Knock 'em Dead by Martin Yate

Author:Martin Yate
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781440536786
Publisher: F+W Media
Published: 2013-09-17T04:00:00+00:00

Keep these goals in mind every time you talk with someone during your job search, because every conversation holds the potential for turning into an interview or leading you toward another conversation that will generate first a phone conversation and then a face-to-face meeting.

You might worry about calling people directly because you are concerned that they will be annoyed by the perceived intrusion. This is a misconception: The first job of any manager is to get work done through others, so every smart manager is always on the lookout for talent, if not for today, then for tomorrow. If that isn’t enough to allay your fears, keep in mind that the person on the other end of the line once upon a time had to find her first job too and is therefore sympathetic to your situation. If you can be concise and professional, you’ll find that the great majority of people you contact will try to be helpful.

Paint a Word-Picture

The secret is to be succinct. With an initial introduction and presentation that comes in at well under a minute, you won’t be construed as wasting anybody’s time. Your aim is to paint a picture of your skills with the widest appeal while keeping it brief — out of courtesy, but also to avoid giving information that might rule you out.

STEP #1

Give the employer a snapshot of who you are and what you can do. The intent is to give that person a reason to stay on the phone. You may sometimes have an introduction from a networking colleague, in which case you will build a bridge with that:

“Miss Shepburn? Good morning, my name is Martin Yate, and our mutual friend Greg Spencer suggested I call. Greg says ‘hello’ by the way …”

Or you may have gotten the name and contact information from, for example, a professional association database, in which case you will use that as a bridge:

“Miss Shepburn? My name is Martin Yate. We haven’t spoken before, but as we are both members of the ________________ association, I hoped I might get a couple of minutes of your time for some advice … Is now a good time to talk?”

Asking whether you have caught someone at a good time will get a positive response more often than asking “Have I caught you at a bad time?”

STEP #2

You don’t want to waste anyone’s time by stuttering or uhmming and ahhhing like a schoolboy. You may be a little nervous, but you can do this. Your goal is to capture a picture of what the professional you can offer in less than forty-five seconds. The good news is that you already have the text for what you need to say.

In creating your resume, you completed TJD exercises that helped you prioritize employers’ needs for your job title. Then, when you wrote the Performance Summary/Profile for your resume, you condensed those employer priorities into three or four short sentences. Consequently, you already know what aspects of your skills and education have the widest appeal, and all you have to do is retool them for speaking rather than reading.

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