A recent article of mine covered most people’s lack of efficacy in practicing their elevator pitches at job search networking meetings. I wanted to follow up on that and prove my tenets, so I brainstormed with a group of trusted associates—all of whom are in transition—and we came up with some “best practices.” Following are our findings. Based on this information, you’ll be able to rework your own pitch and then practice it when networking. I promise you’ll see results instantly.
General Guidelines
It’s most important to realize that different circumstances require different pitches. Otherwise, your elevator pitch will be perceived as canned and out of context. Make sure it’s memorable, because if it isn’t, you’ll simply sound like everyone else. Try introducing an element of surprise or some humor. The pitch has to be brief and to the point, so that people don’t tune you out. And it has to have a positive tone. No one’s interested in why you’re in transition.
Content
Announce your name at the beginning and again at the end. Make sure people hear you and get the name. If you say it fast the way we normally do, people won’t get it or be able to remember it. Following your name, identify your position—or the position you want to get. Create a point of reference for your role—for example, chief financial officer in a small company.
Tone of Voice
Here’s where you have to sound enthusiastic. Here the word sound has the literal meaning. A voice too loud or too soft won’t work. Also, some people speak faster than normal when under pressure. A normal speed is best. And voice modulation where appropriate increases likability and interest in you.
Facial Expression and Body Language
People judge others based on what they see, and most people have their own personal biases. However, it’s universally agreed that professional attire and an overall professional look are most helpful for promoting your own interest when networking. A genuine and broad smile means the same anywhere and in any language. Above all, make good eye contact with the audience, but don’t move your head like a panning security camera, either. Project positive body language by standing erect. Don’t shift your weight from leg to leg.
In Summary
Creating an effective 30-second elevator pitch is not as easy as it seems to be. In those 30 seconds, you need to introduce lots of content and then act it out—a feat that for some is very difficult. But with some improvement and then several live repetitions, anyone can do it. Good luck. You’ll feel tremendously successful once people tell you how well you’ve done.
This confidence game isn’t the same as the scam. This one applies to those who have been hunting with no results and are becoming discouraged. Rapidly.
Let’s go back to how most people search, because that’s where the problem – or problems – are. Your cover letter neglects to tie you to the ad and your resume fails to entice. Or perhaps your cover letter sells and your resume is full of accomplishments, but you’re answering unrealistic ads. Or perhaps you’re targeting ads wisely, but being overly picky, forgetting that ads tell if you want to interview, not if you want to work there.
Most people stick with the job boards, unwilling to do the work necessary for cold approaches and afraid of putting their ego on the line for follow ups. They’re fed up with trying to reach recruiters, generally because they’re doing it in an ineffective manner. Consequently, between the cover letter, the resume, and the search method, nothing much happens. Competition is stiff these days, and only one person reaches the finish line.
Frustration sets in. Discouragement piles up. The shoulders slump. The mouth isn’t smiling. And then the thoughts begin: “Why is no one hiring me?”, “I’ll never get a job!”, “Why doesn’t anyone respond to my resume?”
Discouragement breeds negative thoughts, which breed more discouragement, which breeds more negative thoughts, which are compounded by money worries, or how much you hate your job, or the lousy traffic, or the weather, or whatever. The worse it gets, the more it bleeds into everything else.
Then the phone rings, and someone wants to schedule you for an interview. After a moment of happiness, your discouragement from the lack of response translates into self doubt. If you’re so good, why didn’t all those other companies call you? You hope this one goes well, but you wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t.
And guess what happens? It doesn’t go well. Would you be surprised to know you created that outcome? Thoughts are energy, and they influence the results. If you’re thinking negatively, your body language will depict lack of confidence and joy, your tone of voice will be small and hesitant, and your sentences won’t come out with assurance. Instead of sitting up straight and asking discerning questions, you’ll be a less than stellar interview.
You don’t feel confident, so you don’t project confidence, thus you can’t sell yourself. Why would you get hired?
And an overwhelming percentage of the time, the discouragement that perpetuates these negative situations has nothing to do with your capability, skills, or marketability, and everything to do with things that can be changed, which then change the outcome, which then change your perception of yourself, which then brins about more positive results….and it spirals up, instead of down.
If nothing is happening, get help. Find out what the problem is. And in the meantime, be aware of what you’re telling yourself, because 90% of the time it isn’t you, it’s what you’re doing – or not doing. And you’re taking it personally. Contrary to what people think, job finding is a skill that can be improved, thus improving the outcome and your disposition.
One reason why prep and homework are so important is because you remember the contributions you’ve made to your previous employers. This helps to bolster your self confidence, diffusing the uncertainty and fear. When you’re consciously reminding yourself of what you can bring to the table, you think, “I’m good! Someone is going to see that sooner or later, and they’ll get a great employee!” And that’s what comes across instead.
Stay aware of what you’re thinking. Stay aware of what’s taking place with your demeanor. And if you find it going downhill, find a way to boost yourself back up. Because if you don’t, all you do is perpetuate the problem.
The first question is, Why do you need help to start with? After all, in the past, you were always able to find jobs. Well, today things are different. There aren’t many open jobs to begin with, and the competition for those few is fierce. So, let’s think about good reasons to get assistance.
- Your efforts for the past several months have not produced job offers.
- You’re confused as to what step-by-step approach you should take.
- You’re ready to create a specific plan that incorporates your skills and interests.
- You want to maintain a reasonable level of self-accountability.
- You may want to speed up the process by consulting some experts.
- You could learn how to negotiate a job offer, which in most cases would cover your expenses severalfold.
The foregoing might be good reasons, but they don’t represent all of the reasons. Yet each job seeker is unique and has unique needs and circumstances. Some people are by nature do-it-yourselfers who believe they can get the results they want; others believe in getting expertise from professionals. No one approach is right or wrong.
In principle, job seekers can get assistance in four different ways.
- Group help via a state unemployment office or volunteer-based job-search networking groups
- Books, e-books, seminars, Webinars, Webcasts, video courses
- Career coaching one-on-one
- Career marketing firms
The first option is free most of the time. The second—if there are fees at all—is most often inexpensive. The third one could be a bit pricey, especially if the job seeker has no money coming in. And the last one typically costs many thousands of dollars. So, which one is for you? In general, select the plan that is the most personalized for your own circumstance and is the least costly. That doesn’t mean you should refrain from the other opportunities.
Another dimension clearly evident but rarely written about is the time element. Every week without income is a lost week, and only under miraculous circumstances could income be recovered—even partially. To recover one week’s lost income, the following week needs to generate double, which is a 100% increase. Sorry, not in this job market!
Access to information about how to find a job is available and ample. In fact, there’s so much of it and it’s so easily accessible that it’s simply overwhelming job seekers. This is where a (hopefully, recommended) career coach can be very valuable. The reason is that such a coach can guide you to the essential information, since the coach has already sifted through it and eliminated the fluff. If you decide to get assistance from a career coach or career marketing firm, here are a few caveats.
- Do your due diligence to check up on the prospect. LinkedIn is a good source. Also look at the content and not the looks of the coach’s or firm’s Web site.
- Be clear on what you’ll get for your money. Stay away from high-pressure sales gimmicks.
- Work only with people or firms that have been highly recommended by a number of sources—not just one.
- Beware of signing contracts and especially of paying fees up front. Does your doctor, lawyer, or plumber charge you for future services?
- Be wary about testimonials that sound too good to be real. They may not be genuine.
- Your gut should be the final judge. Once you’ve done an examination and you’ve learned the implications of your decision and you feel good about it, go for it.
Wishing you all the best luck with your job search.
Sending a thank you letter is as important as interview preparation. But they’re tough to write, so people either tell themselves that not sending one doesn’t matter, or they procrastinate until it’s too late and almost pointless anyway. Anyone who tells themselves that foregoing a fundamental rule of etiquette doesn’t matter, not only taints themselves in the mind of the interviewer, but misses two additional opportunities to sell.
A thank you letter is an additional sales piece. As I’ve said before, you’re selling a product and the product is you. So beyond the reason of etiquette, the letter sells you as a polite person who recognizes that the interviewer gave them something valuable: time and consideration.
A fundamental rule of sales is to keep the product in front of the buyer and reinforce its benefits. So beyond the etiquette, the letter gives you ample space to comment on what you liked about the company, why your skills are of benefit to them, and how much you’re interested. If something wasn’t tied up, or was left unsatisfactorily, you should use the space to further address the issue.
If you miss the opportunity to reinforce your skills and tie them to the job requirements, you miss a chance to sell. If you miss the opportunity to address a negative, and leave it to fester in the mind of the interviewer, you’ve failed to overcome an objection. And if a buyer has an objection to the product, if it isn’t addressed the likelihood of the sale is slim.
The third opportunity missed by skipping the thank you letter is the chance to keep your name in front of the buyer. Read newspapers? Watch TV? See the same ads over and over and over again? It’s somewhat the same principle – if you keep your name in front of the hiring authority, they’re more likely to remember you.
So let’s look at how to create a thank you letter so that it becomes a less odious task.
- First paragraph
Open with the obligatory thank you and include how you enjoyed the meeting. Say why. Maybe the people you met were exceptional. Perhaps their company philosophy was exactly what you had hoped for. It doesn’t matter. Pick something out, and put it down. But make it real.
- Second paragraph
What took place during your interview? Pull out a piece of information that pleased you, say what it was, and tell them why. For instance: I was particularly pleased to find that X company/the opportunity/your management style has/was/is/does whatever. This is exciting because…… .
You can expand on whatever it is for a few sentences by elaborating: how it relates to something you’ve experienced and like — or didn’t liked. Discuss a particular aspect of the job you find appealing and reiterate why you’d be successful at it or how long you’ve been performing it or how similar it is to something you’ve done in the past.
- Third paragraph
You can add a similar paragraph if the second was fairly short. Or you can wind it up if it was a bit lengthy. If there was something that came up that needed clarification or about which they were dubious, address it and clear it up here.
- Fourth paragraph
Wind it up. Re-iterate your interest. Be enthusiastic! Leave the job speak behind. If you really want to be hired, let your interest shine through.
Caution: Don’t start every sentence with “I”. It may be the easiest way to write the letter but it’s not only repetitive, it’s a turn off. Count them. It’s not unusual to, in fact, start every single paragraph with that. Egocentric. Re-arrange the sentence.
If you really want the job, the letter will be easy to write because it will contain genuine impressions. If you choose to skip the letter, perhaps you don’t care if you’re hired or not. But make that decision yours and withdraw from the process instead of letting the decision be made for you.
The formula expressed in the title sounds so simple yet for some is difficult to achieve. So let’s together demystify the two elements for getting a job offer.
The Résumé
Because of the enormously large pool of job applicants nowadays, even a very good résumé may not get singled out when compared with the many outstanding résumés. It’s a competition for sure, and only, say, five résumés might be considered for invitations to face-to-face interviews. So, how does one put together an excellent résumé? That depends: if you have good writing skills, you can draft a résumé and then have some people whose proficiency and judgment you trust review and edit it for you until it becomes excellent. Consult career coaches, human resources professionals, or recruiters. Hopefully, you’ve developed good relationships with such people, who will agree to help by expressing their opinions.
If you are not skilled with language, I suggest you seek a professional résumé writer who has performed work for others and brought them success. This is a good investment, since otherwise, you’re merely spreading around a noncompetitive résumé that brings no action–and you will never find out why. Many people fall into that trap, and they therefore lose time and of course the opportunity to make money. So, how does one know whether one’s résumé is excellent? The answer is very simple: Excellent résumés get action. The rest don’t–or do only very rarely.
The Interview
Congratulations! Your résumé was attractive and intriguing enough to persuade a hiring manager to want a conversation with you in order to explore your candidacy for an opening, competitively with a few others. Now the real competition starts. All of those who have been invited to interview stood out too and could potentially take the job, meaning that they have the skills for it. But the hiring manager has another need to satisfy–and that is whether you fit and will be committed to the company. Ascertaining whether you fit is very much psychological on the part of the hiring manager, who is asking himself whether your future peers would accept you, whether you and he are aligned ideologically, whether his own boss would consider you a good hire, and whether you represent a promising investment. And there are other, similar questions, whose answers can be rather subjective.
The hiring manager’s final area of vital interest has to do with whether you seem committed to the job. He wants to ensure (1) that you have potential for growth within the company, (2) that you won’t move to a competitor if the company goes through some difficult times and someone else is offering you a fraction more compensation, and (3) that you deliberately targeted this company as an employer.
If you can convince the hiring manager that you’re the right choice, if you answer questions properly, and if you project positivity and energy, your chances for getting an offer are good. Good luck on your next job. Feel good about yourself. You deserve it.
Alex Freund is the founder of Landing Expert–Career Coaching. His Web site includes a current and comprehensive list of job search networking groups in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and the city of New York, and the site is visited by thousands of people every month. Landing Expert is a premier career-coaching service with the objective of preparing job seekers for interviews. Alex’s clients are gaining knowledge, receiving marketing material, and acquiring the know-how to beat the competition.
Alex can be reached at:
609-333-8866
