ORCMS Career Blog

I posted this article a year or so ago — but a good article deserves a re-posting!  If you are working on how you should introduce yourself, here’s a great formula!

————————–

Fellow Toastmaster Jim Nudelman has a simple 4-step process for writing an Elevator Pitch — a 10-15 second focused introduction of your “value proposition” that can be given in an elevator when someone asks, “tell me about yourself.” Jim (”the Noodle” as he is known to friends and family) is an experienced National Sales Trainer, so he should know something about putting your best foot forward to capitalize on a brief window of opportunity. Here’s his process:

Step 1 — Begin with an ACTION PHRASE that is NOT a noun. (”I am a ______________” — but don’t use a “label” in the blank.  You don’t want people to put you in a box.)

Step 2 — Add a one sentence statement about what you DO. (”I do _________________” — What do you help people or businesses do?)

Step 3 — Give a statement of the SPECIFIC IMPACT. (”People who utilize my process find _________” — list one or two things from the perspective of your potential employer.)

Step 4 — End with a CALL TO ACTION. (”I am looking to be introduced to _______________” — be specific!  If you ask for something non-specific you are likely to get it.  What good it that?)

Here’s Jim’s elevator pitch and contact information:

“My name is Jim Nudelman. I am a master of building relationships. I teach sales professionals how to build and grow their business. Sales professionals who have attended my workshops have increased their business by as much as 50%. Please introduce me to people not companies looking to build and grow their business.”

James Nudelman, National Sales Trainer
503-939-4715
jnudelman1@yahoo.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/thenoodle

It’s a simple formula that works! Try it and you will notice a dramatic increase in the effectiveness of your self-introduction that we call your “elevator pitch.”

Lately I’ve been listening to a book on my ipod entitled “Mozart’s Brain and the Fighter Pilot” (Richard M. Restak).  I was interested to “read” about the way the brain works to re-connect networks, even after years of dis-use.  Apparently the brain has an amazing amount of plasticity, and the networks that are created never really go away.  Dr. Restak tells us that in order to become proficient at something like playing a particular sport or musical instrument, the brain makes a series of network connections.  If we don’t use those connections for a long time they will atrophy.  The good news is that they never really disappear.  The plasticity of the brain makes it easy for us to re-learn those activities very quickly when we attempt them again, even years later.

This makes me think of my grandmother.  She played the piano and organ when she was a young woman, but as she aged her fingers became grossly disfigured by arthritis.  She stopped playing because her hands hurt so badly.   However, one day I was with her when she spotted a piano in the corner of a friend’s house.  She walked over and began to play as if she had never quit — a bit slower than her old days, perhaps, but she hit every note.  She hadn’t played the piano for years, but the connections in her brain that told her hands what to do never went away.  She was able to call upon them years later.  The human brain is indeed amazing!

What is true for networks in the brain, is also true for the personal networks we make with friends and colleagues.  Even if we haven’t talked to a network contact in years, the contact never goes away.  Now, mind you, you may have to mend a fence or two if you have left that relationship due to some sort of conflict. But most of the connections we make fall into dis-use because of a lack of proximity of time or space.  Our lives move off in different directions and we lose the connection we once had with the other person.

The good news is that those connections are never REALLY lost.  They can be re-engaged a just a few minutes if you want.

So, here’s what I suggest.  Look through your rolodex, facebook friends, or LinkedIn contacts.  Find a person or two that you haven’t had contact with in awhile, and shoot them an email or give them a phone call.  We all have a few connections that we haven’t talked to in a while — maybe even in years! I’m sure that you will find it rather easy to re-connect with those people.  You may even learn something new and exciting as you catch up with each other.

What are you waiting for?  Why not make it a habit of refreshing one network each week?  You will be suprised at how quickly those contacts re-connect, and you will BOTH be glad you did!

In 2006 a poll was conducted by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM).  The poll found that nearly 40% of ALL managers found their current position through some form of networking. Networking is simply THE MOST EFFECTIVE means for finding a career. It ranks above every other method, including: Internet job postings, newspaper want ads, utilizing recruiters (or “head hunters”) and even going directly to the company.

However, most of us are not strategic about HOW we network.  We don’t have a plan.  We don’t have any idea who to meet, or where to meet them, or what to say when we DO meet them.  Here is my “quick and easy” method for turning your networking from a hit and miss technique to strategic dynamite! Use these tips and you WILL improve your ability to network effectively.

1. Make a “hit list” — WHO do you need to meet?  (Could be specific names, positions, companies, etc)
2. WHERE do they hang out?  (What networking events to these people attend?)
3. Where do people who KNOW THEM hang out? (If you want to eat fish for dinner but can’t get to the fishing hole, you should make friends with a fishmonger!)
4. WHAT will you say when you meet them? (You will only have about 30 seconds to make a contact at a networking event.  Use it wisely!)

When you DO have your networking meeting (not the meeting at the networking group, but the meeting following it), here are three questions you want to make sure you ask:

• What can I do for you?
• Who else do you know that I should talk to?
• How shall I keep you informed of my progress?

Keep networking!  It will enhance your career.

Sometimes NOT having a job is better than having a crappy job!  If you don’t believe me, just ask these people!

http://www.glumbert.com/media/baddayoffice 

If you haven’t yet heard of web 2.0, it’s time to learn and maybe even participate! Web 2.0 is a GREAT set of tools for marketing yourself or your company.  Since we started this 31 day blog challenge a couple of weeks ago we have seen a huge increase in traffic to our blog and website!  Who knows, maybe someday we’ll even have enough traffic to sell advertising!  :-)

Because this blog is dedicated to “focusing on career coaching and job finding tips in the Portland, OR area”, let’s discuss how a blog can help you in the job search process.  If you don’t have an Internet presence you are missing out on interviews and job offers.  An article in the Wall Street Journal last May indicated that over 60% of HR Recruiters and Hiring Managers will Google your name before they will ever call you.  What does YOUR Internet presence say about you?

For building an Internet presence a blog can be useful in two ways:   1) it can help you develop a presence, and 2) it can “clean up” your current presence (think about those Cancun pictures you don’t really want your mom to see, let alone a future employer!) I recommend that job seekers and career changers develop a blog (or a website) focusing on the knowledge, skills, experiences and abilities that they are both capable of and willing to utilize in their next career position.  By doing so you will begin to brand yourself as an expert in the field. You will also become “Google-able” — which is a good thing!

If you have no idea of what a blog is, or where to start, here’s a great little ditty on YouTube that can help you get started.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI&feature=user

Do you have a blog? Have you embraced Web 2.0?  Are you “Google-able”?  Why not?

That’s hardly a “news break”, but this morning I noticed one more way in which the Internet is shaking up the “regular order of things” — “Cyber Monday”. Retailers have for some time called the Friday after Thanksgiving — claiming it to be “the biggest shopping day of the year”. Watchers of our economy look at the figures for “Black Friday” (as it is called) and can predict whether we are in a recession or an expanding economy. So much of our economy revolves around our propensity to BUY BUY BUY at this time of year. Thus, “Black Friday” is indeed an important economic indicator.

Enter the new kid — “Cyber Monday”. Now experts are calling the Monday after we go back to work “Cyber Monday”. They say that everyone who didn’t get their shopping done on Friday (like me, they didn’t want to face the crowds) will go to work, hit their computers and the Internet armed with charge cards — and don’t forget the FREE SHIPPING!!! This is another example of how the Internet has changed our world. a few years ago we had no such beast. NOW, it too is an important economic indicator.

How has the Internet changed YOUR world? How has it affected your business? How has it shaped your life? For one — you are reading a BLOG — most of us had never even heard of this form of communication 3 or 4 years ago!

Think also of the ways the Internet has changed the job search process. Hiring managers and recruiters now have a whole new slough of methods for finding out intimate details of your life. Maybe they “shouldn’t” base hiring decisions on what they read about you in MySpace, but they often do. Give a thought to the “BRAND”you are presenting online. How will the Internet effect your job search?

I am quickly approaching my 300 direct connection on LinkedIn. That’s quite an accomplishment — made even greater considering that I won’t add someone to my LinkedIn list unless I have met with them at least once face to face. I want to have quality contacts whenever possible. I want to use my LinkedIn contacts to help people connect for business and/or other meaningful opportunities. I can honestly say that I have met 99% of my connections face-to-face. Many I consider to be close friends!

If you are considering using LinkedIn to increase your “brand you” awareness, to make connections, or just to catch up with friends, you may be interested in these resources:

- http://www.linkedintelligence.com/
- http://www.askdavetaylor.com/
- http://www.linkedin.com/

If you want to connect with me on LinkedIn, give me a call. Just remember, we will have coffee (or lunch) first.

by the way - here’s my profile!

I’ve been trying out Facebook. I think there are some GREAT opportunities for helping create your internet presence. Here’s my Facebook Badge. Try it out.