Want a Loan? A Sale? A Job?

Want a Loan? A Sale? A Job?

By Barbara Findlay Schenck

When Brad Newman introduced himself as an actrepreneur, I was hooked. Everything about his title told me he had information I wanted to hear. Over a few additional seconds, I learned that this actor and entrepreneur is the founder of Zentainment, "a socially conscious media company committed to growing brands that encourage you to dream big and live a sustainable life." From there, a longer conversation  and a business relationship  followed, all spurred by an attention-getting introduction that took just moments to deliver.

 
 

The elevator pitch rides into the speed-dating era
Today's economic environment has turned job fairs, trade shows, networking events and even sidewalk sales into buyers' markets where only those with quick, compelling pitches survive.

In the 1990s, high-tech entrepreneurs named these short spiels "elevator pitches" because they could be conveyed during an elevator ride. The tech bubble ballooned and burst (and ballooned again), but elevator pitches are here to stay. Everyone  whether seeking employment, sales or profitable business associations  needs one.

     

Is your introduction ready to roll?
"So, what do you do?"

Those five words are on the minds of everyone you meet, whether in person or online. Brad Newman's introduction helps provide a formula that can assist you in preparing your answer and attracting attention from those you aim to impress:

 
 

Describe yourself in five words or less. Use a distinctive title or phrase that makes people think, "This sounds interesting" or "This is what I'm looking for." Consider the difference between "I'm a copywriter" and "I turn browsers into buyers." Or, in Newman's case, between "social media entrepreneur" and "actrepreneur."

 
 

Explain what you do in one sentence. After introducing yourself, introduce your offerings. "Our name combines the words Zen and entertainment, which stakes out our media space," Newman says. "We're a media company that focuses on socially conscious content. That definition tells what Zentainment is and rules out what it isn't." Work on a similarly specific description for your business.

 
 

Define your target audience. "Our market is comprised of 30- to 49-year-olds who care about socially conscious living," Newman says. "By defining our market in that way, people immediately know whether our business is for them." In other words, Zentainment isn't trying to be all things to all people. It's focused on a specific target audience, which is a key to success in today's crowded business environment.

 
 

Communicate your vision. "We're committed to growing brands that encourage you to dream big and live a sustainable life, whether they're our own brands or ones for which we consult and serve as producers," Newman says. "Our vision is clear enough to keep us focused and broad enough to make us adaptive to the opportunities of a changing market and media world." It's also compelling enough to attract a growing contingent of Zentainment consumers and business clients. What does your business stand for? What attracts your customers and their loyalty? Your answers can serve as a magnet for growth.

Practice, practice, practice. Create a script that conveys who you are, what you offer, your market, and the distinctive benefits you provide. Edit until you can introduce yourself and your business in less than a minute, which is how long most prospects will give you to win their interest.

 
 

Shrink your introduction even further so you can tell your story in 20 words or less. That's how much space you have in most marketing materials and online presentations, whether on your own site, on social media sites, or on sites that link to your home page. If you're thinking, "Twenty words? You've got to be kidding," scroll back to the start of this column. That's exactly what Brad Newman used to get my interest.

5 Underhanded Ways Hiring Managers Say They're Not Interested

by Liz Ryan

Managing a job search today is an adventure that requires the interpersonal skills of a White House chief of protocol. Behind every hint and signal from an employer, deeper messages lurk. Much of my time as a job-search advisor is spent answering people who write me to say, "The interviewer said this or that, and then she looked at her shoes. What does it mean?"

Here are five dodges that employers use to tell job candidates "no thanks" without having to actually utter the words. The good news is that once you've received one of these weaselly brush-offs, you can turn your attention to more-promising job-search avenues.

"We're going to look at some other candidates."
Sometimes they tell you that you're one of three or five or some other number of candidates in the pipeline. That's fine. It's reasonable for a hiring manager to consider a number of people before making a hiring decision. The big red flag is when the hiring manager or the HR person says, "We're going to look at some other candidates."

Wait--you're going to go find some new candidates, after you've interviewed me? That's a sign to get out of Dodge. For whatever reason, you're not their cup of tea.

"We also have some qualified internal candidates."
If you were a hiring manager, who would you look at first: the people who already work around you every day or strangers who responded to a job ad? You'd look at your internal candidates, of course. You'd talk to those people, and if you wanted to hire one of them, you'd never place a job ad. When you post a job publicly, you're proclaiming to the world that you've already ruled out whichever internal candidates applied.

That's why, when you're into a recruiting process and you hear, for the first time, "You know, we also have some qualified internal candidates," it's time to cut and run. If there really are internal candidates, it's a huge disservice to those folks to not make decisions about them before bringing in outside people like you.

And an ethical employer owes it to you and other external candidates to make up their dang mind about internal applicants before wasting your time. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

"You're still in the running."
If anyone from the hiring organization says this to you, that's your cue to bail. This is the professional equivalent of your sweetheart saying, "You're awesome, but I think we should both see other people, too."

"We need to decide what kind of person we're looking for."
This is the mealy-mouthed manager's way of saying, "Whatever kind of person we're looking for, it ain't you."

"We're going to sit down and discuss all of the candidates next week."
Imagine that you're a hiring manager with a big, expensive problem to solve. (If you didn't have an expensive problem, you'd never have gotten approval to fill the position.) Imagine that the perfect person shows up, someone you know could solve your problem and let you sleep at night instead of tossing and turning. Can you imagine saying to that person, the one you desperately want on your team, "We're going to sit down and discuss all of the candidates?"

It would never happen. "We're going to sit down next week" not only means "We're in no rush to hire you" but also means "We don't mind telling you that none of us would burst out crying if you decided to move on to other opportunities."

Read the tea leaves, and save your energy for hiring managers who need what you bring to the table!

Ditch the Résumé Objective

By Nels Wroe, SLH Group

Your résumé is  spit-shined, polished, lightly buffed and glistening in all its glory. You've run it through keyword tests, tailored it to specific employers, focused on results you've achieved, and even printed it on coffee-scented paper stock (one can never be too prepared, right?).

But when it comes to that darn objective, you're never sure what to write. Will you sound too generic? If you get too creative, will it turn the employer off? Yet the truth is that the objective -- at least in the traditional sense -- is dead.

Ready to take its well-worn place is something far more important: a stark assessment of who you are through the eyes of your potential employer. Maybe your experience is solid, and the results speak for themselves -- but can employers truly relate to your experience in their world? Are you helping them see your potential through a lens they understand?

Potential is in the eyes of the beholder

Many job seekers get so focused on presenting themselves to a potential employer using the traditional "here's what I want to accomplish" objective that they overlook another, more critical component -- the valuable skills they already possess.

But why are those so important? Heck, it's results that count, right? Sure -- but only to a point. When faced with the choice between someone who blew past his sales targets but left a trail of upset co-workers and frustrated clients in his wake, and someone who can show equivalent results using a forward-thinking and team-oriented approach -- you can likely guess which one a hiring manager will go for.

Yes, employers want to see results. But they also want to see how you achieved those results. An objective will give them an idea of how you'd go about it for their company – so show them. Why waste your time, and theirs, with an objective that speaks nothing
to this?

Understand your potential

Before you can hope to sell a future employer on your potential, you need to understand it yourself. Anyone can say she has "tons of potential" or use phrases such as "out of the box" or "dedicated," but how can you quantify and describe this to employers in a way they can relate to? It's simple. You need to understand yourself.

Not in the vaguely New Age kind of way, but in the brass tacks, nuts and bolts of knowing your own work styles and competencies kind of way.

And there's the problem. Most of the objective methods used in the past to help us understand ourselves and our potential are not ideal for illustrating this to an employer.

Instead, assess yourself using one of the many tools that employers use to identify potential. These assessments provide accurate, objective and useful measures of your natural styles and competencies in the workplace. They can help you put your accomplishments into context -- and better yet, will help you explain how you achieved your results in language that employers can relate to.

(You'll also learn a thing or two about yourself along the way too, but don't let that stop you.)

The result will make a big difference in how you present yourself -- and how an employer will see you. For example:

Skilled sales professional with a 15-year track record of meeting/exceeding sales targets: two-year winner of top performer award, exceeded annual revenue targets by 50 percent or more in 2008 and 2009.

Turns into:

Skilled sales leader with a 15-year track record of exceeding sales goals using a highly adaptable and persuasive selling style. Exceeded annual revenue targets by 50 percent or more in 2008 and 2009 by building on strong organizational and goal-oriented skills.

An overly simplified example perhaps, but this new version answers a number of questions an employer is bound to ask about how you accomplished all those things on your résumé.

Still stumped on where to begin? Visit sites such as http://www.onet.net/ or http://www.shldirect.com/ (free to use!) to assess yourself. Or use recruiters or outplacement firms such as Teneo Talent (http://www.teneotalent.com/) that offer proven competency and motivation assessments. A bonus? These firms can also connect you with a career coach to help you further identify and understand your potential.

Crafting a résumé certainly isn't a one-size-fits-all approach, but this much is clear: The old rules no longer apply. So throw out that objective, and replace it with something that matters -- a statement about your true potential.

8 things that can kill your job chances

By Kate Lorenz on Jul 28, 2010 in Featured, Interviews, Job Surveys

In her new book "What Your Body Says," Sharon Saylor writes, "The most influential part of communication is your nonverbal. Your nonverbal can actually destroy or produce the results you want, such as inspiring employees to do better work, calming angry customers, creating fans in the marketplace and closing sales."

And according to a new CareerBuilder survey, your
body language can also hurt your chances of landing a job … especially a lack of eye contact.

In the survey of more than 2,500 hiring managers, 67 percent said that failure to make eye contact would make them less likely to hire a job candidate. Other nonverbals that hiring managers cited as negative included these seven things:

• Lack of smile – 38 percent
  
• Fidgeting too much – 33 percent
  
• Bad posture – 33 percent
  
• Handshake that is too weak – 26 percent
  
• Crossing arms over their chest – 21 percent
  
• Playing with their hair or touching their face – 21 percent
  
• Using too many hand gestures – 9 percent  
  

"In a highly competitive job market, job seekers need to set themselves apart in the interview stage," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder. "All that pressure, though, may have some job seekers making body language mistakes that don't convey a confident message. To avoid these faux pas, and ensure you're remembered for the right reasons, try practicing ahead of time in front of a mirror or family and friends."

Haefner offers the following tips to avoid body language missteps during an interview:

• Keep calm. To make the best impression and avoid nervous body language, take measures to stay as calm as possible before the interview. Leave the house with plenty of time to get to the interview, avoid caffeine if possible and take deep, calming breaths.
  
• Practice makes perfect. The old adage proves true in this case, as you'll feel more comfortable the more you prepare for the interview, and in turn, it will help decrease your anxiety. Rehearse ahead of time with friends or family, do your homework on the company and be prepared for common interview questions.
  
• See for yourself. Viewing yourself while speaking can help you notice what body language mistakes you might be making without realizing. Look in a mirror while practicing interview responses or videotape yourself to figure out your typical physical movements, and whether or not you need to change them.
  

50 Tips for Surviving Your Worst Work Days

Karen Burns, US News and World Report

OK, you've heard about Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who had a major workplace meltdown last week. It was a classic "take this job and shove it" moment.

And, sure, maybe he shouldn't have done what he did, but did you catch yourself thinking, "I know exactly how he feels"?

If so, you have a lot of company. It's tough out there. Even if you like your job, even if you are grateful just to have a job nowadays, you probably get stressed out from time to time. It's normal.

But wait. Print out this list now, and on those days when it all feels like just too much, check out these tips before you do anything rash.

--Don't promise what you can't deliver.

--Learn to manage your emotions, instead of letting them control you.

--Cultivate a sense of humor.

--Resist perfectionism.

--Resist micromanaging (of yourself and others).

--Get the sleep you need.

--Try getting to work 10-15 minutes early.

--Take regular breaks.

--Take a walk at lunch, or do some stretching exercises, or jumping jacks, or something.

--Don't overdo the caffeine.

--Don't skip breakfast or lunch.

--Learn to recognize symptoms of stress (anxiety, headache, anger) so you can nip it in the bud.

--Make some friends/allies at work.

--Talk about your stress, to somebody.

--Pay attention to your breathing; slow it down, deepen it.

--Post family photos (or other images that make you happy) in your workspace.

--Focus on the now (i.e., don't agonize over the past, don't fret over the future).

--Take some alone time.

--Find harmless ways to vent; e.g., cry, or punch a pillow.

--Vary your routine.

--Stop trying to multitask.

--Remind yourself of what's really important in life.

--Beef up your skills; become better and faster at what you do.

--Make sure you truly know what is expected of you (you may need to talk to your boss).

--Try looking at situations from different points of view.

--Seek work that suits your personality.

--Learn to say "no."

--Always have a fallback plan (a "Plan B").

--Get better organized.

--Clean up workspace clutter.

--Stop procrastinating.

--Make your workspace as ergonomic as you can.

--Wear clothes that are comfortable and that you look good in.

--Try some "positive affirmations."

--Learn to manage your boss.

--Meditate/pray/contemplate.

--Avoid negative people as much as you can.

--Write down the things you like about your job.

--Make a list of all your achievements in the last year.

--Get clear on your life goals and take a step, no matter how small, toward those goals every day.

--Learn to love yourself as you are.

--Put a smile on your face.

--Get a hobby that makes you happy.

--Learn to prioritize. Learn to delegate.

--Stop comparing yourself to others.

--Ask for help when you need it.

--Break big jobs into bite-size pieces.

--Know your limitations and let others know them too.

--Don't try to control what is uncontrollable.

--Hang in there!

Karen Burns

10 Hiring Manager Deal Breakers

By Kaitlin Madden, CareerBuilder.com writer

Everyone has encountered a deal breaker. That one unappealing characteristic -- no matter how attractive something initially seems -- that completely overrides any positive aspects. For example, you found a great apartment but it's a mile from the subway or your hot blind date acts like a cast member from "The Jersey Shore." Like anyone else, hiring managers have deal breakers too -- things that a job candidate does or says that immediately get their application sent to the "no" pile.

Here are some automatic applicant disqualifiers, straight from the recruiters' mouths:

"I provide personal PR consulting as part of my practice, and job interviews have come up recently. In talking with other managers, the worst interview blunder that I keep hearing about is young grads using social media speak during conversations, as if LOL is a real word. Most hiring managers are social-media savvy, but they want to know that their future employee can carry on professional conversations with all levels of the organizations -- using real words." -- Jules Zunich, owner, Z Group PR

 "The first thing that comes to mind when I think about deal breakers is the candidate's online personal brand. I Google candidates and if I find online content that is concerning, it's an immediate deal breaker. Examples of this include: pictures of the candidate drunk or acting in a promiscuous way or albums of pictures that represent a 'party animal' image; blogs or videos that are not in good taste; blogs, articles or any written content with below par writing and grammar skills; lack of professionalism or good conduct in group discussions (i.e. LinkedIn groups); complaints about prior companies and managers; and just a general usage of improper language on any social-media venue." -- Jessica Simko, human resource manager and owner, WorkandLifeSolutions.com

"A few of my common no-no's:

1. Bringing up salary in the initial interview (for an otherwise great interview, I'll excuse this if it happens during the Q&A at the end).

2. Speaking about scheduling limitations or prospective reasons to leave the position right off the bat.

3. Acting impolitely or speaking down to any person in our office (receptionists or secretaries included).

4. Telling me that dealing with people is your biggest challenge/weakness or least favorite thing. Very few jobs let you work without other people.

5. Consistently answering questions other than those I asked.

In general, it's often the little things that distinguish a good candidate from a bad candidate, so keeping all of those little things in mind is very important!" -- Josh, commenter on TheHiringSite.com

"Deal breakers I have seen include: having a really immature [cell phone] ring-back (I called one girl for an interview and her ring-back was some hip-hop song). Also, once a candidate didn't know what company they were applying for. Although the job posting didn't note the company name, the root domain of my e-mail should give away our Web address, and we were looking for someone that was tech-savvy for the job. Another time I told a candidate to dress fashionably for the interview because we were a fashion company, but she was a total mess when she came into the interview with loose clothing and really messy hair." -- Danny Wong, hiring manager, Blank Label Clothing

"Lying on a résumé. I had a marketing director e-mail me her old résumé (which I only had a paper copy of) and an updated résumé. The dates of employment on the updated résumé did not match the dates on the previous résumé and the first job listed on the previous résumé did not appear on the new one. When I asked for an explanation, she told me that she could not remember the dates of employment at her previous job and that she had removed her previous job from the new résumé because she wanted everything to fit on two pages. When I told her that I could not proceed with her candidacy because of the inaccuracies, she actually got angry at me. The second was a lawyer who, on a new résumé, changed the dates of his previous employments and removed one job completely. The funny thing was that he knew I had the previous résumé. The rule is simple: Liars need not apply!" -- Bruce Hurwitz, president and CEO, Hurwitz Strategic Staffing

"Arrogance. When a candidate is overly confident, I find them to have a sense of entitlement, which is the last thing any employer wants to deal with. Remember to be gracious to anyone you meet during the job search process. Being humble will get you farther than being conceited." -- Elliott Martimbeau, recruiting manager at Sapphire Technologies

"One candidate I met recently came into my client's office and complained about the sign on the building. She said that it was too high up and was blocked by the trees surrounding it so she was unable to find the company. If you are this negative going into an interview when you're supposed to be at your best, think about how negative you'll be when you face challenges as an employee. Another candidate interviewing for a coordinator role asked for directions when I scheduled the interview. These days with Google Maps being so prevalent, candidates should be able to find their own directions, even if they don't have a GPS. Worse yet, she got lost on the way to the interview, and rather than asking someone in the neighborhood to help her, she called me. It took me five minutes to explain where the building was. Clearly this was not a person who was able to think on her own -- a deal breaker for a coordinator role." -- Abby Kohut, former hiring manager and author of "101 Job Search Secrets"

"Internally here when interviewing, we try and be somewhat forgiving as we understand everyone is only human. However, when the competition is high, there are things that can immediately remove people from consideration -- particularly if it's something that reflects on skills or attributes relevant to the job.

One of the big ones for us is spelling on a résumé, simply because it speaks to a person's attention to detail. If they can't check their own résumé over to ensure there are no mistakes, how could we expect them to do it once they get hired by one of our clients? So unless someone is a true superstar or has skills and experience that are in high demand, spelling mistakes are a deal breaker for us. The lesson here then is to make sure you triple-check your résumé before applying.

In addition, we've heard from a number of our clients about their personal deal breakers as well. While many are the same, we've definitely heard some unique ones. One hiring manager eliminated a short-listed candidate because her bra strap was showing. Another because a woman's skirt was too short. You never know the type of person you're going to be interviewing with and what type of quirky biases they may have. While some hiring managers' personal deal breakers might not exactly be fair to candidates, the bottom line is that they can and do eliminate candidates based on these personal judgments. Our best advice would be to err on the conservative or more professional side if you're ever in doubt." -- Greg Masiewich, manager, IQ Partners Inc.

There you have it, hiring deal breakers straight from the source. It appears that all of the disqualifiers mentioned above were caused by one thing: lack of professionalism. Remember, no detail is too small to be overlooked by a recruiter, so make sure you exude a professional demeanor during your job search. Whether it's in the way you dress, your manner of speaking, your online profile or even your cell-phone ring-back -- recruiters take everything into account.