Since you have been reading our articles, you are probably gainfully employed. If you are, pat yourself on the back, thank your employer, and send a card to your sooth-sayer—because we seem to be in the minority these days. So if you know someone whom you’d like to help find a new position, read on and pass this on.
All these wonderfully intelligent, experienced, and educated friends, relatives, and former associates are now competing for the most sought-after positions. Competition is fierce. It’s a buyers’ market.
What’s this have to do with being persuasive? Everything! Those who are in the job search market have to upgrade their networking, phone, and general communication skills to get future employer’s attention. At SalesPEAK, we specialize in professional persuasion, so it’s a natural fit to offer advise on how to get a future employer’s attention.
When speaking to a group of bright job seekers recently, these questions came up—share the answers with someone you know:
Q: “How do I get a future employer to return my calls?”
A: Have a plan in place to leave messages that get calls back. For example, match the personality type, use the person’s surname, and smile when you talk to sound friendlier, keep your head up when calling, and by all means, be persistent and not pesky. Also, use email, fax, and snail mail to get additional messages across.
Lastly, get a referral name and use it within the first 3 seconds of your call and/or in the ‘subject’ line of your email message. That’s right…be persuasive!
Q: “Why don’t employers respond to my cover letters?”
A: You might have too many ‘I’s’ in them and not enough ‘you’s’. What are you communicating? Keep the cover letter short and focus on the benefits of how you can help the employer be more successful. Think of how much more persuasive you are when you include benefit statements that refer to ‘saving money’, ‘making money’, ‘reducing waste’, ‘eliminating turnover’, ‘saving time’, ‘minimizing problems’, and more. What result can you influence?
Q: “What if I’ve had a gap in my employment somewhere along the line?”
A: First, ask yourself, ‘how long was the gap?’ For example, if you were employed in 1997 and were unemployed for three months before securing another position the same year; leave the months out of your resume.
Q: “Where do I go to network for a new position?”
A: Seek out groups that you have something in common with. Such as: alumni organizations, Chambers of Commerce, social clubs, neighborhood groups, your athletic club, house of worship, theatre guild, and there are thousands more. Find people that you have something in common with and get to know them. Don’t forget your business cards. (Need free business cards? Go to www.vista.com for a stack of complimentary ones.)
Next, talk to people! Learn what it is about each person that is unique. Once you get a conversation going, it’s easier to discuss what you’re looking for. Don’t forget…no interrogations allowed! And always dress appropriately. (Email us at:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
for more ideas about what colors to wear and what to avoid.)
Q: “How do I keep from sounding desperate while seeing a job?”
A: Use your persuasion skills by staying cool and by getting to know others, first. Invite others to speak. Make sure the statement you use about what you do is compelling, interesting, and persuasive. For example, if you say ‘I’m a CPA looking for a position’, you probably won’t win any popularity contests. However if you say, ‘In my last position I ran a 17 million dollar accounting firm specializing in retail businesses’, that sounds better and you are now open to a conversation.
Q: “When can I expect to land a great position?”
A: Keep your positive energy high. Use affirmations and don’t expect the job to come to you. You’ll need to use all of your powers of persuasion just to get an interview in today’s market. However, you can do it. Being persistent and persuasive always pays off! (c) Renee Walkup, SalesPEAK, 678 587-9911 www.salespeak.com |
