Snap Selling Your Way Into Your Next Job - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Snap Selling Your Way Into Your Next Job - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career You’re probably at least somewhat familiar with the term “the hidden job market.” In this blog I am first going to define what usually is meant by the term and then I am going to strongly recommend a book that, in addition to “‘Headhunter’ Hiring Secrets: The Rules of the Hiring Game Have Changed . . . Forever!,” can show you how to powerfully and effectively tap into this segment of the job market and Get Hired! That book is entitled, Snap Selling,   by prolific international best-selling business author and sales strategist Jill Konrath. Contrary to what most people think, companies are still hiring today! As this blog is being written (July 2, 2011), our firm is recruiting for over 35 open positions! Manpower’s third quarter Employment Outlook Survey indicates that 20% of U. S. employers surveyed said they expect to add to their workforce (up from 16% over the second quarter and up 14% from the first quarter), while nearly seven out of ten said they do not expect any change in staffing levels. Positions are being filled What this means is, about eight out of ten U. S. employers have at least the potential to hire in the third quarter. But wait, you might say . . . didn’t you just state that seven out of ten companies don’t anticipate any change in staffing levels?! Yes, I did, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that there will be no hiring by these companies. All it means is that these companies don’t expect any net increase (or decrease, for that matter) in staffing levels. People resign (or are let go), get promoted, etc., and, unlike during the recession, these positions are being filled. Quite often it is this segment of the job market that is referred to as the “hidden job market.” These jobs will almost never be advertised or posted online but they nonetheless still exist. The hidden job market Two current, personal examples of available jobs in the “hidden job market”: One of our recruiting firm’s main clients, a $4+ billion chemical company, has asked us to confidentially start looking for candidates to fill a business development role. And, a $250 million division of a $12 billion company has asked us to do the same thing. You will never find either one of these jobs postedâ€"ever! Now, to Jill Konrath’s “Snap Selling”: Selling in 2011 is tougher than ever and to be successful, sales professionals must know (or learn!) “how to sell to today’s crazy, busy, frazzled customers.” So how does this relate to the job hunt? As a job seeker, one is, in every sense of the word, a salesperson. Yes, even if you are an engineer, a chemist, an accountant or an IT professional, if you are interested in pursuing a new career opportunity, you must become a sales professional. Thus, wherever you read “sales professional” in the next few paragraphs, substitute the phrase “job seeker.” Today the ONLY sales professionals who break through the clutter and get the attention of a decision-maker are the ones who brand themselves as completely focused on the customer’s business and the positive impact that they can have on it. Failure to take this approach, Konrath illustrates, almost always results in the sales person (job seeker) being “zapped from their in-box, tossed into the trash can or deleted from their voice mail.” How, then, do you get the attention of a busy, frazzled, harried decision-maker? You must construct and implement what Konrath refers to as a SNAP message: Simple iNvaluable Aligned a Priority In regard to job hunting, what is significant to note here is that this approach could never be effectively implemented in a response to an online or “advertised” job posting! On the other hand, it is tailor-made to use for tapping into the “hidden job market!” What is Snap selling? Let’s take a closer look at the elements of SNAP Selling as they relate to job hunting: Keep it Simple â€" In communicating with a potential hiring manager, you must ensure simplicity in everything you do. (Is your résumé brief and easy to read? Are you able to easily be contacted? Can a hiring manager quickly and easily comprehend the message you are delivering and quickly assess the impact it can have on the hiring company?) iNvaluable â€" To get hired, you must be bringing fresh ideas. You must brand yourself as a person the company seemingly can’t live without! Aligned â€" Frazzled hiring managers must see an immediate connection between what you do and what they are trying to achieve. What research have you done to understand what it is the company is trying to do and achieve and what can you do to help them do that? Priority â€" Frazzled decision-makers only work on high priority items. You must make hiring you one of their TOP priorities. This concept is especially true as you implement your “touch plan” (See “‘Headhunter’ Hiring Secrets” for full details on this concept). If you don’t deliver a SNAP message, Jill clearly points out, you will be hit with the dreaded “delete key!” Get ready for your next career move Job hunting is tougher than ever before. Hiring managers are under extreme pressure to do more with less and to not make any hiring mistakes. Obviously I have only hit upon the highlights of Konrath’s hard hitting book. When you get ready to make your next career move, it is imperative that you don’t do it alone. Take Jill Konrath’s “Snap Selling” with you! Author: Skip Freeman is the author of “Headhunter” Hiring Secrets: The Rules of the Hiring Game Have Changed . . . Forever! and is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The HTW Group (Hire to Win), an Atlanta, GA, Metropolitan Area Executive Search Firm. Specializing in the placement of sales, engineering, manufacturing and RD professionals, he has developed powerful techniques that help companies hire the best and help the best get hired.

College Application Essay - Writing A College Admissions Essay As A Teenager

College Application Essay - Writing A College Admissions Essay As A TeenagerWriting a college admissions essay as a teenager is more difficult that writing a college admissions essay as an adult. Teens typically do not have the same command of English as an adult does, so they tend to under-promise and over-deliver. If you are writing a college application essay, as a teenager you must be aware of this fact and use it to your advantage. Read on to find out what to avoid and what to include in your college admission essay.The first thing you must avoid is watching TV or listening to the radio, even if it's during your spare time, and listening to a late night television program. This can cause the brain to become less active. As you get older, your brain becomes more active, so the better time to be watching shows is while it's still light outside. Avoid movies and taking the television with you to bed as these activities will interfere with your ability to concentrate on your college application essay.Try to avoid writing your personal statement to suit your essay. What you need to do is write a personal statement that is unique to you, so that your essay will reflect that aspect of yourself. When writing a college application, try to focus on the three traits that you personally love about a school or program.Research is one of the most important factors when writing a college admissions essay as a teenager. If you want to write a great essay, make sure you know the programs and schools that you are applying to. This way, you can mention the reason you want to attend and highlight any special characteristics that school or program has that sets it apart from the rest.Write about yourself in the third person. As you get older, the inner dialogue in your head changes to reflect more 'you' than 'I.' Try writing in the third person for your college admission essay. You will make your essay more interesting and more personal.Use your high school memories as a basis for your essay. Try to focus on any special events or learning experiences you had in high school. You will be able to use these memories as the backbone of your essay.Remember that a college application requires some writing skills. Before you begin writing your college admission essay, make sure you have read the admissions guidelines, as well as the college admissions essay standards. Do not forget to put in your contact information and work experience. Using the guidelines and standards will make your college application essay look more professional and give you a better chance of getting into a school or program.Writing a college admission essay as a teenager is much different than writing one as an adult. Follow these tips and strategies, and you will be well on your way to having a winning college admission essay.

Heres How To Google Yourself Effectively - CareerEnlightenment.com

Heres How To Google Yourself Effectively In today’s digitally-focused world, monitoring and protecting your online reputation is a relatively new strategy to consider. Whether you are protecting your personal brand or your company’s presence, monitoring your Google search results is one of the most important things you can do for your reputation.The basic idea of Googling your brand is simple. Start by plugging your brand’s name into Google and browse the first few pages to see what you find. Are your results mostly negative or positive? Can searchers easily access important information about your brand? What important information is missing from your results? Check out the following guide to learn more about your search results and to help make searching more effective. Want to Read More Articles Like This One?Sign up here to receive weekly updates from Career Enlightenment, and never miss another powerful job searching tip! SUBSCRIBE! You have Successfully Subscribed!We hate spam too. Unsubscribe any time. Donâ €™t wait until a situation arises and dominates your search results before taking the time to create a crisis management plan. Work with a company that provides crisis management services to help navigate your search results.

Are You Still Waiting For Someone To Choose You

Are You Still Waiting For Someone To Choose You Those of us who have ever waited for someone else to select us whether for a team, a job, or even a relationship will know that it is not a happy state of being.   My most recent waiting game (for a publisher to choose to publish my book) only serves to reinforce what I have known from many other experiences: this kind of powerless waiting has little redeeming value.   In fact, it is the opposite of energizing and reaffirming.   Unless, of course, you take matters into your own hands and change the game. As one example, I recently read (in The Sunday Times, courtesy of People Magazine) that Sandra Bullock formed her own movie production company so that she could pursue her own projects rather than waiting to be offered a script.   I love it!   Why wait around? Of course, Sandra Bullock already is a mega star, but for the rest of us, there are similar versions of game changing behavior that we can successfully tap into.   It requires that you adopt the mindset of turning the situation on its head, and then execute on your ideas with guts, determination, and plenty of networking.   With all of the new social media tools, there has never been a better time for individuals, or a small group of individuals, to have a voice, build a brand and create a new way of doing things. You can still keep your hat in the traditional ring, but if you have other options and actions to take while you are waiting   or better yet, instead of just waiting, then you are likely to feel more energized, empowered and creative.   And all of this positive glow will likely make you even more attractive to your audience.   So in the Sandra Bullock example, she is in control of her own destiny through her production company, but if a fabulous script is offered through traditional channels, she can still chose to take it.   She wins either way. On the way to finding your own version of winning either way, it may be necessary to change some restrictive ways of thinking.   My limiting belief was that I could only achieve success through the prestige and conferred status of being published by a traditional publishing house (never mind that authors only get around 10% of the economics and still have to do their own marketing).   I have since discovered that there are many routes to getting my message out there, each with its own set of tradeoffs in terms of time to market, monetary outcome, and breadth of exposure. By relaxing that initial self-imposed constraint, I now have multiple ways to get my message out while I wait, and enjoy a greater control over my destiny.   Creating options is incredibly empowering.   It's like freeing yourself from the equivalent of sitting at home, staring at a single closed door day after day waiting for someone else to open it for you. So, rather than wait around to be chosen, get up and open some doors:   form your own team, create your own business, make the first move with that person you like.   Get out there and change the game in your favor. And who knows, that person you were waiting for might even apply to be added to your list of options.