In the previous module, you identified the core value that you can deliver to your future clients/ employers. You also developed your ‘elevator’ pitch. Have these handy as you progress through this session as they will form an integral part of your ‘sales materials’.
If you’ve not completed the “Understanding Your Proposition” module, go back and complete it now prior to starting this session!
A key premise in developing your new ‘sales materials’ is to understand this simple truth – clients and organisations are not interested in ‘what you’ve done’, they are only interested in ‘what you can do for them’. This is where 95% of people get it wrong – they pack their CVs/ resumes with long descriptions of what they have done in the past, often highlighting lots of activities.
Honestly, hiring managers are not interested and find the process very frustrating to create a shortlist because most CVs/ Resumes look/ feel the same!
You need to start to look at things differently. You need to view things from the prospective of your client/ employer. You need to start talking about the value that you have delivered, you need to be clear about how your achievements supported the business objectives and enabled them to achieve their desired outputs.
The emphasis has to be on THEM, not you!
Activity:
Grab a copy of your existing CV/ Resume and find a red pen and a highlighter. Now imagine that you received this CV from somebody looking to join your team. Go through the CV line by line and highlight all of the areas where you can see ‘value’ being delivered. Equally score out in red pen all of the statements that make you respond – ‘So What!’
Remember, you need to put yourself in the shoes of the recipient of your CV. You need to remember that this is probably one of maybe 20/ 30 that you have to review. In situations like this, your focus is probably more on ‘let’s reduce the number by quickly rejecting CV’s that don’t jump out‘, rather than taking a more thoughtful, long read through all 20/30 CV’s to hand!
How does you CV look now?
Experience suggests that 80% of you are looking at a minimum of 4/5 pages where over 80% of the content has been ‘scored out’ in red, 15% will have a equal portion of red and highlighter and no more than 5% will have significantly more highlighted than ‘scored out’ in red.
What’s does yours look like?
Now do the same with your social media profiles, especially Linkedin and #TLH, given that these will be the two main areas that prospective clients/ employers will come and check you out. Consistency is the key across all of your sales materials.
