Personal Marketing Strategy

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Personal Marketing Strategy

• In a Poor Economy

A compilation of personal lessons learned

• Author Rick A. Ross
• 214-471-3462 (C)
• http//www.linkedin.com/pub/10/427/b3a
• 28 Feb. 2 Mar. 2009
• St Jude Career Alliance Council

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Seminar Purpose
Losing a job can happen to anyone and can be a
very emotional and confusing event in life.
To provide job seekers with an effective method
to quickly organize, strengthen personal self
confidence and save time in preparing and
initiating an effective job search
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Summary of Discussion Topics

• Effective Resume Development
• Effective Cover Letter Structure
• Networking
• Search Engines Search Agents
• Weekly Personal Goal Setting
• Interview Preparation Tips

Note Examples provided are intended to help
people in the General Labor or Experienced
Professional field
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Effective Resume Development

• Step 1.) Compile Personal Success Stories
  (minimum of 10 success stories more is better)
• The Situation you were in
• The Action you took
• The Result of your action
• Note This up front brainstorming is time
  consuming but very necessary
• Example Reference Archived personal end of
  year priorities
• Situation ltA random business need or your role
  called for action to resolve 1-2 sentencesgt
• Action ltSummarize the action you took to either
  partner with others or that you yourself stepped
  up to resolve the issue 1-2 sentencesgt
• Result ltBased on the action you took, express
  the outcome or impact to the business 1-2
  sentencesgt
• Note Your personal skills to first capture then
  condense these success stories on scratch paper
  may take little time to further develop. Taking
  even 1-2 full days to condense your message is
  normal so try not to get too frustrated on this
  step.

Intended take away understanding
Personal Success Stories provide the foundation
for effective personal marketing
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Effective Resume Development

• Step 1.) (Continued from last slide)
• Compile Personal Success Stories (minimum of 10
  success stories more is better)
• General Examples
• Mgmt Example (Note skill sets employed
  Statistical Analysis, Performance Management)
• Situation Customer satisfaction metrics
  indicated 39 of customers were
• dissatisfied with customer service response time
  average of 48 hours to resolve issues.
• Action In examining the lead time average for
  the team and areas of opportunity to
• shorten the time to engagement, I compiled the
  Business Case for trouble ticket
• automation to replace manual methods.
• Result Customer satisfaction metrics in
  regards to customer service response time
• improved to 78.
• General Example (Note skill sets employed
  Self Starter, Coaching / Mentoring)
• Situation A newly hired employee needed time to
  ramp up and become a productive employee
• Action I approached management and volunteered
  to mentor the new employee

Intended take away understanding
Strive for a short and crisp message that is easy
to recall and recite
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Effective Resume Development

• Step 2.) Derive 30 second Elevator Speech
• General boilerplate example
• I hold (insert college degrees or
  certifications). I offer (optional insert
  years of relevant experience in a given industry
  or function). I utilize (insert computer
  literacy tools, special or specialized computer
  applications, subject matter expertise that
  differentiates your personal offering). I am
  skilled at (insert special skills or
  differentiators that provide insight into what
  you yourself bring to the table). I (optional
  if it applies to you, consider adding a
  consolidated Action/Result here to emphasize an
  instance that further supports the background
  sentences above or hooks the reader/listener into
  quickly understanding the magnitude of your
  contribution to a business)

Intended take away understanding
Elevator speech will provide crisp summary of
the value you offer in your resume, your
personalized cover letters, and your introductory
comments in actual interviews
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Effective Resume Development

• Step 2.) Derive 30 second Elevator Speech
• Mgmt Example
• I hold technical and business Bachelor
  and Masters degrees. I utilize Lean Six Sigma
  data fact based management techniques and
  PRINCE2 project management framework as a
  structured approach to deriving, managing and
  solving complex business problems. I am skilled
  at analyzing business unit performance metrics
  (Gross Margin, Operating Margin, and Revenue) to
  first begin to understand and target next step
  discussion opportunities for a business. I can
  isolate business unit critical path areas not
  performing best in class. I can conduct
  multi-function workshops to derive existing
  systems process and measure transaction variation
  to compile opportunities for simplification,
  areas of potential cost reduction and improved
  asset velocity. I can either propose or
  personally launch program manage a matrixed
  approach to implementing the resulting business
  streamlining business plan. I have personally
  program managed 18 engineering functions
  simultaneously in a matrixed fashion per the
  offered description resulting in 22M year over
  year EBIT improvement.
• General Example
• I was an honor student in high school and am very
  active in community improvement projects and
  church ministries. Personal assessments of my
  character reflect that I am an excellent
  collaborator, motivator and enthusiastic and
  energetic team member. I use strong
  interpersonal skills to cultivate positive
  working relationships with peers and management
  teams.

Intended take away understanding
Elevator speech will provide crisp summary of
the value you offer in your resume, your
personalized cover letters, and your introductory
comments in actual interviews
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Effective Resume Development

• Step 3.) Derive Common Skills Terminology /
  Search Engine Hooks Sound Bite Skill Set
  Bullets
• Requirement Referencing your personal Success
  Stories, compile a list of marketable skills that
  you utilized to enable yourself to be successful
  in each case.
• Note Industry common skill set bullets quickly
  summarize your skills in the first 10 seconds of
  viewing along with your elevator speech. Skill
  Set Bullets should provide the reader with a very
  quick summary of skills that you bring to the
  table for discussion in the upper 1/3 of your
  resume.
• Additionally
• Skill Set bullets will serve to help employers
  and recruiters find you
• Skill Set bullets also serve to help you to set
  up electronic search agents to help you find
  targeted opportunities on job boards and have
  them delivered to your inbox daily thus
  simplifying a job search campaign.
• gtGood Example Industry common marketable
  skills
• ? Business Analytics ? Operations Supervision ?
  Program Management ? Strategic Planning ?
  Statistical Analysis ?
•  
• gtBad Example not so common yet valuable skills
  spelled out in acronyms
• ? 1X-EVDO SME ? ATT COL ? BSE EAE SME ? LTE
  Prime ? Vzn TSE ?
• Need more help defining personal skills bullets?
• Suggested alternate source
• http//www.nmc.edu/careers/support/marketskills.pd
  f

Intended take away understanding
The derivation of your Personal Success Stories,
your Elevator Speech and your Skill Set Bullets
are intended to create a necessary Hook in the
upper 1/3 of your Resume
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Effective Resume Development

• Professional Experience section Lower 2/3s of
  document.
• Quick summary of your past and key contribution
  impacts each tied to a Success Story
• i.) Focus on most Senior or most current role
  which defines who you are today.
• Note For many of us that have experienced
  industry downturn, you may have had to go
  backward in your career to remain employed. Do
  not communicate that here.
• ii.) Only elaborate on roles that you have
  supporting Success Stories and marketable skills
  bullets.
• The goal is encourage an interviewer to ask you
  to further explain about this skill set bullet
  or that success story comment in an interview.
• iii.) Summarizing every role you have ever
  occupied in your total career can create negative
  perceptions.
• Know that you can create negative perceptions of
  obsolete outdated skills and business maturity
  concerns. Focus on most current and most
  marketable skills only.
• iv.) Be mindful of which dates you provide.
• Does the work youve compiled show excessive job
  hopping? Stayed too long at one company? Only
  experienced at one company?
• Does the dates youve provided for college
  degrees over emphasize your age?
• Common Initial Perceptions

Intended take away understanding
Consider your message and resulting perceptions
experienced by the hiring manager Message must
be crisp, experience must be solid, no negative
perceptions allowed
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Effective Resume Development

• Education and Training section List Degrees,
  Certification and year achieved.
• i.) Elaborate on training for coursework that led
  to skills high in demand.
• gtGood Example Provides enough topical
  information to generate interest
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training DMAIC,
  DMADV, PMCS, Lean DMAIC, Benchmarking
• gtBad Example Leaves the reader guessing
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training
• Note Be careful in assuming that a hiring
  manager will know intuitively that you have been
  trained on a given skill requirement for a job
  listing based on a certification or degree
• Community Involvement section (Optional) Can
  say something of your character, personality,
  willingness to help others, or simply that you
  are interested in giving back to the community.
• Examples
• -Church Ministry Organizations (specify which
  one)
• -Make a Wish foundation volunteer
• -JDRF foundation volunteer
• -Angel Food distribution volunteer

Intended take away understanding
Consider listing the sub-topics that make up a
college degree or certification
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Pulling it all together

• Name
• Mailing Address
• Phone / email
• 
  
• (Your Current or Industry Recognized title)
• Summary of Qualifications
• 
  
• Elevator Speech (5-8 Sentences)
• Industry Common Skill Set Bullets
• 
  
• Professional Experience
• 
  
• Company
• 1.) Job Title or Industry Recognized Title
• -Success Story summary comment
• -Success Story summary comment
• 2.) Job Title or Industry Recognized Title
• -Success Story summary comment

Note that the hiring manager very likely wrote
a given job description that you may be
interested in or applying for. Your personal
elevator speech and skill set bullets help the
reader to quickly see the fit in under the
statistical average of 10 seconds.
Recommend maintaining a minimum of 2 Resumes in
soft copy Resume 1 Draft 1 (1- 1 ½ pages
long) Resume 2 Draft 1 the flexibility to
substitute in Success Story summary comments to
emphasize a fit to an opportunity you are
interested in.
Intended take away understanding
Statistically speaking you have 10 seconds to
hook the intended reader. Who you are and
what you offer is the critical message of the
upper 1/3 of resume
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Effective Cover Letter Structure

• Cover letters are key to demonstrating to a
  hiring manager that you actually read the posted
  job description
• while also providing the opportunity to point out
  how you directly meet or exceed posted job
  requirements.
• General structure recommendation (A personal
  short, crisp message (dont ramble) and stick to
  the point)
• 
  
  
• Dear (Company Name) Human Resources
  Representative
• -(Optional Brief Company research comment
  demonstrating your peripheral understanding of a
  company
• needs)
• -Introduce yourself, plug in elevator speech
  (tweak / adjust as needed for brevity).
• -Site specific posted opportunity requirements
  (1, 2, 3) from the hiring manager, spell out (1,
  2, 3,) how you
• are a direct fit and meet or exceed posted
  requirements. ltYou need I have is the key
  message heregt
• (Request and interview or- state that you will
  call the receiver in 3 business days if you have
  a name.)
• Name
• Phone Number
• 
  
  
• Common Initial Perceptions
• I need a job and dont have time to provide a
  cover letter in each case. Wont I be successful
  if my strategy is in the volume of resumes I send
  out?

Intended take away understanding
Cover Letters are a personal differentiator in
that they provide the opportunity to spell out
the job skills match that may not be obvious to a
busy hiring manager
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Networking

• Published job search statistics show that
• 15 of job seeker candidates are successful by
  directly applying over the internet.
• 85 of job seekers are successful through
  utilizing creative networking means.
• Common Initial Perceptions
• I dont know very many people and I feel funny
  about asking Networking type questions

Warm Contacts -Family -Friends -Parishoners -Neig
hbors
Business Contacts -Co-Workers -Industry
Organizations -Industry Affiliations -Former
Clients -Customers -Vendors -Suppliers
Internet Sources -Linked In -careerconnection.org
-St Jude Career Alliance
Intended take away understanding
A Networking Strategy focus is key to shortening
a successful job search campaign
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Search Agents Search Engines

• Job Board Search Engines provide key insight into
  whos hiring. Do not consider these to be your
  only or final source for applying. These are a
  point of reference for next steps period.
• Learn to recognize when a recruiting firm has
  posted a companys opportunity vs. a posting
  directly from a company.
• Apply through recruiting firm postings only if
  you feel confident that you are a very close or
  an exact fit for a posted opportunity
• If you are close but not an exact fit, consider
  going directly to the company web site and
  applying directly for the posted opportunity
• Job Board Search Agents are common. Learning to
  quickly add your skill set bullets to a search
  agent and setting up for daily electronic
  notification of new and existing opportunities
  will save you time.
• Very Important Consider electronic Search
  Agents to be an ongoing work in progress until
  you to fine tune the search agent skill bullet
  criteria wording to bring the right opportunities
  to you. (i.e. you have to experiment with terms
  that do bring opportunities that exactly match
  what you are looking for.)
• Many companies provide job seekers the
  opportunity to set up a personal candidate
  profile and also company specific Job Search
  Agents. Note Many company specific
  opportunities do not get posted on public Job
  Boards. Your personal strategy must include
  targeting industries / companies of interest to
  you.
• Common Initial Perceptions
• Ive applied to countless opportunities on
  Career Builder and havent heard a thing
• In Reality
• Ask yourself Am I applying in a shotgun fashion
  (spray and pray)? Am I personalizing each
  submission with a cover letter that spells out
  the job
• requirements and the skills match to the
  intended receiver?

Intended take away understanding
Use technology to simplify your daily job search
by bringing targeted opportunities directly to
your email inbox
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Weekly Personal Goal Setting

• Consider Keeping a weekly log of opportunities
  you have applied to.
• Company Name, Job Listing title, date of resume
  cover letter submission, phone call follow up
  (optional).
• Consider capturing jobs you have applied to
  (copy/paste) into a text editor such as MS Word
  and then labeling and archiving the electronic
  version for future reference if called to
  discuss.
• Consider setting an aggressive minimum weekly
  target of opportunities you will apply for.
• Consider allocating time each week to Networking
  strategies St. Jude Brown Bag Networking Lunch
  1st 3rd Thursday of the month starting in
  March, Linked In, careerconnections.org etc.
• Consider visiting local city Chamber of Commerce
  offices for free announcements intended for
  people considering moving to that local city.
• Chamber of Commerce brochures provide key
  insight into companies that may be moving into
  your area or are preparing to build in your area.
  Consider writing or calling Human Resources for
  that company, introducing yourself and of course
  request an interview.
• Consider subscribing to on-line company profiling
  engines that help you understand which industries
  or companies have offices within driving distance
  of your home, annual report summaries, key
  decision makers and their contact information and
  that same companies top competitors.
• Consider researching current on-line articles
  regarding a given company or industry to
  understand how you yourself can help. An
  introduction letter to the companies key decision
  maker to spell out how you can help, can be an
  effective approach.
• Common Initial Perceptions
• This speaker is asking for a lot of work on my
  part to obtain a new job
• In Reality

Intended take away understanding
Job offers go to the most organized and prepared,
not the most qualified on paper.
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Interview Preparation Tips

• Consider Your Primary Interview Objectives
• Build Rapport Initial greetings and small talk
  will help you and the Interviewer get started on
  the right cordial tone while also helping you to
  relax.
• Active Listening Ask the interviewer open ended
  questions and use soft techniques to gain insight
  into the employers needs. (Recall the job
  description itself is also key in providing this
  insight)
• Concerns Liabilities During the course of
  your discussion, use soft skills to move the
  conversation away from discussion pitfalls.
  (http//www.pacificnwtech.org/tomscorner/Session3F
  inal.pdf)
• Ask for next steps in the process Consider
  summarizing the fit or overlap the two or more of
  you have discussed. Ask When can we
  reconnect? or So if I havent heard from you by
  _____, may I call you?
• Consider 4 Basic Interviewing types
• 1.) Screening Interview Initial engagement or
  Telephone conversation
• Your number 1 goal is to obtain a face to face
  interview.
• 2.) One on One Face to Face traditional
  interview
• 3.) Sequential Interview Series of several Face
  to Face interviews typically 30-60 minutes in
  length
• Request the names and titles of those you will be
  meeting with in advance for QA insight
• 4.) Panel / Group Interview Panel of
  Departmental representatives interviewing in the
  same session
• Establish early rapport with each if at all
  possible. Remain calm, dont rush to answer
  smile.

Intended take away understanding
Interviews must be win / win for both parties.
Make it a two-way dialogue
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Interview Preparation Tips

• General tip Opportunity Engagement
• Consider using personal cell phone as your
  personal contact number
• Ensure your voice mail message sounds
  professional and polite
• Smile as you record your VM response message.
  Smiles come through over the phone.
• Consider letting unknown callers call go to
  voicemail giving you a little time to review the
  company and opportunity you applied to before you
  return the call.
• Standing when you speak on the phone lowers your
  voice tone slightly . Lower tone exudes self
  confidence. Exhaling slowly lowers heart rate
  and can calm initial engagement nervousness.
• Your priority must be to transition the initial
  engagement to next steps. If it is not offered
  first, request an understanding of Where do we
  go from here? or Can I expect to hear from you
  soon?

Intended take away understanding
Interviews must be win / win for both parties.
Make it a two-way dialogue
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Interview Preparation Tips

• General Tip Interview Preparation
• Always research the company in advance to
  understand who they are and what they do.
• On-line periodical articles that provide insight
  into promotions or difficulties the company might
  be facing.
• Annual Reports provide key insight into company
  performance, strengths and weaknesses
• Always review commonly asked interview
  questions in advance of an interview to prepare
  crisp answers. Guard against negative responses
  to any question Example How do you feel about
  your last boss? (Positive response (He or She
  taught me quite a bit about budgeting and I am
  very grateful to he or she for that)
• http//jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewquestionsan
  swers/a/interviewquest.htm
• Always prepare your own questions for the
  interviewer (consider the offered link above)
• Remember The hiring manager very likely wrote
  the job description and as such provides key
  insight into that he or she is looking for.
• Prior to your interview
• Consider printing a copy of the job description
  and with a highlighter pen, highlight or
  underline key requirements you will likely be
  questioned about.
• Review your personal Success Stories in relation
  to the job requirements and consider penciling
  through your answers in advance.
• Consider how you might structure your personal
  priorities objectives for each of the job
  description key requirements and how you might
  personally meet or exceed supporting that job
  requirement.
• Minimize weaknesses or perceived liabilities
• Take the time to understand various techniques of
  how to answer effectively and emphasize
  personal strengths and tactfully channeling the
  conversation away from a perceived gap or
  liability.

Intended take away understanding
Candidates that strategize to prepare are
naturally more confident and relaxed
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Good Luck!

• Tables in the back
• St. Jude Career Alliance Committees
• Human Resources Federal, State Local Agency
  Resources
• Interview Skills Texas Workforce Commission
• Resume Writing Help Veteran Benefits
• Civil Service (Federal jobs)
• Technology Assistance FREE Computer Courses
• Job Postings
• Resume Bank
• Search Agent Assistance
• Networking and Outreach Career Advice and
  Counseling
• Networking Events Job Change Support
• Upcoming Career Fairs Mental Support
• Spiritual Support