You ever fumble around with that “so what do you do for a living” question? Most of us have at one time or another, and not only when looking for a job or interviewing but just with meeting new people or networking in general. Well, there is a simple, free, tool online that you may want to check out. Take a look at the Pitch Wizard at 15SecondPitch.com. Push the green play button when you are on the site to be prompted with questions to help you generate your elevator pitch. You may need to edit it slightly or you may wish to generate several different pitches customized for different audiences.
In fact, let’s make it an Elevator Pitch Fest! My colleague, Susan Ireland, is collecting elevator pitches generated in the comments at her blog — The Job Lounge. You’ll find my elevator pitch at the top of the list. Please consider this a personal invitation for you to join in too. The goal is to reach 100 elevator pitches and, frankly, I think we can blow that one out of the park! Thanks much.
I ran across this presentation during my internet travels and wanted to share it. It is a little talk on success secrets. I especially like the part where he says you have to persist through the CRAP = Criticism, Rejection, A**holes, and Pressure. I find that so true. Many times people put off doing or exploring what they really want to do for their career. Then often when they do begin to venture out to do work they love, they might run into CRAP that they must learn to ignore as distractions. Most important, they have to learn to trust themselves, listen to that intuitive voice inside, and take action to connect to work that makes them feel good.
Sometimes people are surprised to realize what an inside game career management is. In fact if you are feeling stuck about what major to choose or what career to choose or what job to look for next, a great first step is to start envisioning what your ideal career or job looks like. This can only come from the inside! Only you know what you prefer and how you would like to live.
People really underestimate the importance of thinking about the the lifestyle they prefer when choosing too. It reminds me of a story I once heard about a fisherman who goes out to fish for a few hours everyday to earn his living. Then comes home, enjoys lunch, plays with his kids, then goes to town to play guitar each evening with his wife. Some vacationers come to town and one guy can not resist telling the fisherman how he can get more wealth by building up his fishing operation. Long story short, the fisherman is already living how he wants to live! The point is that that often lifestyle choice is a good way to weed out distractors. You might like to hear the short story for yourself though.
Another thing to consider early on in your decision making process is your natural strengths. This is very important because a fulfilling career is built upon natural strengths which enable one to work with ease and to gain expertise faster. Sometimes defining your strengths can be tough because we often tend devalue what we do well — everyone can do that, it’s not special…that kind of inaccurate thinking.
So one action to take is to record what you believe your strengths are. Then take some time to go to 3-6 people who know you well and ask them what they have observed that you do easily and well. Take notes and compare responses, including your own, to come up with a list of your natural strengths. Another good tool to try which I have mentioned before to get more data about your natural strengths is Marcus Buckingham’s “Now, Discover Your Strengths.”
Next, you can take what you have learned about yourself and start comparing that data to what is required in careers you are considering. You do that not only with internet research but with invaluable field research a.k.a. informational interviewing. Can I just tell you, it is amazing how much the view of a potential choice can change after talking to a few folks already in the career field. I cannot overemphasize how learning about careers in this way brings career choice to life (in addition to the other perks of actually talking to people and building networking relationships)!
Mostly though, I encourage you to follow what appeals to you now as that is a big indication of your intuition at work. Follow your nose with an understanding that you may not end up where you thought but career choice a process not a destination. I encourage you to dive into the process one optimistic step at a time.
I’ll agree that there are times when a person is in no position to negotiate, but it has to be taken on a case by case basis for reasons like “I have to have some money now or I will not make the bills” or “I need to break into the industry so I’m willing to take a hit.” Even then, just because you attempt negotiate doesn’t automatically mean they take their job offer back!
Going in with a general attitude of “this is a part-time position so I can’t negotiate” or “this is a fast food position so I can’t negotiate” or “this is a commission based position so I can’t negotiate” only helps the employers as they win by default! Look at it this way if it helps, they put you through a rigorous hiring process and now its your turn to lead the way through the negotiation process.
Sometimes you run into bosses who express that because you attempted to negotiate you will be a trouble maker but that is rare. In fact, the company or boss’s behavior upon negotiation is very telling of the kind of company or boss they will be to work for. In this way, negotiation time is a great time to get important insights into boss personality and company culture before you accept the job.
Let’s be clear, employers want good employees and they do not want to have to go through the hiring process again for an already filled position any time soon if at all possible. If you navigate the interview process with good timing then they are offering you a job right when they have decided you have something to offer and they want you to be on their team. The perfect time to negotiate! They have extended an offer and are awaiting your response. You have the offer and it is unlikely they will revoke the offer as long as you negotiate respectfully. Indeed, most employers will have more respect for a person who looks out for themselves in an acceptable manner as this subtly implies the person will also be able to look out for the company’s best interests in a way that represents the company well.
I have met folks on my journey who live in a state of profound resistance and burnout day after day after day. I would not wish that on anyone BUT I have found that this type of extreme mental pain is part of an evolving process. Often these people are ignoring their passion, what they really want to do for their work for reasons they may not be able to verbalize yet.
Parties are over by now and most of us are back to everyday life. But before you get into the routine too much and before you decide for certain your goals for the year, take a second to think about 2008. Consider the challenges of the year and how you dealt with them and what you learned. What did you accomplish? I’m guessing if you take a few minutes to list them all out, you will be quite pleased with yourself. Feel that pride of accomplishment for a while before setting your course for this year.
One of the first things you find in situations where you are meeting new people is that they want to know about your work…what you do. They don’t want some long drawn out life history and it would obviously be rude and nonproductive to wave off their interest. Yet, you need to be able to effectively and naturally deliver the info they seek. Stuff like, what your work consists of now, what your experience (work &/or education) is, and maybe a bit about your career goals. They just need to be able to categorize you a bit. Getting categorized sounds rude but it is meant to be helpful. If an opportunity comes up that they want to share, they need to be able to quickly pull you out of their mental filing system. Many people love to make connections and help others this way especially if it is easy and they know just the right person to refer.
So, have you spent time practicing your one minute bio? The exercise feels kinda lame and unnatural but the important thing is that you give it some thought and practice putting your voice to your thoughts about your work — where you have been careerwise and where you are going.
There is an art to networking. It is quite difficult to remember to take a moment to understand who you are interacting with and how to best present yourself in various situations. But keep your mind on it and stay aware for opportunity, not just opportunity for you but opportunity to help others somehow — that is powerful networking. The person you help may not be the one to help you but you set wheels into motion by being generous with your knowledge, info, and positive energy.
We are all learning more each day and gathering new skills, insights, and info so a career decision will likely not be made once and for all. Situations change, technology changes, lifestyle preferences change too along with a person’s abilities, interests, skills, and values. So career choice is really an evolving process rather than deciding once and for all.
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I’ll agree that there are times when a person is in no position to negotiate, but it has to be taken on a case by case basis for reasons like “I have to have some money now or I will not make the bills” or “I need to break into the industry so I’m willing to take a hit.” Even then, just because you attempt negotiate doesn’t automatically mean they take their job offer back!