Job Search: Writing a Blammo Cover Letter!

For a long time, cover letters were a real throw away for me. I hated writing them, and given half a chance, would skip them all together. Who reads 'em anyway?

But then I realized I was throwing away my opportunity to sell myself to my future employer. This is the place that I can set myself apart from the crowd and also speak to the potential employer about my value proposition. "Value proposition." if you aren't familiar with it,  is a term taken from the marketing and sales world. I define it as what you (or your product) will add to the potential customer, or employer that will enrich the potential customer or employer in some way. Enrich is a broad term, and it could mean increasing their bottom line or it could mean increasing some value they hold or capability they have. It is how you explicitly show then why they want to talk to you.

Your cover letter needs to do this in a way that they reader can feel the passion you have for the work. And I've found that if I can't write a compelling cover letter, then probably I shouldn't apply for the job. Yes, you read that right. I strongly recommend that you NOT apply for a bunch of things, but only the few that you feel strongly about. When your value proposition maps to the employer's need, you will make the sale - that is, get the interview.

So hear are my five steps for writing a "blammo" cover letter:

1. Write a introduction that "hooks" your reader.
2. Describe how one of your core values matches the core values of the hiring organization. Job duties come and go, but core values last for ever!
3. Describe why you want this job with this organization. Be specific. Hint: because you need the money is not a reason. Nobody wants to be just a "booty call."
4. Ask a question if you have one, especially if it points out a qualification you have.
5. Make a nice ending.


So let's take a look at a strong cover letter to see how I used these steps. Here's one I wrote the last time I was unemployed. The position was with a local community college. They were looking for someone to help local businesses see the value of partnering with the college. It was a part instructional designer, part sales job that sounded like it was just up my alley. Here's the letter I wrote:

Dear Search Committee:

Recently I was speaking with a potential employer. When I learned the

details of the position, I realized that the job was not the one for me.

But I did know someone I thought would be a great match. So I gave

the interviewer that person’s contact information. Then I followed up

with a email to help both parties make a connection.

Why would a person do such a thing? Because I’m a bridge-builder.

That’s just what I do.

So I was thrilled to see your Product Manager position posted. Here is a

position that combines client-centered development of training

solutions. An opportunity to combine my strong entrepreneurial bent,

my original and well-proven needs assessment and development skills,

in a community college setting.

I note that the posting asks one specific question: Do I have a

Bachelor’s Degree in business, marketing, communication,

management, or a closely related field from an accredited institution.

As you will see on my resume, I have a BS in Education. However, I do

hold an MBA from the Simon School, in Operations Management and

Finance.

I’d very much like to discuss this opportunity and my skills and

experiences further. And I do appreciate your consideration.

Best wishes,

Clare Dygert

So how does it measure up? I got the interview, by the way. In fact, if I follow these guidelines, I almost ALWAYS get the interview! Try them out, and let me know how it goes for you!

Things I Did Right - Being Out of Work

Friday I'm starting my new job with Adapt Courseware. This is little startup company, and their (our) product is e-learning for the academic space. I'm excited about being a part of this company, and looking forward to both being able to make a contribution and learn about things I'm really passionate about. It will be exciting to build the process and the team, and hopefully make a positive impact.

So how did this middle-aged lady get a her dream job with only three months, without trying? One thing I learned recently is that people tend to interpret positive random acts as things they some how controlled. I guess if the length of time people are out of work is normally distributed, then someone has to be in the short time part of the curve, right? And that turned out to be me. But assuming that's not the entire story, here are some of the things I would suggest if you find yourself suddenly out of work.

1.  Keep your resume up to date.This tip really has two parts. Keep the document called your resume up to date. I suggest checking it quarterly to see if you can make any refinements or add additional information. But beyond that, critically review your resume to make sure your skills are current. What should you be learning to move to the next level, or even to stay on your current level? Find job postings for a position you would like to have, and then compare your resume to it. Do you have the right stuff to get that job? If you do, is it clearly evident in your resume? If you don't have it, what concrete steps can you take today to get there?

2. Stay in touch with your references. I strongly recommend that you choose references that you admire. And have more than three, as well. Choose people who worked with you, for you, and those who managed you. Try to have lunch of coffee at once or twice a year. If that doesn't work for you, at least drop them an email, updating them on your career. When you need their support, they will have a slightly better idea of what you have been up to, and some positive feelings for you. This will help. And if you do loose your job, reach out immediately and let them know.

3. Stay out of debt. I suppose this is a "duh" suggestion - so obvious that it is not worth mentioning. But knowing I could live on my unemployment + a small amount of savings really reduced my stress. I did wish I had bought a less expensive car. That car payment seemed just fine when I had my job, but got lookin' really big a few months into unemployment. I tried to talk the dealership into buying it back, but they weren't interested. I didn't have very much cash on hand, so I do plan to build up those cash reserves this time. Critically look at how you spend your money and try to get your debt under control, starting today. This probably means saying, "no" to yourself, something I'm not good at either. But it will help you sleep better at night knowing, come-what-may, you will be able to scrape by.

4. Cultivate a balanced life. Being able to go forward with the graduate program I had just entered as an employee of RIT was a HUGE blessing. It gave purpose and structure to my days, and also gave me something to say when I was introduced to people. "I've just started a graduate program at RIT" sounded a lot better to me than "I'm out of work." Think about what you would say, and cultivate those interests. Would you write a book, become a free-lancer, take up volunteer work, if you had the time to do it? Start now. I also found my meditation practice really supported me through this potentially stressful time. I strongly recommend people include some kind of spiritual practice in their lives. Not religious? Mindfulness meditation can still be a support. Also, do something physically active every day. But the key to these is start now, while you are still working. Establish those practices that will be beneficial if you are out of work before you are out of work.

I had lots of support -- my dear partner was my rock, my daughter kept me looking to the future, and my friends both personal and professional offered me all sorts of practical help. To all of them, I say a very heartfelt "Thank you!" Now on to the next chapter of my life!

Six Things You Should be Doing to Get Yourself Hired!

Let's face it: There are a lot of us baby boomers out looking for work. And the world is an entirely different place from the last time we were in this fix. And the world of job search is a lot different too. Here are four things you should keep in mind to improve your chances of getting hired.
Number one: Apply for jobs that make sense.
When I get a resume from a seasoned professional for an entry level position, completely outside the person's area of experience, or so far below the position they held recently, it is a major red flag to me. Why are they doing this? Do they just not understand what the job I am posting involves? Are they so basically unhireable that  they will snap at anything? It's either a case of low self-esteem, cluelessness, or desperation. None of these is attractive to me.

Apply for jobs that fit your career narrative, that seem like a logical progression from what you did before. And if the job doesn't seem to fit, but there is a reason you want it (career changing would be a reason), explain how what you have done in the past leads to this.

Number two: Lead with the why, not the what.
Again I am going to refer to this Ted Talk by Simon Sinek. People will connect with you because you share the same passion that they share. That is what they are looking for. If you can do a good job with this part of the hiring process, it will make up for deficiencies other places. Your cover letter MUST do this. Just like saltine crackers are only a vehicle for peanut butter (so says my dad, and you know he is right!), so is the what just a vehicle to convey the why. Take a minute and watch this video again.

(By the way, this video is captioned. Click on the upward facing arrow on the bottom right hand side of the video viewer.)

Number Three: Edit your resume.
Everything, yes I said EVERYTHING on your resume should point to the position you are trying to gain. If you include the fact that you took a  DOS 3.0 class in 1986, ask yourself, why does this matter? You were a waitress in high school. And the connection is what? I don't want to read your job description. Really. I know what a graphic designer does. What I want to read is your design philosophy, how you have been able to be collaborative in a essentially singular activity, how you create, how you stay fresh, how you contribute.

Number Four: Make it easy on the  person doing the hiring.
This is what happens. I finally, finally, finally, get the go ahead to hire. It's been a struggle. Now I want to hire someone today, this minute, before those above me in the food chain decide to change their minds. I do not want to wait a week or a day or an hour for you to send me your portfolio, your references, or whatever I need in order to close the deal. Have your stuff ready to go, and be fast and flexible. Because if it's down to you and another guy, the first one over the finish line will win. The victory goes to the fleet of foot, my friend.


Number Five: Use your network.
When I write to someone I'm connected to on LinkedIn about a position, I've had an 80% success rate (or better) getting an interview. Without that connection, my interview rate is much, much, lower. Build up your network and use it. Write to your connection and ask about the position. If you can get to the hiring manager, better yet.

Number Six: Ask for the job.
Many years ago, I was on a hiring committee to hire an assistant director. This position was at least two steps above me, and I happened to know all three of the finalists. I had worked with all three, and I liked and respected all of them. They were all equally competent, and very equal contenders for the position. During the interviews, only one candidate came right out and asked for the job. And he was the one who got the offer.

This was a real eye opener for me, and from that time forward, if I want the job, I ask for it. If I ask for it, I have about a 75% chance to get an offer. It is like a magic thing. You have to ask.

No one really wants to be looking for a job, but if you follow these tips, I think you will have an excellent chance at shortening the process and getting on with the rest of your life. Good luck!

Your Personal Value Proposition: Choose Your Own Adventure!

x

Several times, over the course of this year, I have been invited to coffee or lunch by folks who want to talk about their job search with me. Sometimes they are interested in a job at the university where I work. Sometimes they want a job in instructional design. I enjoy these conversations because they have really helped me to deconstruct my strategy for getting a job.

Most folks, even folks that use social networks like LinkedIn, go about the job search process in a rather "rat shot" fashion -- throw enough resumes at it and eventually one of them will stick. It's the "even a blind chick gets a piece of corn once in a while" approach. The problem is that there are a whole lot of blind chicks out there pecking away. Somehow you need to separate yourself from the flock.

A job search is like any sales transaction. If what you are selling isn't what the person in front of you is buying, then you are not going to make a sale. Period. To improve your odds, I suggest you start thinking about your personal value proposition A value proposition, according to Wikipedia, is " an analysis and quantified review of the benefits, costs and value that an organization can deliver to customers and other constituent groups within and outside of the organization."  A personal value proposition looks at your personal skills, experiences, and values, instead of those of the organization. 

Constructing your personal value prop can be done in four major steps:

1. Determine your market. 

• Focus, focus focus! It may feel counterintuitive to narrow down your search, but doing so will ensure that your offering is actually what the potential employers are looking for. You need to state in one to two short sentences what industry and job you are seeking. It needs to be crystal clear to you. 
• Know what that market values. This isn't the time for guess work and assumptions. Even if you have worked in this sector in the past, you need to take the time to go through the analysis. Do not assume that what was valued in the past is what is valued now. You can get this information in two ways, and I suggest you do both. First, find people who are currently working in that area, and interview them. What are the most important attributes their employers are looking for? What skills and experience do they think are the most valuable. Second, look for as many job postings for these positions as possible. make a spreadsheet of the skills and requirements these people are looking for, and tabulate the most desired skills and requirements.
• Go beyond skills and experience to gestalt. Gestalt is "a configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that it cannot be described merely as a sum of its parts." In other words, it is the essence or flavor of your potential future company. Study their website, their thought leaders blogs, their employees' responses to questions on LinkedIn. Who are these people? What values rule their life?

2. Determine your gaps and take steps to bridge them.

• Using the list of key skills and experience you created in step one, take a very hard look at your own skills and experience. What are you missing? Again, I can't stress enough that you need to not get stuck in the past. It makes no difference how qualified you were in the past. All that matters now is today. Make a list of the things that you seem to be lacking, based on your research. 
• Are any of these items things you simply can't fix? For example, if you need 5 years of experience in a particular area, and you have none, you can't get into your "way back machine" and fix that. You need to consider that this is NOT an field that you are going to be able to find work in. 
• Make a list of skills and experiences that you need in order to bring your own skills and experience up to date. Make a plan for how you are going to do this. This is where you need to put your energy right now, not in sending out a zillion resumes to anything that looks remotely like a possibility. 

3. Determine how you can differentiate yourself from the flock.

• What requirement does your potential future employer have that you meet in a wonderful and unique way? How does your work ethic, your values, your experience, your skills, meet that need in a way that no other candidate can match?
• You need to tell a coherent story that connects every data point in your history into a big ol' arrow pointing at your potential future employer.  
• Using your research about the gestalt of your potential future employer, determine how your experience, skills, and values make you a match.

4. Develop your resume and other "customer facing" materials.

• Everything in your resume, portfolio, and other materials needs to support your value proposition. Take a hard look at every line, especially of your resume. This isn't a place to put everything you have done in your life. This is the place to prove that you have the skills and experience to be successful in your new job. Start by cutting everything that doesn't do that.
• Use all the free space to offer proof of your experience and skills. Think result, not job duties. What have you accomplished? Don't assume your future employer is going to be able to read between the lines and connect the dots. They don't need to -- there is a big stack of resumes on her desk, so why should she work hard to read yours?
• Your materials need to be focused. That means you might have a resume that is suitable for this job only. I can hear your moans of pain from here! Too much work? Not really -- since you are being quite focused in your search, you are doing the same amount of work as you would have if you were sending out a zillion resumes, just differently. 
• Remember to prove to them how you are a member of their tribe. Tell them the story that links you to them. Back in the day, we did this by connecting to a person who was already an insider. You still need to do this, but even more, you need to help your potential future employer understand that you are indeed one of their flock. 

Is this a lot of work? Well, yes. But you will have a much more successful outcome -- for one thing, if you follow these steps, you will really understand who you are going to work for, and you are likely to be happier. And they are likely to be happier with you, as well. Good luck!