person and you are an IT professional, you probably don’t want to stress the latest technologies you implemented in record time. You do want to stress how what you did affected the bottom line or the impact your work had on the stock or upcoming IPO.

Critical to this conversation is your own understanding of what you do.

• What makes you unique and why anyone would care?
• Your pitch must be clear, succinct and interesting.

Your pitch becomes the basis for your resume and all your outreach.  It is the fulcrum of all your communications and the trigger that creates conversations, generates interviews and signals to contacts why they want to help you.

This is your opportunity to convey your passion for what you do and the importance of the outcomes. Need more reasons to create a great Elevator pitch?  Think about all those social networking events where you just didn’t know how to start a conversation, or worse, stammered when someone asked, “what do you do?”  Your elevator pitch at the ready, you can respond with confidence.

An article worth reading: Good Advice for an Elevator Pitch.  For a tutorial on elevator pitches download Elevator Pitch Essentials from Chris O’leary.  His guide is free and endorsed by Guy Kawasaki.  Of course, I would be remiss if I did not suggest you should purchase my book, Job Search Debugged, to get the full range of elevator pitch uses.

OK, that’s the theory of the Elevator pitch, here’s reality. In all my years in recruiting and coaching I’ve rarely found anyone who has their pitch down cold. It is difficult to see our own image. Often, the pitch is lukewarm and the words just stumble out because the job seeker isn’t comfortable with it. Or worse, it sounds canned and doesn’t change with the audience.

Tip:  Say your elevator pitch to a twelve year old.  If they can tell you what you do, you have a good pitch.  If not, keep working until yours is clear and simple.  Crafting your pitch isn’t the time to show you are the smartest person in the room; it is the time to say something so interesting, the listener asks questions.

The Internet has fundamentally altered job search behavior – the way employers identify, evaluate and hire is changed forever.  Email me for your free chapter:     BASICS FOR SIX-FIGURE INCOME CANDIDATES

Job Seekers must accept employer behavior has evolved and learn how to use digital job search methods to land their jobs.  Effective use of LinkedIn, blogs and search engine alerts combined with excellent use of job search engines gets you a faster outcome.

Download Job Search Debugged and learn how to:

• Get what you need from your network; job leads and introductions
• Avoid common traps that trip up the competition
• Create messaging that makes you memorable
• Use digital job search tools to optimize your search

Want a sneak peek at the table of contents?  Job Search Debugged Table of Contents.

¼/p>

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Comments (2)

By thejobcoach, April 29, 2009 3:12 pm

DIGITAL JOB SEARCH AND PERSONAL BRANDING

Installment five

Books, seminars and all manner of digital offerings are available to illuminate the nuances of creating and maintaining a personal brand.  Personal branding for your job search is not an arcane art. If you are a six figure income executive or technology leader, you already have a brand.  You may not know what it is, but it is there.

Jeremy Siegel offers a well researched piece on personal branding and social networking sites.  His article is an excellent overview and leads right into this post which tells you how to embrace your personal brand specifically for your immediate needs of your job search.

Step one: There are tools that reveal how the world sees you digitally.  I like setting alerts on search engines since a simple Google search reveals only a partial picture of your digital existence.

Step two: Uncover even more of what prospective employers see, select a few of the tools mentioned on this excellent list from JobMob.

Once you know your digital brand you can maintain or correct it based on what you want employers to know about you and to increase the probability you will be found when they use sophisticated search tools to locate your special expertise.  Don’t think employers use digital tools to find you?  Take a look at the Boolean Strings groups on LinkedIn, use a search engine ‘Boolean strings, recruiters’ and read what the Boolean Strings black belt has to say.  And this is just one resource they use.  Some recruiters have been quoted saying they prefer to use blog entries to locate the experts they need as candidates.

Step three: LinkedIn is a significant branding opportunity.  Use it correctly and you become a candidate, use it poorly and you are overlooked or discarded as a candidate.  For an extensive guide to using LinkedIn for Job Search, download my free white paper.

Most people use LinkedIn to vet any new connection.  Job seekers use it for myriad purposes.  And employers and recruiters use it extensively to determine if they want to take next-steps with a prospective candidate.  Here are a few things you can do today.

1. Use the profile section as a marketing tool, not a recap of your resume.  Learn the priority of prospective employers and highlight your expertise in that area.
2. Solicit every reference you can garner.  Prospective employers read them, especially if they are short, sweet and on point to their requirements.
3. Insert your public email address so anyone can contact you easily.  Public because the spam catchers are invaluable.
4. Ask and answer questions germane to your brand.

Step four: Measure every social networking site where you have a profile against the brand you want to portray.  Is it consistent with the image you want employers to see?  Sure, these are person sites, but make no mistake, employers see them.

Step five: Join and participate in groups associated with your brand.  LinkedIn provides resources for groups where you will be in contact with peers.  Go beyond LinkedIn.  Join your college alumni groups as well as alumni groups of former employers.

Step six: Blog.  Don’t have one of your own?  Then use key-word searches based on your brand and contribute to related blogs.  Use your LinkedIn profile in your signature.

Step seven: Know your elevator pitch.  Use it at all business networking gatherings and cover letters.  Let your elevator pitch broadcast your brand.

Take care of these basic chores and return here for other advice on personal branding for job search.  My personal soap box includes the advice to watch your writing; make certain you are seen as someone who pays attention to detail, is literate and communicates well.  Without this, no amount of branding will gain traction.

Click here to learn why your brand is critical to your job search Installment One

Click here for installment two on Digital Job Search and Branding.

For discussion of how to discover how the world sees you: installment three.

Click here for installment four to discover your current identity.

Click here to start your branding efforts for your job search installment five

If you are ready for a job search tune-up purchase Job Search Debugged.

For step-by-step guidance to improve your networking results read Networking Debugged.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Comments (0)

By thejobcoach, September 22, 2008 3:08 pm

Jump from Director to Vice President

The biggest leap you will make in your career is from Director to Vice President. The jump from Director to Vice President is so difficult because a Vice President is commonly an officer of the company with implied legal liability.

The Board and “C” level employees are certain to vet a prospective Vice President very carefully because it is extremely costly to remove a VP once in place. Firing a Vice President creates bad publicity and can affect the stock price, not to mention the disruption of running the business.

1. The clearest path to jump to a VP level job is to be promoted. More commonly, currently in place Directors are promoted to Vice President because they have proven they can stand up to the challenge and the scrutiny of the Board. They have proven themselves in a manner no outside candidate can. Even if you are not especially interested in a longer career with your current employer, a promotion is your clearest path to VP. Take steps to make that happen possibly using a Coach. Once you have achieved VP status, you will be seen as a VP candidate generally.

2. To get to a VP level job from outside the company a candidate must be so outstanding they can be compared favorably with the Director in place. This takes excellent credentials, notable references and usually, a referral to the company by a respected Board member.

Your job is to connect with Board members and “C” level executives in a way that demonstrates your expertise and experience. Become a speaker and a contributor on your area of expertise and you get not just name recognition, but the panache of positive publicity.

3. Focus on companies with half the revenue and half the personnel of your current company. Position yourself as the person who can get the company where it wants to go. Understand that a Vice President is all about strategy whereas a Director is about tactics. Calibrate your vocabulary accordingly. Make absolutely certain you know and understand the target company’s corporate mission before you approach them. Tailor your remarks to include their mission.

Your next challenge is to find opportunities as a Vice President. One quick method is to meet and impress existing VPs and encourage them to forward inquiries in which they are not interested your way. For more advice on making the jump from Director to Vice President read Job Search Debugged.

For Job Search Tools, Click here:

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Comments (0)

By thejobcoach, May 15, 2008 7:32 am

The Jump from Director to Vice President

The biggest leap you will make in your career is from Director to Vice President. One reason it is so difficult to get a VP level job is a Vice President is commonly an officer of the company: An executive of a company who shares legal liability for his/her company’s actions.

The Board and “C” level employees are certain to vet a prospective Vice President very carefully because it is extremely costly to remove a VP once in place. Firing a Vice President creates bad publicity and can affect the stock price, not to mention the disruption of running the business.

More commonly, currently in place Directors are promoted to Vice President because they have proven they can stand up to the challenge and the scrutiny of the Board. They have proven themselves in a manner no outside candidate can.

To get to a VP level job from outside the company a candidate must be so outstanding they can be compared favorably with the Director in place. This takes excellent credentials, notable references and usually, a referral to the company by a respected Board member.

Unless the company is very small or a start up, hiring from outside the company can place the company in jeopardy as the heir apparent Director may feel passed over. When applying for any job as a Vice President it is strategically imperative to assess the Corporate politics of being hired in over the Director.

Since the role of a Vice President is to create and communicate strategy and corporate mission, cooperation from the tacticians is necessary. So, tread lightly upon accepting a job where there is a subordinate Director in place.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Comments (0)

By thejobcoach, May 15, 2008 6:17 am

Executives and Technology Professionals conducting a Job Search are often seduced by the lure of easy access to Senior positions listed on Job Boards. It is entirely understandable…send in a resume for a monstrously wonderful job and sit back and wait for a telephone interview. When it doesn’t come, when in fact no acknowledgement at all is received, the candidate is often left demoralized. “How does this happen? I have great credentials and there is a good match. Why haven’t I heard back?”

Sadly, Executive positions listed on Job Boards are seldom active, real or the main resource for sourcing candidates. Most companies rely heavily on referrals. Job boards    are a last resort. And even then, one must ask why referrals didn’t provide the right candidate. Does the company’s community know something you don’t? Some companies leave old listings on Job Boards as advertisement for their growth.

Fact is, less than 1.5% of any Executive positions are filled through Job Boards. My advice? Don’t waste your time. Focus on finding referrals and introductions and make personal contact. Most Executive and certainly Technology Executives are hired by way of personal referrals.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Comments (0)

By thejobcoach, May 14, 2008 10:25 pm

DID YOU MISS THIS?

The last time you discussed your job search with a peer, your voice changed. There was a distinct change in the volume or pitch and the listener noticed. Perhaps not consciously and not in a way that they would comment, but they did notice.

Let’s start from the beginning.  An executive job search is always stressful no matter what the reason you are looking for a new C level job. You are aware of the intensity and maybe even know you feel just a bit desperate.   And your voice reveals it.

Next time you are discussing your search, listen and mentally flag the topic. Later, examine what is so emotional or troublesome about the topic.  Once you work that out your networking activities will be more rewarding. You will also have a clearer picture of what is important to you in your C level job search. 

Minimize stress.  Other signs of stress include irritability, sleep disturbances and loss of sense of humor; all handicaps if the C level executive is to network and find useful leads and interviews. Take your stress temperature daily.

¼/p>

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Comments (0)

By thejobcoach, May 14, 2008 2:47 am

Last time you went to the grocery store you learned beyond a doubt we are in a recession. Pundits debate the issue while gas prices climb. Your need to recession proof your career is not an option. Just do it.

There are many things Executives can do to make their job secure. Take a look at Ask Annie.   She and all her commenters have a bead on actions you can take to minimize your chance of a layoff and what to do if it is time for you to find another spot. You can also find tips on recession proof job search in other blogs on this site.   And if you have other ideas, please, share your insights with others who need real world recession proof job search advice.  Use the comments section.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Comments (0)

By thejobcoach, May 10, 2008 4:02 am

“If someone sends me a thank-you note it should be more than just ‘Thanks for your time.’ I want to see substance.  I want to see they understand why they were interviewed, why I spent my time.” Jan F., VP HR.

The business thank-you note is a ruse.  It is an important part of your job search arsenal. A thank-you note is required to acknowledge anyone who spent time to interview you.  Used properly, it demonstrates follow through and gives you one more chance to tell the employer why you are the best choice for the job.  Used improperly or neglected entirely, it reminds the employer why they don’t want to hire you.  The thank-you note is an important part of your job search arsenal.  It serves not only as a reminder to the hiring authorities, it is also a vehicle to correct any false impressions or amplify an important feature of your background.

Content:  Start out telling the reader why you want the job.  But this is not about you.  It is only about why you would be successful.  Be specific.  “My Rolodex provides me with immediate access to your prospective customers.” 

If you do use the post for your thank-you, include another business card.  Doing so increases the possibility that you reminded the recipient they wanted to close the loop with you and they now they have your card handy.   Another benefit is they might share your card with others in need of your talents.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Comments (0)

By thejobcoach, May 9, 2008 5:58 pm

You know the majority of management positions are filled through referrals and you want people to recognize and remember you when they are chartered with finding top management. Invest in your occupational future now. Get to the right people and engage in a highly targeted job search when the time comes, make time now and change your lifestyle. Learn business networking beyond the typical social networking opportunities

Focus on Your Golf game. Join the most prestigious country club you can afford and spend time there. Consider the expense of membership an investment in your career. Bring your significant other, be part of the community. Participate in planning and organizing for hosted competitions. No need to debate the stereotypes of executives and golf. Just accept that many highly placed notables play golf. There is instant rapport and kinship among members and as long as folks know what you do when you don’t play golf, they will remember you the next time a position opens. Don’t solicit job leads. You will quickly become persona non grata at the clubhouse.

Do meet people at the nineteenth hole and encourage conversations. Don’t over indulge. Remember, you are conducting a “pre-interview.” Come prepared with interesting topics beyond, “How about those Seahawks.” Listen well, ask appropriate questions and leave them laughing. Keep business cards available but don’t push them. If you meet someone you like and want to know better, follow up in a week or so for lunch.

Volunteerism is so important to corporate America that each year many companies furlough chosen executives to work full time on behalf of various charities. Red Cross, United Way, American Cancer Society to name a few have a corporate presence and encourage senior executives to participate in outreach. Google 200 largest charities to discover who best suits your geographic needs and temperament. Get involved. Get known for something outside your profession and people from your profession will take notice.

It is easier to get known to Board Members or “C” level executives when the purpose is to discuss giving. Remember, you are building a Rolodex for the future, so don’t lose focus on the charitable mission.

Every city with cultural venues needs locals to support their fund raising activities. Many of the Museum and Symphony organizations are run by wealthy volunteers; volunteers with spouses and connections who can help in your quest. Don’t be shy about encouraging your significant other to join you as you spend quality time working the upcoming auction or black and white ball. The camaraderie built pursuing a shared mission often results in long term associations.

Wrestle some free time from your schedule to work with a children’s organization or sports team. Not only will you enjoy it, you may find kindred spirits who can introduce you to their network. All outreach is good outreach.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites