A productive mindset, during any career transition, is your ability to relate your well positioned “story” to others, answer questions effectively, conduct productive negotiations, and, in general, fine tune your personal salesmanship skills.  So what are those basic tactics that will allow you to effectively “close the deal?”

1. Practice your two minute drill every chance you get…. it’s the fundamental building material of your communication strategy–your verbal collaterals!
2. Practice your exit and qualification statements… most all potential employers and networking contacts will want to know your current situation and why you are available.
3. Practice answering both common and tough questions… including pre-offer negotiation tactics.

 

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Thursday, August 11th… Closing the Deal II, Interviewing tactics plus POST-Offer negotiation!

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The most asked question during career transition is, “Tell me about yourself.”  Appropriate use of your two-minute drill and related verbal strategies, your “verbal collaterals,” is a key ingredient to personal salesmanship…

• A verbal resume… A tightly focused, upbeat telling of “your story” told in a high impact two minute format.  With practice, can be easily personalized to your listener.
• An “elevator pitch”…  A succinct summary of your qualifications for a specifically positioned function or opportunity.  With practice, can become quite spontaneous.
• Brag bytes…  Wordcraft various collections of words, phrases and sentences to capture memorable moments or accomplishments–the best you have to offer.  “…saved 80% cost-per-hire…”  Used in MSWord Auto Text Format can be quite efficient when building high impact correspondence as well.
• Personal Portfolio…  Your collection of certificates, examples of work, reference letters, etc that can bring life and interest (not to mention PROOF) to your story.

KNOW “IT”

Go in to any interview with at least a good notion of why that JOB is a good CareerFIT for you.  You will be at a distinct disadvantage if you plan on using the interview to figure out why you are a FIT!  ‘Knowing’ the nature of a good CareerFIT for you comes from the first few steps of our 12-step process, networking and research will surface attractive opportunities for you to pursue.

So as a first thing to accomplish in any interview, you will want to…

Confirm IT

“As I have prepared for this conversation with you, it seems that you are looking for a person who is good at X, Y, and Z… is that true?”  As a first question to ask, as you are getting seated, get the first question in!  Engage your Interviewer in this most obvious bit of information… you’ll be surprised how this serves to direct the front end of the interview process.

USE It

Remember the three basic guidelines for answering ANY question asked…

1. Answer the question! (and then stop taslking!)
2. When in a topical area of strength or FIT, look for opportunities to integrate a personalized W.A.R. story
3. At least address the issue of the question before blocking the subject, changing the topic, or clarifying the topic at hand.