BroadPeak Blog

Turn Lemons Into Lemonade

A few years ago a young unemployed New Yorker named Karyn who had gotten herself $20,000 into credit card debt started a website which asked for donations to help her pay off her debt. Believe it or not, her idea really paid off and helped her to pay off her debt in 5 months. She has now written two books and, apparently, Sony has optioned the rights to her story. I think that Karyn did a great job of taking a bad situation and turning it to her advantage and that we can all learn from her example.

If you are in a difficult job situation or maybe you are having trouble finding a great job, remember Karyn and think about ways that you can turn lemons into lemonade. Read Karyn's story on her website...I'll bet that you will be motivated after you hear how she has turned her life around! www.savekaryn.com

What Is Your Value Proposition?

Yesterday I was fortunate to be able to participate in a teleseminar hosted by Jill Konrath, author of the blog Selling to Big Companies. Jill invited me to attend the teleseminar as her guest...thank you Jill!

The first thing you need to understand is that Jill is a super-saleswoman so she really knows her stuff. The second is that selling is exactly what job seekers should be doing - selling themselves. So, this seminar was a wonderful source of information for sales people, marketing executives, and job seekers alike.

The key take-away from the seminar is simple: business today is competitive and fast paced so if you want the opportunity to sell your product you need to lead with your value proposition.

There was a time when the sales process included a longer runway during which a salesperson had the opportunity to expound upon the pros of his/her company, product, or process before going on to describe to his/her potential client how the product would directly benefit his/her organization. Those days are long gone.

Jill explained that today's executives are thinking about the bottom line and achieving goals at all times. So, if you, as salesperson or job seeker, want to get your foot in the door you have to lead with, "My product will increase your revenue by 30%" or "This product will reduce your costs by 20%"

The same thing applies to job seekers. Your "elevator speech" should start with, "I can deliver results of ______" rather than focusing on your years of experience, elite education, or depth of knowledge. Once you pique a manager's interest with your value proposition you will have the opportunity to present your whole pitch.

These days, "what can you do for me" is the first question on every executives' mind. If you can answer that question up front, you will have the opportunity to present a more complete picture of your background later.

What is the value proposition that you offer to a potential employer?

I would encourage every job seeker to read Jill Konrath's blog. Her blog is focused on sales but she offers is useful for job seekers who wish to land the jobs of their dreams in a highly competitive environment.

Happy Workers Are Better Workers Than Unhappy Ones

I read a good article on the Wall Street Journal's Online edition entitled Happy Workers Are the Best Workers.  You can read the entire article by at WSJ.com.   

Every once in awhile someone writes a new book or an article about how employees who are treated with dignity and respect are more loyal and hardworking than those employees who are disgruntled - and we act like the writer has just re-invented the wheel. I mean it's a pretty obvious observation, right? Why do we need to be reminded to behave ourselves?

Anyone who has ever held a job can confirm the fact that employees who feel that their contributions are valued and who are treated well are more effective in their jobs and stay in those jobs much longer than employees who aren't treated well. It's not rocket science. Treat people well and they will reciprocate. I am not sure why the concept is so difficult for some folks in supervisory roles to fully grasp.

Read more of this post at Ultimate Resumes blog

Simple Courtesies

A friend of mine from across "the pond", Rowan Manahan, has a wonderful blog post about manners. I love his perspective and, in particular, his focus on cross-cultural courtesies. Manners make a difference in every aspect of our lives so I would encourage you to read his post.  A link to his post can also be found on the Ultimate Resumes blog.

Never Eat Alone - Book Recommendation from Liz Handlin

I am currently reading a book which I had heard a lot about but had never read. One of the reasons that I hadn't made time to read it before now is that I had heard that it is a book about building relationships and networking which are two things that I tend to do quite well. To describe this book as being "about networking" is like saying that Pope is a guy who goes to church a lot. That is to say that a description as simplistic as "networking" sells this book short. The book is called Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi and it is really worth your time to read it even if you are an extrovert or a skilled networker.

I won't summarize the entire book here but I will tell you about one chapter that I found particularly insightful. Chapter 18 is entitled Health, Wealth, and Children. Mr. Ferrazzi posits that health, building and maintaining wealth, and family are the three things that are universally important to every person you will meet. Those issues are common denominators that define each of us.

The chapter details some personal examples of times that Mr. Ferrazzi has turned simple business relationships into loyal friendships by supporting someone else's health, wealth, or family issues. Helping the child of a business associate to get a coveted internship, referring a person whose child has cancer to a world renowned doctor, or referring a job seeker to a personal contact in the field of his/her dreams. These are all things that Mr. Ferrazzi has done that have helped him to build lifelong friends and colleagues.

As I was reading the book I thought of times when I have taken the opportunity to help someone simply because I could and about the relationships those acts of kindness have helped me to build. In the 1990's I spent about a year and a half as the Director of Recruiting for a Big 4 (it was Big 6 at the time) Accounting firm's Illinois practice. I recall a young man whom I met when we were recruiting at a Big 10 school. He was a finance and accounting double major with a 4.0, good extracurriculars, and wonderful interpersonal skills. I really enjoyed meeting him and, of course, he was one of our top picks to join the firm.

I developed a good rapport with this candidate and he told me that his dream job was Investment Banking rather than Public Accounting. We had more than enough top tier candidates to fill all of our job openings so attracting this particular candidate to the firm wasn't going to make or break our recruiting season. Furthermore, if this candidate was dreaming of a career other than the one we were offering I figured that there was a better than average chance that he wouldn't stay the firm very long.

I could have done the easy thing which was to make him an offer and see if he took it. Or, I could have simply not offered him the job because he had told me that his career aspirations lay elsewhere. I didn't do either of those things. Instead I picked up the phone and called a friend of mine at an elite, privately held investment bank in Chicago and told him about this wonderful candidate. Long story short this candidate wound up getting an offer (which he accepted) from the investment bank. I helped two people by making that phone call and I solidified two friendships.

Make acts of consideration and kindness part of your life. I have found that when I am having a bad day if I can do a favor for someone, cheer someone else up, or bestow a random act of kindness it makes me feel better. What can you do to help someone in your network with health, wealth or family issues? If you think about that question whenever you meet someone new or the next time you talk to a colleague you may find there are some great opportunities for you to help someone with an issue of great importance to him or her. Make this a way of life and great things are sure to happen for you.

Oh, and don't forget to read Never Eat Alone...it's uplifting, insightful, and completely worth your time.