Some of the people I coach are initially put off by the idea of sales, in any way shape or form. They hate salesmen and women; they hate the idea of being persuaded; they feel that there is something intrinsically bad about being involved in any activity that employs persuasion as a means to gain an end.
This is an emotional reaction, and, frankly, it has no place in serious job hunting. It’s snobbery, or elitism, of the worst kind. And for someone who needs a job and has a short time to find one, having such an attitude strongly points out the need to re-examine it and re-adjust it or risk being ineffective and prolonging the search.
The reason for this is that selling oneself is basic to such activities as writing a “killer” resume, writing that good cover letter, networking successfully, interviewing so you get the job, and negotiating the best salary and benefits package. All of these activities involve some measure of persuasion, some measure of selling yourself.
You have to sell yourself because that will (a) get you in for the interview and (b) it will enable you to prevail over the other people that you’re competing against. Lest this sound “scary” or threatening, I hereby point out that it is a low-key, perfectly honest way to conduct oneself and anyone can learn how to do it without compromising their integrity.
My own background has been in both sales and marketing, and, of course, I think in such terms. This is different from those who have been in human resources or psychology. In the world of job-hunting, it isn’t a nice world; it is a very competitive world today; and selling oneself is part and parcel of what you must do to prevail.
Please understand that what gives selling an unwholesome image is “bad” selling -- which is pushy, obnoxious, and a turn-off; in contrast, we need to consider “good” selling, which is a skill that can be practiced with integrity, sincerity and no loss of personal worth or esteem. “Good” selling does not involve sleazy practices, or lying, or underhanded methods. Most people equate selling or persuading with the word “bad”, which is a prejudice in itself.
As a professional sales manager, in an earlier lifetime, I believed in:
(a) having good marketing materials that supported the salesperson; (b) possessing the skills to use them; and
(c) finding enough prospects to have a reasonable closing ratio.
In a job search this translates into:
• Having an excellent (and persuasive resume) that sells you as better qualified than the next person, being able to write good cover letters, developing a collection of excellent personal materials and stories that describe your achievements;
• Knowing how to give an “elevator” speech that evokes what you want it to;
• Asking that any job-hunter develop at least five real prospects for a closing ratio of 20% or one job offer, which requires
• Prospecting by networking for these “prospects” and/or via a pro-active Broadcast Letter;
• Having the basic skills to interview well (i.e., to be able to determine what their “problem” is and how to sell yourself as the fixer of it);
• Knowing how to negotiate the benefits/salary package; and
• Understanding that rejection will occur regularly in the job-hunting process and not letting it deter you, or de-motivate you.
The third one above (referring to a “closing ratio”) is most often overlooked by job-hunters. Marketing people always calculate the percentage of sales they will receive from a mailing. Sales people understand that they won’t be able to close every prospect. A good baseball hitter would be overjoyed to have a .500 batting average, which is getting a hit half of the time.
Job-hunters on the other hand tend to latch on to a single prospect, a single interview, as if it, and only it, will be the one. The resulting problem is they end up down in the dumps emotionally when that last interview doesn’t pan out, when you aren’t chosen, instead of considering it a process in which it’s largely a numbers game if you have the right attitude and the right set of tools to sell yourself.
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