BroadPeak Blog

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.

Interviewing For Your First Post-College Job

You worked hard to get into a good college. You have had a lot of fun during your 4 years of college and have somehow also managed to get good grades. Now it's time to leave college and enter the real world which means you have to get a full time job. But in order to get that great job you have to master the campus interview. Here are a few tips from Ultimate Resumes that I hope will help you to get some great job offers:

1. Do Your Homework
2. Be Aware of Current Events
3. Tell The Interviewer How Much You Admire and Desire a Career With Their Company
4. You Don't Have To Tell Everything You Know
5. Be Enthusiastic
6. Understand That You Are A Blank Slate To Your Employer

Read the entire article at the Ultimate Resumes Blog

Help Others Achieve Their Goals

A friend of mine, Thom Singer, wrote a blog post today that is just fantastic. I think that his message about helping others is spot-on and I don't think there is anything else I can add to his well-thought-out comments. So please read his post about helping others to achieve their goals as a way to build and maintain strong relationships. You should also consider reading his book "Some Assembly Required". You can read a review of his book on Jason Alba's blog.

Do You Need An Executive Coach?

Tiger Woods has one. So does Roger Federer. And Lance Armstrong. People in virtually all walks of life, from sports to the performing arts to education, now have private coaches to guide them toward their full potential. Lately CFOs have joined the party as they, or their companies, realize that a demanding and multi-faceted job often requires some external guidance. As a result, the field of executive coaching is booming, with the ranks of practitioners swelling and companies in related fields rushing to add coaching to their menu of services.

"Over the last five years, we have probably seen more people come in for coaching who are in finance or information services parts of the business," says Bill McCarthy, a coach with LeaderSource, an executive coaching firm recently acquired by executive search company Korn/Ferry International. The reason: the technical expertise that helps a CFO or CIO rise to the top is just one part of the skill set needed to succeed in a C-suite position.

Read the full article at CFO.com

Happy President's Day

Some of you may have a day off work because of President's Day. But do you know why we celebrate this holiday? Following is a brief history of this day.

The original version of the holiday was in commemoration of George Washington's birthday in 1796 (the last full year of his presidency). Washington, according to the calendar that has been used since at least the mid-18th century, was born on February 22, 1732. According to the old style calendar in use back then, however, he was born on February 11. At least in 1796, many Americans celebrated his birthday on the 22nd while others marked the occasion on the 11th instead.

By the early 19th century, Washington's Birthday had taken firm root in the American experience as a bona fide national holiday. Its traditions included Birthnight Balls in various regions, speeches and receptions given by prominent public figures, and a lot of revelry in taverns throughout the land. Then along came Abraham Lincoln, another revered president and fellow February baby (born on the 12th of the month). The first formal observance of his birthday took place in 1865, the year after his assassination, when both houses of Congress gathered for a memorial address. While Lincoln's Birthday did not become a federal holiday like George Washington's, it did become a legal holiday in several states.

In 1968, legislation (HR 15951) was enacted that affected several federal holidays. One of these was Washington's Birthday, the observation of which was shifted to the third Monday in February each year whether or not it fell on the 22nd. This act, which took effect in 1971, was designed to simplify the yearly calendar of holidays and give federal employees some standard three-day weekends in the process.

Apparently, while the holiday in February is still officially known as Washington's Birthday (at least according to the Office of Personnel Management), it has become popularly (and, perhaps in some cases at the state level, legally) known as "President's Day." This has made the third Monday in February a day for honoring both Washington and Lincoln, as well as all the other men who have served as president.

Jump Start Your Job Search

At BroadPeak we love working with great candidates to help them find wonderful new jobs.  However its always a good idea to network effectively and to understand how to sell yourself to a potential employer. Here are few tips for jump starting your job search.

1. Network with colleagues, through professional associations, college alumni associations, and with recruiters.  Networking never goes out of style and the internet can enhance the networking process.  It’s easier than ever to peruse online alumni directories, or to utilize online networking tools such as www.linkedin.com.  The fundamentals of networking never change though. You have to get out there and spend the time and effort to get to know other people. There are no shortcuts to creating strong interpersonal relationships through work and in social settings.  Let folks whom you trust know that you are in the job market so that they can keep you in mind when they hear of a great job.  Most people want to be helpful to colleagues who are looking for jobs because they realize that grateful people return favors! 

2. Use job posting boards as a way to find out which companies are hiring.  Don’t worry about the jobs that are actually posted. Just look at the companies that have jobs available and I think you will be surprised at how many companies exist about which you may not have heard!  Then go to www.google.com or www.ask.com and type in the company name.  Find out more about these companies and look to see if they have a “careers” portion of their site. Some companies list a few jobs on big job boards like Monster.com but have a much larger list of openings on their private website. If there is a job for which you think you are uniquely qualified you can apply via the company website. 

3. Use the internet to research companies that interest you. Create personalized application packets for selected companies. If you run across a terrific company for which you think you would be a great cultural fit but you don’t see any job openings that are right for you, don’t despair!  Peruse any information about the company’s management team that you can find.  Then communicate with your network to find out if you have any links to someone at the company. If so, ask your contact to make an introduction and then politely ask the company contact if you can meet them for a cup of coffee.  While you may not get a job with the company immediately, you will probably make some good contacts and you may lay the groundwork for landing your dream job.

4. Market yourself! When you are conducting a job search your only job is to sell “You Inc.”. Think about all the unique features of You Inc. and come up with a great sales pitch.  If you are in a creative field such as advertising, marketing, public relations, or even sales you can create a binder in which you show samples of your work.  You could show brochures from programs you managed or collateral material you designed. You can include writing samples or web pages.  If you are in sales use lots of numbers…show your results.  Anything that highlights the skills and accomplishments listed on your resume is fair game for your binder. Sometimes having a binder for “show and tell” really helps to bring your background and skills to life for potential employers. 

5. Create a personal website. This tip isn’t for everyone.  If you are a creative professional, particularly if you have created a large body of creative or written material, a personal website can be a great way to showcase your skills. 

Be Careful of What You Document

If you have been reading entertainment news (or even regular news) you may have heard about Paris Hilton's most recent obnoxious behavior. In case you haven't you can read Tyler Durden's amusing take on it on his blog (www.wwtdd.com). I don't think highly of Paris Hilton in the first place. I think she wastes the resources that she is so fortunate to have been given because she was born to a wealthy and permissive family. Generally Paris Hilton and a business blog are like oil and water but in this case I think we can discuss her actions to make a point. Her recent behavior reminds us to mind our mouths and to avoid documenting our nasty thoughts or it will probably come back to bite us.

Racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, or bigoted thoughts don't really belong in a civilized and enlightened society. However, there are currently no thought police patrolling our brainwaves so we can all think whatever we want. Problems start when negative or insensitive thoughts somehow make their way through our brains and spew out of our mouths. If you have been cultivating negative sweeping generalizations that describe any group of people do yourself and your career a huge favor and never let those thoughts become words. But if you do, for heavens sake, don't write them down, tape record them, or videotape yourself saying awful things.

We live in a world of tell-all books, reality shows, and too much information on TV. Just because celebrities share all of their thoughts doesn't mean that it's a good idea. Danny Bonaduce, star of VH-1's show called Breaking Bonaduce, lost his job as a DJ at a radio station after his bosses got wind of his crazy and self destructive antics. Michael Richards probably can't get a gig anywhere after his racist rant at a comedy club in LA. Isaiah Washington from Grey's Anatomy was sent to some kind of rehab for using an anti-gay term in public. And even Nicky Hilton, the less frightening half of the Hilton sisters, may lose an endorsement deal with a Florida hotel after the investors saw Paris's video in which Nicky is amused by her sister's ravings.

Paris Exposed is a website which offers Paris's private diaries, sex tapes, and other bizarre personal videos that she didn't take with her when she moved. Her attorneys have managed to temporarily shut the site down but millions of people have read her diaries and seen these tapes. If she has any sense at all she won't record anymore of her "thoughts" or actions. If I were in her shoes I would just move to another country. Like Nepal or outer Mongolia. Be careful what you say.

Be even more careful what you write. And be most careful of what you put on film. Your words can hurt someone else and if they do, those words will also wind up hurting you.