PRACTICAL STRATEGIES TO ACCELERATE YOUR JOB SEARCH SUCCESS A COMPREHENSIVE JOB SEARCH WORKBOOK BY DIANA YK CHAN

Transcription

1 10 PRACTICAL STRATEGIES TO ACCELERATE YOUR JOB SEARCH SUCCESS A COMPREHENSIVE JOB SEARCH WORKBOOK BY DIANA YK CHAN

2 Before we get going... Hey there! I m thrilled that you re here today, taking actionable steps towards landing your dream job. I m Diana YK Chan, Career Coach and Founder of My Marketability. Our mission is to empower you to achieve your best career. My Marketability is a career coaching and job search consultancy that specializes in helping professionals get hired into top competitive jobs at top organizations. Through our proven discovery process, unique coaching and training program, and innovative job search techniques, we provide you the support, tools and guidance you need to find a fulfilling career faster. We ve worked with new grads to senior management level in Canada, U.S. and Europe in over 20 diverse industries and over 20 professions. We ve helped clients get hired into competitive roles at top companies in record time, change industries or professions, move overseas, negotiate salary increases of up to 80%, and win five figure scholarships to top business and masters programs! We ve helped thousands of people accelerate their career changes, and now we re here to help you! Job searching is like a job itself. It s something that you need to work at daily because it s actually not a skill that we re taught in school. The current job market is the most competitive it s ever been. To make sure you don t have to spend months searching and searching, not receiving calls back, or not being able to close your interviews, I m going to share my top 10 job search strategies. These are practical techniques that help my clients land their ideal roles everyday. Along the way, you ll find some action items. These are recommendations straight from me about what you need to do to set yourself up for success. I suggest doing them in the order they appear to make the most of this guide. READ ON FOR MY TOP 10 JOB SEARCH STRATEGIES

3 1SET ACHIEVABLE CAREER GOALS Get crystal clear on what you want. The key word here is achievable. What s always important to remember when you re goal setting is that you should always section out your overall vision into manageable parts that you can reasonably handle. What you don t want to do is to set a lofty goal and then find out that you can t achieve it in the timeframe you thought you would. This can lead to an unnecessary loss in confidence or faith in yourself. Part of giving up is feeling overwhelmed, and setting lofty goals could set you back before you ve even started. So, how do you set achievable job search goals? STEP ONE: GET CRYSTAL CLEAR ON WHAT YOU WANT ACTION ITEM This is your first ACTION ITEM. Until you know what it is you want to do, any goals you make and steps you take to achieve them could be taking you in a different direction. The way I see it, getting clear on a direction or overall vision for you future is the first step towards creating a job search strategy. 1

4 This vision for your life doesn t have to be specific. If you don t know exactly what you want to do, that s okay! My top tip is to do some self-discovery and think seriously about your skills, values, and what lifestyle you want to have. Remember projects you did in your past career or in university that stood out to you as being genuinely interesting. What sort of skills did you apply then? What types of positions would allow you to apply them now? In fact, do some brainstorming right now: What type of lifestyle do you want to live? What are your top values? What skills do you most enjoy applying to projects in your current position? 2

5 If you find you re still no closer to finding out what it is you want after doing some soul searching, I recommend hiring a career coach or reaching out to your mentors to get their advice on your career progression. Another mind may help you see things from a different perspective. STEP TWO: CONSIDER YOUR PAST EXPERIENCE AND YOUR CREDENTIALS Step two is to consider your past experience and your credentials to determine what sort of doors are open to you, which may be closed or more difficult to get into, and what you can do to reposition your experience to different industries and roles. Credentials aren t the be all and end all of a job search, but it is important to consider the reality that different jobs sometimes prefer certain credentials. A period of unemployment is also a great time to consider if it may be right for you to go back to school and get an MBA, LLB, or Ph.D. When you think about your past experience, don t assume that just because you only have experience in one industry, you can t make a career transition. When I was finishing up with my contract as a Recruiter at Google, I was applying to LinkedIn for a sales role. Now, I come from a recruiting and consulting background, so this wasn t my direct skill set and when someone looked at my career, the word sales wouldn t immediately come to mind. I overcame this by re-positioning my past experience so that it would make sense to the sales team that was interviewing me, and so that I could connect the dots and show that I was the best candidate for the role. What I want you to take from this example is the idea that it is definitely possible, and recommended, to reposition your experience if you feel that it doesn t match up as perfectly to the job description as you want it to. Now that you ve re-examined your vision and past experience, you re ready to break your job search down into manageable accomplishments. An example of this is to set a weekly goal of connecting with 10 new relevant professionals on LinkedIn, having 3 informational interviews in 3 days, or saying that you re going to update your resume one day and your LinkedIn profile the next. 3

6 ACTION ITEM I challenge you to set a list of 15 goals, 5 to complete in the next year, 5 in the next 5 years, and 5 in the next ten years. While you may think that it s okay to just keep them in your head, putting your goals and visions to paper will help you hold yourself accountable in your career. I recommend putting this goal list in a visible place, like on the wall above your desk at home. This will help you commit yourself to achieving your dreams. GOALS TO COMPLETE IN THE NEXT YEAR GOALS FOR NEXT 5 YEARS GOALS FOR NEXT 10 YEARS 4

7 2DO YOUR RESEARCH Research your targeted R.O.I. Roles, Organizations, and Industries I recommend setting aside a full week in your job search plan for in-depth research. Before you get your heart set on a position, industry, or company, you should first do your due diligence to make sure that you re making the right career move. This is where you research your targeted ROI roles, organizations, and industries. First, look into key industry trends by attending conferences, listening to webinars, reading whitepapers that will give you an overview of the industry s landscape. This will help manage your expectations. To set yourself up for success, it s important that you gain key insights on if an industry is growing, stagnating, or even disappearing. A great way to get insider information is to reach out to your colleagues, alumni network, family friends, and any other connections who are in one of the industries you re looking at. The best way to guarantee your success is to make sure that you go into your job search aware of these important trends that will likely play a role in how long you re unemployed for. This will also give you key information to share during your interview to show your employer that you know your stuff. Next, it s time to do research on the companies in your chosen industry. I would recommend checking out their websites, public financial reports, annual reports, and any other information you can find so that you can analyze them with respect to their competitors. Looking at direct competitors will help you find out what differentiates the company you want to join. You can also visit websites like vault.com to get the inside scoop on what people are saying about working at your target companies. This will also give you insights into what types of challenges they face, whether they re hiring, and what their company culture is like. 5

8 Company culture is the dynamic of the organization. It s how people behave in the workplace and what types of relationships they make, which will have a huge impact on you no matter which company you decide to join. If you find that you have to force yourself to be something you re not everyday that you go to work, you re going to be mentally and physically exhausted in your new job. This can kill your productivity. A great way to learn about a company s culture before joining is to talk to professionals at the company. Another accessible way to get at this information if you re applying to larger, Fortune 500 organizations is to check out their YouTube channels. More often than not, big companies will post videos about why they re great places to work and what makes them unique, which will give you insights into what they value. While you re at it, check out the rest of their social media channels including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Lastly, do some research on the roles that your target companies are hiring for. If you re not sure what types of positions you could be interested in, head over to the job descriptions posted by monster.ca. These are general blurbs about every position you could ever come across in the job market. Search through the database for some position titles you re curious about and you ll find important information on what different roles entail. Before you submit your application, I also recommend doing research on the average salary range for the positions you re applying to. This can be easily done by checking out websites like Glassdoor.com. Another great way to get intel on what can differentiate you as a candidate is to search through LinkedIn and find key information about what it takes to get to the position you re aiming for. For example, if you re applying to be a Marketing Manager, try doing an advanced LinkedIn search for Marketing Managers at your target organization or in your area. Then, check out what they ve done and see if what types of notable accomplishments and responsibilities they had that likely helped them stand out. The goal of all of this is to gain as much intel as possible so that you can tailor your message and make an impact. Better yet, a lot of these resources I just provided you with are completely free, so there s no excuse to not be prepared! 6

9 ACTION ITEM Before we move on, here s your next ACTION ITEM. Fill out this chart with your targeted Roles, Organizations, and Industries: ROLES ORGANIZATIONS INDUSTRIES 7

10 3KNOW WHAT VALUE YOU HAVE TO OFFER The best way to stand out in an interview is to have a unique value proposition that s memorable and impactful. If you aren t clear on exactly how you can help a potential employer with their problems, it s going to be tough to convince them you re the right candidate. Here s an ACTION ITEM for you! First things first, make a list of your top three accomplishments in your career and education. From there, identify your top five strengths. 1 2 ACTION ITEM TOP ACCOMPLISMENTS TOP STRENGTHS

11 The best way to stand out in an interview is to have a unique value proposition that s memorable and impactful. Your top five strengths and three accomplishments make up the bulk of this statement, but to differentiate yourself it s also important that you do research on the companies you re interviewing for so that you can come up with concrete ways that you can help them solve their problems. By research, I mean doing more than making a quick Google search. I recommend searching through your LinkedIn connections and your connections connections to try and find professionals who are in your target organization. If you don t know anyone who can introduce you, don t be afraid to connect to people you don t know and ask them for minute informational interview. People like helping and lending their expertise to other people. The best way to reach out is to first acknowledge the person s successful career and then state your intentions so they know exactly how they can help you. When you do your research and connect with these people, try to find information on the challenges that are facing the industry and company that you want to get into. Then, use this information to come up with a day plan of what you would do to confront these challenges while on the job and how your strengths and experience will help you solve them. I recently had two clients who were hired into their dream roles because they created comprehensive days without being told. They proactively did their research and analysis, made it to the final round of interviews, and then presented their plans to the hiring managers to seal the deal. One of my clients showed creativity and proactivity by creating a designed infographic that shows what he would focus on in each of the 30/60/90 day sections. The graphic also outlined his top 5 accomplishments and top 5 strengths, so it tied in his impactful value offering. Another one of my clients created a PowerPoint presentation that showed how he would prepare himself to succeed in the role and demonstrated a visualization of what he would do to drive the company forward. This, combined with your unique selling points, will help to convey your powerful and authentic personal brand and value offering. 9

12 4UNDERSTAND THE HIRING REQUIREMENTS Understand what the employer is looking for to tailor your message to their needs. Until you understand what the employer is looking for, you won t be able to tailor your message. Your message is a combination of what you say during the interview, how you show up, your cover letter, resume, and LinkedIn profile. I recommend reviewing your targeted job postings in detail so that you can find out what the must have and preferred requirements are for each role. Preferred requirements are nice add-ons that will differentiate you as a candidate but won t necessarily make or break your application. I can t stress enough how important it is to find out exactly what the preferred hiring requirements are by talking to people who ve been in that role, researching the job posting, and seeing if you can talk to a recruiter. For example, I was recruiting for an e-commerce Manager position at a top company. The job posting said one thing, but if the candidate did further research into the company, they would find out that this was actually a brand new role and required more than just what the company published in the posting. The person who would take on this role would have to be well connected in the industry so that they could potentially bring talent with them to the organization, they would be the face of e-commerce and would have to have excellent communications skills, and they would need a strategic vision that would drive this area of the company forward. None of this was mentioned in the job posting, because these postings generally only contain the baseline of preferred requirements. This is why it s so important to take the initiative to gather as much intel as you can on your target role. When you re looking at hiring requirements, you re strategizing for your interview. The research you do will help you have in-depth conversations with your interviewers that go beyond surface level, which will make a huge impact on your application. When you re researching, try to envision what it would take to succeed or be the ideal candidate for that role. 10

13 Knowing more about what your new role will look like will help you create a compelling message, which is a combination of your top unique selling points and value proposition. I recommend keeping this consistent across all of your marketing documents and in your interview. Being consistent with three clear selling points will make it easier for employers to remember your personal brand. I mentioned a bit about this in the first job search strategy about goal-setting and examining your past experience, but I m going to elaborate more on how you can translate your past experience into an impactful, tailored message that your potential employer can understand. Don t assume that they ll connect the dots themselves always do everything you can to make it very clear why you fit with a new organization. This is what I did to convey to LinkedIn that I had the sales background they needed. For example, when I was recruiting for the Executive MBA program at Ivey Business School, what I was essentially doing was selling a $100,000 program to potential students, and through strategic marketing and sales tactics, I surpassed revenue targets by a considerable amount. By repositioning my experience from recruiting-oriented to sales-oriented, I was able to convey my potential as a Sales Manager. I was also able to truthfully state that I used their product, LinkedIn every single day I was recruiting because I would screen through thousands of profiles to find ideal candidates. None of this would have come across if I had just said that I was a Recruiter. In the end, I was offered the position from LinkedIn, but I decided not to accept it so that I could start my business. This is why it s important not to rely on potential employers to make connections. They re usually looking through hundreds of candidates, and if they don t see how you can add value immediately, you ll get screened out. A great way to draw attention to your value offering is to make a personal branding statement in your resume, which is a 2-3 sentence blurb about who you are, what you re passionate about, and what types of results you deliver. Here s a template that you may find helpful: I am a(n) (insert adjective ) and (insert adjective ) (insert specialization ) professional who (insert action verb such as creates/develops/ initiates/implements )(insert what you do ). I m passionate about. I help (insert value/ impact/ benefits statement ). 11

14 And here are some examples: I am a strategic and results-oriented organizational development professional who creates innovative employee engagement strategies for large-scale organizations. I m passionate about mobilizing employees to achieve strategic objectives. I am an authentic and collaborative business strategy professional with a passion for developing and operationalizing strategic vision. I apply my analytical mindset and personable nature to assist organizations to achieve and surpass business targets. ACTION ITEM Here s an ACTION ITEM! Using the template above, construct your own personal branding statement: Some more key transferable skills that employers always look for are personal branding, clear communications, and analytical thinking. Keep these in mind throughout your job search so that you re constantly emphasizing that you have what employers are looking for. 12

15 5USE RELEVANT KEYWORDS Check out job postings for similar positions at similar organizations and highlight all of the keywords you see. From my experience, at least 90% of resumes lack relevant keywords and don t stand out to recruiters. Worse, they get screened out by online applications because of this. When you apply online, over 50% of all candidates will be weeded out through automated tracking systems that search your resume for keywords relevant to the role. If you don t have those keywords, you ve just lost your chance at the role before your resume is even read by a person. I recommend reviewing your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile, and elevator pitch right after this course to see how many relevant functional keywords and action verbs you have that relate to your targeted role. A great source for keywords is actually on job postings, so go through those to see what you can include in your content that will grab employers attentions. Try to go beyond the scope of just the job posting your target company pushed out, because as I mentioned before, that likely only contains baseline information. To get a well-rounded idea of what you ll need, check out job postings for similar positions at similar organizations and highlight all of the keywords you see. An easy way to do this is to convert the document to a word cloud and see which phrases appear most. Another quick method is to check out the LinkedIn profiles of people in similar roles and scrolling to their Skills section, which is a keyword rich area of the top skills they use in their roles. The reason why I say you should also include keywords in your cover letter and elevator pitch is because certain terms will make an impact on people. Repeating a set of relevant keywords throughout your interview will drive home the message that you have the background you need to succeed in this role. 13

16 As an example, if you re aiming for a marketing role, some top keywords would be client relationship management, social media strategy, digital marketing, integrated marketing, direct marketing, and consumer insights. Keywords generally come in related strings that you can usually find on the LinkedIn profiles of people in similar roles. Some key action verbs that you should also include in your resume are acquired, executed, and created. While action verbs won t always be checked for by automated tracking systems, they are what recruiters will look for first when scanning your resume and cover letter. I recommend starting every new bullet point on your resume with an action verb so that you can quickly convey that you ve made an impact in your career. When you re coming up with relevant keywords, remember that this is a huge part of branding. Think about the types of keywords you want to use to brand yourself. What do you want to be known for? What words do you want other people to associate with you? 14

17 ACTION ITEM A great way to map out in your head which keywords are relevant to you is to create a spider diagram. Draw a large circle in the middle of a piece of paper and write down your profession, whether it s marketing, consulting, finance, etc. Then write the keywords that you specialize in around the spider diagram as well as keywords that you feel would make your application more competitive. Highlight the ones that you can use to brand yourself, and circle the ones that you don t have yet that you should look into honing through courses or certifications. I use spider diagrams when I recruit. When I get a new position to find candidates for, I ll first look at the job posting to understand the requirements of the role. Then, I ll come up with a list of general keywords that relate to the position. By mapping out the skills and functional expertise that the role requires, I ll have a better sense of the keyword strings I should be using. After that, I ll list out the roles and job titles that are similar to the role I m hiring for. This is so that I can target my LinkedIn search without missing out on key candidates. For example, if the job title is National Account Manager, some related titles that I d search for would be Sales Manager, Sales Executive, National Sales Manager, Sales Lead, and Head of Sales. Here s a template spider diagram for you: 15

18 6DEVELOP A R.A.R.E RESUME Your resume is more than a history document, it s a marketing tool. Of the thousands of resumes that I ve seen in my career, I can tell you that only 1% have ever stood out to me. The ones that stand out are always clear, concise, grammatically correct, and they grab my attention with proactive language and sometimes a bit of colour. What I always tell my clients is that your resume is more than a history document, it s a marketing tool. It s not just a way to state what you ve done, it s your opportunity to sell your brand. It s premium real estate, so every word you choose matters. 16

19 To help you create powerful impact statements for your resume, I developed the RARE resume formula: R A R E The R stands for relevant keywords, which I talked about in my last point. They re especially important for resumes because if you are submitting through an online system, hiring managers could screen through resumes by searching for certain keywords that relate to the role you re applying for. To prevent getting screened out before anyone even sees your resume, I recommend using the information you gathered when you were trying to understand the hiring requirements of your target company. Pick up on keywords that were mentioned in the job posting that will be important for the position you re applying to. The A is for accomplishment-oriented. This is a huge piece of effective resume writing. A problem that I see in way too many resumes is that they just list the responsibilities of what the candidate did during their previous role. That s good to know, but it s not going to make you stand out. Accomplishments are moments in your previous career that you were particularly proud of and are examples of when you ve gone above and beyond. Some examples of key accomplishments are leading a team of x number of people, creating something completely new to the organization, leading a cross-functional team, and surpassing business objectives. The next R stands for results-oriented. So, when you ve shortlisted your top accomplishments for each role, it s time to get some quantifiable data that will give a recruiter some sense of the results you created for the organization. This is so important because it s essentially how recruiters determine what sort of impact you ve made in your career and how you can help a new organization. Results-oriented statements include times when you ve saved a company money, made processes more efficient, exceeded sales targets, or managed budgets. All of these can be supported with quantifiable data that will really drive home the impact of your work. The final thing you should consider when resume writing is that it s easy-to-screen for a recruiter. Forbes recently did a study that showed that recruiters spend only 6-10 seconds screening a resume. The best way to make it easy to screen is to make sure the font type and size can be easily read and that the text isn t too cluttered. Two good rules to follow are to never go below size 10 font or put more than five bullet points for each position. Before you send in your resume, give it to a friend or family member to look over so that you can make sure it s easy to read. 17

20 ACTION ITEM Go through your resume now and answer these questions so that you know your content s potential: Do you have less than five bullet points per role? Does each sentence start with an action verb? Have you given your resume to your friends and family to review? Do you have at least two pieces of quantifiable data per position? Is your content achievements-oriented or responsibilities-oriented? Have you done research to see what a good resume in your industry looks like? Have you included a clear, compelling, and concise personal branding statement? If you answered no to any of these questions, it s time to sit down and do some serious work on your resume. 18

21 7HAVE A NETWORKING PLAN Over 70% of jobs are secured through networking. You are 4 times more likely to get hired through a referral. I find that a lot of job seekers either don t think they have to network to find new opportunities or are too nervous to put themselves out there. I am a huge believer in connecting and building your network because I know that over 70% of jobs are secured through networking. When you are given a referral by someone in the company, you are 4 times more likely to get hired. Even when I recruit for new roles, I reach out to my network first to find candidates. I once had a client who was trying to make the transition from government to telecommunications. It would have been a huge jump, and we knew that he couldn t make it alone. I helped rebrand him and worked with him to develop a networking plan where he would ask for introductions to people in his target companies, go to networking events, and essentially get his foot in the door in this new industry. Through this strategic planning, he had over 15 meetings with stakeholders in the organization found two of what I call internal champions, or people who worked at his target organization and who were able to give him referrals. He was then hired into his dream role at a highly competitive company. What I d like you to take away from this story is just how difficult it is to succeed in the job search if you don t put yourself out there and network. Networking can mean the difference between landing an okay role that you re not that happy in but that pays the bills, and your dream job with amazing potential for growth and progression at a top company. The key message for this story is how to be persistent and talk to as many people as you can to get your foot in the door. 19

22 How can you do the same? Here are my 6 Cs for how to develop an amazing networking plan to help you get noticed faster: CLARIFY This is about clarifying your goals and aspirations in your own mind. If you don t know what you want, how can others help you? Before you think about networking, take the time to get clear on what you want and what makes you unique. This will help you can market yourself to new connections who can assist you on your path towards finding your dream job! CHOOSE I would never say don t network with certain people, because you never know when a new connection can mean a new opportunity. But, if you re networking with a purpose in mind (like finding a new job), targeting your search so that you connect with a specific group of people that are relevant to your job search will help you get results faster. You can do this by identifying your targeted ROIs - a shortlist of the roles you see yourself in as well as the organizations and industries that you would like to join. To start your networking plan, really think about the connections you already have. This includes friends, colleagues, members of professional associations you re in, alumni networks, and family friends who are in your industry or a role that you re interested in applying for. CHECK Now that you know your targeted ROIs, it s time to do your due diligence. This is where you conduct research so that you can understand the trends and opportunities in your chosen industry. It s also your chance to take stock of what s in demand and how your strengths fit with the market s needs. Once you re clear on these, search through LinkedIn to find key players in your industry or top performers at your target organization. Take note of how they format their LinkedIn profiles so that you can update yours to match the preferences of your industry! 20

23 4 5 6 CONTACT LIST This is when you put together a list of everyone who you want to connect with, including hiring managers, recruiters, top performers, key players, and members of your alumni network. The more organized you are, the quicker you ll see results! COMMUNICATION MESSAGES Before you reach out, set up a standard communication template that you can use that states your purpose, where you are in your career, and what you re asking your connection for. Write out a set of pre-made outreach messages so that you can complete your hit list quickly. In your messages to your connections, make sure to outline where you are in your career, why you re reaching out to a specific person, and how they can help you. The same goes for if you re asking for an introduction. Many of the professionals you re reaching out to will be very busy so have respect for their time and don t beat around the bush by burying your purpose in a long . I recommend asking for a minute informational interview over the phone, or, if you can go to them, at a coffee shop in your area. When you meet them, ask them about trends in their industries, challenges that they face in their roles, and whether they know of opportunities that you could enquire into. CONNECT This step is all about adding your connections, sending your outreach messages, and crossing their names off your hit list! But, keep in mind that the most important part of networking is the follow-up. Remember to keep track of the responses you receive and follow up with the people who don t. If you know that your connection may be too busy to see you in person, suggest a phone call, Google Hangout, or Skype call. Remember that they are taking time out of their busy schedule to meet with you, so be sure to prepare the questions you would like to ask them as well as a meeting agenda beforehand. I would also recommend sending them this agenda in the so that your meeting is as productive as possible. 21

24 Other opportunities to network include going to conferences, career fairs, and job expos that are opportunities for you to directly connect to employers. Any place where hiring managers and recruiters can be found is a place that you should be. I recommend doing a Google search for job fairs in your area. Before you go to the event, make a hit list of all of the company booths that you want to go to so that you can network with all of the recruiters you need to. Don t forget your business cards and resumes! Finally, I would also recommend going to general networking events in your area. While you may not get face-time with people who work in your target organization who are specifically there to recruit, you never know who you could meet. Events like this are also amazing opportunities to expand your network and develop meaningful relationships. My top tip for how to succeed at networking is to think about how you can add value to others as opposed to how you can sell yourself. When you focus on pitching your value offering constantly, people get the sense that you re not really interested in what they have to say, just in what they can do for you. This is not a good way to start a relationship, and it won t make others more inclined to help you out. When you meet someone, be curious. Be ready to ask questions about their career, industry, and their past experience. This will convey to them that you re genuinely interested in what they have to say, which will build the rapport and trust you need to establish before asking for their contact information or about opportunities in their company. How can you add value to others? 22

25 ACTION ITEM To make the most of your networking strategy, I challenge you to set up 30 informational interviews in the next 90 days. This will help ensure that you are aware of all of the opportunities available to you while also building the trust and rapport with key stakeholders who you can ask for a referral. Make an Excel spreadsheet of the 100 people you want to connect with so you can keep track and cross their names off when you ve reached out. 23

26 8MASTER YOUR GLOWING INTRODUCTION It only takes 7 seconds for someone to form an impression about you. Before you go out and start networking, it s so important that you master your glowing introduction that will leave an impact on the people you re meeting. You can bet that the top professionals at a networking event or career fair have heard hundreds of people pitch to them, and you don t want to just be another face in the crowd. What s important to remember is that it only takes 7 seconds for someone to form an impression about you. That s 7 seconds you have to convince them that you re someone they can talk to, trust, and connect with. This first impression usually boils down to three things: what you re wearing, how you re standing, and your handshake. When you re picking out your clothes for a networking event, always go for a healthy medium between business casual and business formal. Sometimes, business formal can be too restrictive for a networking environment, where you have to travel around, stand on your feet for a while, and meet and greet a lot of people. However, for a job expo or career fair, I recommend always going for business formal. The clothing that you choose says a lot about who you are, so while I recommend giving your outfit some colour so that you stand out, try not to overdo it with shades that may give people the impression that you re trying too hard to get people s attention. 24

27 When you meet new people, pay attention to your posture. When you stand up straight, you come across as more confident and your energy level seems higher. Practice your handshake before you go to the event to make sure it s firm. After your networking partner forms their first impression, they ll then evaluate your ability to communicate. Here s where your elevator pitch comes in. Before you go to a networking event, create a 30-second elevator pitch and practice it over and over again in front of the mirror until it sounds natural. Then, say it to your family and friends and get their feedback so that you can make sure it sounds interesting, inspiring, and impressive. Here s an easy 6Ps framework to help you create your elevator pitch: 1. SHARE YOUR PASSION AND POTENTIAL Let s start with part one: your passion and potential. An elevator pitch is like any sales pitch, so you should always open with a hook that will grab attention. A great way to do this is to state your passion. People can feel when you re passionate about something and this will help engage them and make them believe your message. A great hook could be: I m a resourceful and strategic marketer with a passion for creating innovative mobile marketing solutions that maximize commercial results. You can tell from this sentence that this person is very clear on the value that they re able to provide. Moreover, it gives insight into the person s potential. The more polished and professional you appear, the more likely it is that other people will perceive you as a high-potential candidate. 25

28 2. SHARE YOUR PAST EXPERIENCE AND PROUD ACCOMPLISHMENTS The next part of your pitch is a brief description of your past experience. Because you only have 30 seconds to 2 minutes, you can t say absolutely everything, so I recommend including at least three key accomplishments. Focusing on accomplishments instead of your career timeline will help demonstrate the impact you ve made in your past career as opposed to the responsibilities you held. Always quantify your achievements with data where possible so that your pitch can be both achievements-oriented and results-oriented. Some great results could be times when you ve saved a company money, achieved efficiencies, or surpassed sales target. This section will help people understand how you can add value and the types of problems you re able to solve. 3. SHARE YOUR PRESENT SITUATION AND PURPOSE Next, it s time to talk about your present situation. Use this section to comment on where you are in your career and what your next steps are. I recommend focusing on why the role you re interviewing for fits with your overall career goals. Saying this in an interview or when networking with a hiring manager will help them put together the dots and understand your motivations behind the goals you have. Lastly, briefly outline your purpose for pitching. My top tip: use keywords that are relevant to your industry. In the example, the keywords would be mobile marketing and marketer. These attentiongrabbing phrases will make sure you and the person you re pitching to are on the same page. These two P s combined will work together to convey your potential as a professional. Again, I can t stress enough how important it is to practice until you re confident with what you re saying, because what s more important than what you actually say is how you say it. If you can deliver this pitch concisely, compellingly, and confidently, you ll be able to make an impact. 26

29 ACTION ITEM It s time to create your compelling elevator pitch! Write up a word pitch using the template we just talked about and practice it until it sounds natural, then, record yourself doing it on video and play it back. When you put yourself on camera, you naturally step up your game. You ll also be able to see how you re behaving in terms of facial expressions, smile, eye contact, and body expression. This will make it easy to evaluate yourself. Keep your elevator pitch 30 seconds to 2 minutes long 27

30 9OPTIMIZE YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE 94% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find new talent. I recommend doing this before you go out and start your networking. This is because the people you connect with may reach out to you on LinkedIn, and when they do, you re going to want your online profile to look professional and polished. If you don t already have LinkedIn, I recommend signing up today. LinkedIn is a gateway that you can use to connect with Recruiters and Hiring Managers, find new opportunities, discover more about the career-paths of successful people in your industry, and develop your network. According to a recent study by Jobvite, over 93% of recruiters are actively using social media like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit. 94% of these use LinkedIn specifically to find new talent, and 92% who use LinkedIn have successfully made hires through this platform. As a recruiter, I sometimes scan through hundreds of LinkedIn profiles an hour to find candidates for the positions I m hiring for. From this, I can tell you that I notice two things right off the bat: your profile picture, and your tagline. According to a recent study by Jobvite: over 93% of recruiters are actively using social media like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit 94% of these use LinkedIn to find new talent 92% successfully made hires using the platform 28

31 YOUR PROFILE PICTURE I ll start with your profile picture. If your picture isn t a professionally taken headshot, it shouldn t be on your LinkedIn profile. This means no group shots, no cropped shots, no selfies, and definitely none of you wearing sunglasses or looking away from the camera. Even if you recently graduated, your graduation pictures shouldn t be on LinkedIn. I recommend taking the time to get a professional headshot taken, preferably against a white or light background. YOUR TAGLINE After a recruiter looks at your photo, they ll move on to your tagline, which is by default your current position title and company. I recommend always customizing this to a catchy, less than 120 character statement that includes your value proposition and relevant keywords that a recruiter would search. When you re making your tagline, first focus on the keywords. Since your space is limited, pick 3. Some great keywords that you could consider are Strategy, Business Analysis, Campaign Management, SEO, and Digital Marketing. If these don t fit your career, head over to LinkedIn and do a quick search for professionals in your targeted roles, organizations, and industries. See what keywords they have on their profile. Use this as inspiration to create your own targeted keyword list! Next, move onto your value proposition, which is an advertisement of what you re trained in and a brief summary of the experience you have. The key to mastering this section is to be concise. For example, if you have a Project Management Certificate, your value proposition could be that you are a Project Management Professional. An alternative to using an expert or professional title is to incorporate the results you can create with the expertise you have. My value proposition is that I differentiate people as top talent to get the job they love. 29

32 YOUR SUMMARY Once you ve optimized your tagline, it s time to brush up your summary. Before you do this, I recommend doing a search through LinkedIn to find professionals who are in your industry or in the types of roles you re searching for to see how they ve done their LinkedIn profiles. This will give you great insight into the types of trends that you may want to consider using in your own profile. A simple thing to look for is whether most of the profiles you research are written in first or third person. When you ve done your research, it s time to start writing your summary. The first part of your summary should concisely describe who you are. This includes your mission, what you re passionate about, what you re interested in, and words to describe your personality. Remember, you only have 2000 characters to tell a compelling story, so make every word count. A great intro to your summary is: I am an Analytical Marketing Professional with a passion for technology. I have experience in B2B & B2C marketing planning, product management, digital marketing, operations, and advertising sales. In that example, what would catch my attention as a recruiter is that I can see right off the bat who this person is. I can tell that they re passionate about technology and I can start to put together the dots of how their experience can fit with the roles I m recruiting for. Next, add meat to your summary by giving a background of the type of experience you have. Be brief and to the point. Your word-count is limited and the rest of your profile should also contain a list of your past experiences so there s no need to go in-depth. This section should just be used to pique interest and cause the viewer to read on. Start with the number of years of experience you have in your career and follow that with keyword rich statements that describe your experience. Some key points to mention are if you have experience working internationally, cross-functionally, or leading teams. If you re looking for new opportunities, now is the time to explicitly state this. LinkedIn is such a huge resource for Recruiters and if they re curious about your profile, it s important for them to know whether you re looking for new opportunities in a particular industry so that they know to reach out to you. What s also key to remember is to write in your own tone of voice so that it comes across as authentic and genuine. Your summary is your opportunity to showcase your personality, so the more your writing style differentiates you, the better. One tip to keep in mind: writing in first person makes your summary more personable. You ll come across as more trustworthy and confident. It will also make the overall tone more authentic. Lastly, if you want to be contacted for opportunities, your summary is the place to state this and include your . This way, your contact information will be prominent and easy to access. The easier you make it for the Recruiter, the more likely it is that they will reach out to you! 30

33 When you re writing, keep your audience in mind. Who are they? What do they care about? For example, if you re targeting Recruiters, put on your Recruiter hat while you re writing. If you were looking for a candidate to fill a position, what would you search for? What would impress you? What would make you interested enough to reach out? For more tips on how to optimize your LinkedIn profile, head over to my blog and check out the LinkedIn category. ACTION ITEM Updating your LinkedIn profile can be daunting, but it s so important that you get it done before you start reaching out to new people. Your LinkedIn profile is your online brand, and if it s low quality, new connections may perceive that you re not worth their time. Follow this timeline so that you can split profile developing into manageable bites and optimize everything within a week: DAY 1 Research 15 profiles of professionals in your industry or targeted organization by using the LinkedIn advanced search function. DAY 2 Develop a catchy, keyword rich tagline that s under 120 characters and add at least 50 skills to your skills section. DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5 Write a brief, 2-3 paragraph summary of your experience and passions. Update your past positions with key achievement and results-oriented information. You don t have to include your entire resume online but your key accomplishments will help you stand out to recruiters. Get a professional profile picture taken if you don t have one already. 31

34 10HAVE A JOB SEARCH STRATEGY Have a clear game plan to maximize your job search success. Having a clear game plan that helps you stay focused will be the key to maximizing your success and minimizing your time in unemployment. Not a lot of people recognize how much time a successful job search takes, but taking a few days to set out a framework that fits your goals will help you achieve success so much faster. Remember, if you re considering a career transition, this process will be double the effort and likely double the time because it s a different type of search that you re doing. What I always stress to my clients is that it s so important that you do what you love and love what you do. The only way to do this is to have an overall vision for your life and constantly work towards it. Your next position or even the one after that might not be your dream job, but knowing that each day is taking you closer to your goal will give you the motivation you need to keep going. Creating a job search strategy may take time, but how quickly you get employment will make up for it. You ll also be better prepared to land a job doing something you genuinely enjoy instead of arbitrarily applying online and hoping for the best. 32

35 Before you go... Awesome Work! It s been a privilege to guide you through these strategies! As you just learned, it s easy to underestimate how difficult a job search can be. Remember: treat your job search like a job itself. It requires time and effort to cultivate. But, you ll reap the rewards when you land your dream job! If you d like more in-depth help, I invite you to check out the comprehensive training programs My Marketability offers to clients with unique situations like yours. We would be thrilled to help you no matter where you are in your career! Before you go, I want to give you a quick reminder that strategies like these only work if you use them. It s not enough to have just read this guide. Each of the chapters contain action items for you to complete which are inspired by the tasks I set for my clients. Translation: they are proven methodologies that will help you accelerate your career change. All you have to do is complete them. Congratulations on finishing this workbook! Cheers to your MAGNIFY-cence! Diana Y K Chan Chief Excellence Officer My Marketability