How to look for a Job: a strong introduction can get you in the door

Put your Job Search into high gear with a creative 30 second commercial, Infomercial or Elevator Speech.

- have a job title that explains what you do
– it is no use giving someone a job title that is correct, but does not tell the average person what exactly your job is.
– make up a title, if necessary, from which most people will immediately get some idea of the work you do.
- know what skills have that you most want to use in this job
- know the answer to “why should I hire you?” – which is the benefit you will bring an employer.

A 30 second commercial MUST be practiced and memorized.

Even the most accomplished job seeker will not do a good job of creating one on the spot.

You have to carefully think out what skills and benefits you want to mention, and make sure you present them clearly and concisely.

However, it should not sound practiced and memorized, so put feeling into it when you say it. Don’t just reel it off like a poem.

If the person you are speaking with already knows your name, don’t start off with “My name is…” (This may sound obvious, but believe me, in many years of teaching this format, it doesn’t appear to be obvious at all.)

My name is ________________________ and I am a _____(easily understood job title)_____.

I ___(tell one of your top skills that you want to use)____ and ___(another of top best skills)____

(Tell them what benefit you bring the employer)____. I am looking for opportunities to

offer these skills to a new employer.

I would really appreciate hearing any suggestions you might have about possible

openings, or any people you would suggest I speak with.


Then offer your business card – NOT your résumé.


Example:

My name is Robert Jackson and I am a web designer. I create original and very unique websites that project the company image. I am especially good at doing all the things that make sure the website then comes up on the first page of Google.

In the past I have always increased business for my employers through heightened online visibility. I am looking for opportunities to offer these skills to a new employer.

I’d really appreciate hearing any suggestions you might have about possible openings, or any people you would suggest I speak with.

OR

My name is Penelope Angelo and I am a Personal Assistant. I offer my employer all the usual office administration skills plus bookkeeping, tax preparation and creating of customized business forms.

In the past I have allowed my small business employers to have more time to work on sales and marketing, as they can trust me to look after all the administration details effectively.

I’d really appreciate hearing any suggestions you might have about possible openings, or any people you would suggest I speak with.

Want more help with your creative job search?

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Hard Skills and Soft Skills, and how to show them on your resume

Have you heard the terms hard skills and soft skills?

A hard skill is on you can see, feel, touch and measure.

Keyboarding speed, abiity to us a specific software program, ability to use any specific machinery or tool. These are all hard skills.

Soft skills are more part of your personality, and so are harder to measure, and more difficult to teach. After all, how do you teach someone to have a good attitude, and how do you measure how good (or bad) it is?

Attitude is only one of the soft skills that employers are actively seeking.

When you apply for a job, both your cover letter and resume should highlight soft skills as well as hard skills.

And because soft skills are difficult to measure, your resume should also make a statement of how you have used that specific skill successfully.

"Hard worker" appears on so many resumes. Anyone can write that down on the resume, and because so many people do, it means almost nothing.

However, add a statement showing when you used this soft skill and it become more believable.

How about this on your resume:

- Referred to as "go to guy" by employer, due to consistency of hard work and problem solving ability

Doesn't that give it more credibility?

So include your soft skills in your resume and add a statement that proves it's true.

Help to find the job that fits your skills.

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