Powerful Phrases for Successful Interviews Read online

  So, there you have it. Prepare a statement with features, advantages, and benefits followed by an alternative choice question that will get you the results that you need. Now all you need to do is to practice! You have nothing to lose but your anonymity.

  Keeping Track of the Process

  This may not come as a surprise, but you absolutely must keep good records of all these calls. Your job search, whether you like it or not, may take six, eight, or nine months. I hope, for your sake, that it doesn’t, but you need to be prepared for that possibility. If you follow my advice properly, you’re going to talk to numerous people whom you have called many times. Just because a company, or an individual within the company, says there is not an employment opportunity today, it does not mean that there will not be an opportunity in the future.

  When you initially cold call like this, your probability of discovering a job vacancy is about one in seventy. You will almost double those odds by calling back a second, third, or fourth time. So, it is important to recognize that cold calling the individual or organization is not simply going to be a one-time thing. Your odds of getting a face-to-face interview at the second or third call are much greater than they were on the first call simply because the person that you’re calling is more aware of who you are and what you’re doing. Even if it was slight, you made somewhat of an impression on the person the first time you called. By the second, third, or fourth time you call, the person has become more aware of possible employment opportunities that might be available in the organization. If you are going to make the investment of the cold call to begin with, you will reap greater rewards by following it up with subsequent calls.

  Simple manila folders can be used to keep records of each organization that you approach or interview with. A daily planner can be used to make notes in every day or into the future. Microsoft Outlook is a great way to keep track of these kinds of records. The alarms keep you from forgetting and if your job search is prolonged, the software is more efficient than paper records.

  When people first start out looking to either find or change jobs, they usually have no idea how long it is going to take to be successful. There is a tendency to have a lot of activity in the beginning of the process: However, the process may carry on for a lot longer than a person would imagine. Good record keeping helps the momentum in the beginning to be sustained over however long it takes.

  Should You Leave a Voice Mail Message?

  Somewhere along the line you’re going to be faced with leaving a voice mail message. Unfortunately, more and more business people never answer their phone. Some managers in sales are rarely in their offices and some managers in accounting and engineering departments aren’t “people people” anyhow so they let everything go straight to voice mail.

  You diligently practice a cold-call presentation and then you get voice mail! So, you ask, “Should I leave a voice mail, or not?” It may be the only way you’re going to communicate with many prospective employers.

  First off, you should call the same hiring manager at least two or three times, trying to make a presentation to him or her before you leave a message on voice mail. If you conclude, after even the second time, that you’re not likely to catch this hiring authority answering the phone, leave a voice mail message.

  The phrase you use for the voice mail message isn’t much different from the phrase used when a live person answers the phone. The ending, however, is slightly different. It goes like this:

  Mr./Ms.________________. My name is _______________. I am a______________. I have (features) ______________ that are (advantages) ___________________, which would be (benefits) ______________________________ to you and your firm.

  I would like a chance to meet with you. My phone number is ______________. Again, this is _____________ (your name), and my phone number is _______________________.

  Be sure to repeat your telephone number at the end of the message twice, say it once, and repeat it very s-l-o-w-l-y so the person can write it down as you record it the second time. It might even be advisable to mention your phone number after you state your name in the very first part of your message, so you are offering your phone number three times.

  When people have a ton of voice mail messages on their system, they find it tedious to go back and listen to your whole voice mail message a second time. By putting your phone number right after your name in the beginning of your voice mail, you give them a chance to go back to the very beginning of your voice mail, get your phone number, and not have to listen through your whole voice mail just to get your telephone number. If you say it slowly in the beginning of the voice mail and repeat even more slowly at the end of the message, people are more likely to write down the number and return your call.

  If you don’t get a response the first time you leave a message on voice mail, don’t hesitate to record a similar message seven or eight times for the same person. This sounds a bit excessive, but my experience has been that if there is even the slightest pain of needing someone now or in the near future, this kind of message will get the attention of a hiring authority.

  You may ask, “Why would I leave that many voice mails for the same thing? If they have a need for what I do, they are going to call me back after the first one, right?” Wrong! The answer is, “No, they aren’t!” Well, they might, but it isn’t very likely. Here’s why: Looking for a job is your highest priority, but the hiring authority has many priorities. Hiring someone may be a top priority one day, but it may drop to priority number twenty-two the next day. If, at the moment the hiring authority gets your voice mail, filling that position is the number one priority, you’ll get a callback. If it isn’t, you won’t.

  What’s going through the hiring authority’s mind? It likely is, “Damn, I really need to fill the job . . . I need to fire Leroy and hire someone else . . . get ready for this surge of business were going to have . . . replace Rhonda because she’s going on maternity leave . . . get rid of Ralph because he’s late all the time . . . replace Susan because she is transferring to another department. But, I’m late for that meeting. I’ll give that guy or gal a call later.” And later never comes. The third time you leave a message for the hiring authority, you make it really easy for him or her to pick up the phone and call you back.

  There is a tendency for job seekers to think that when a company needs to hire someone, they do it in a thirty-day period or so. People think, “Well, they had an opening a few weeks ago . . . they must’ve filled it.” Based on what I’ve learned since 1973, I guarantee you it takes more like 120 to 180 days to fill those positions even when the hiring authority says it’s high priority. Candidates can be offered jobs, say they’ll take them, and then the day before they’re supposed to show up, they decline. Or, candidates accept the job, show up, and a week later another opportunity they were considering comes along and is better, so they leave the first job. Maybe the company never finds anybody that they like when they start interviewing, and other things become a higher priority.

  Companies begin interviewing candidates, and after a while they decide they want to change their criteria or they don’t see anyone that they like and then decide to start all over. The hiring process always takes longer than anyone thinks. Remember, you have everything to win and nothing to lose by leaving a voice mail.

  After leaving eight to ten messages similar to this and not getting a response, you should stop calling, at least for now. If your experience has been with a similar kind of organization where your value might be greater than the average candidate looking for a job, you should certainly call back a number of times down the road. But, for now, you should stop calling after eight or ten messages.

  If you don’t get the courtesy of a callback from a hiring authority, don’t take it personally. But you will be surprised at the number of people that call you back simply because they admire your persistence. They’ll tell you they don’t have an opening, but they appreciate your calling. This is a great opportunity for you
to ask for a referral of someone they may know. And again, ask their permission to call back in a month or two.

  The In-Person Cold-Call Visit

  One great way, and one of the most effective ways, of getting an interview and the attention of a hiring authority (the person with pain) is to simply show up at his or her office and ask the administrative person if you can have a few moments of the hiring authority’s time. Then you just wait in the office until he or she sees you.

  Once you are meeting the person face-to-face, even if it is a brief moment in the lobby, use this phrase as you hand the person your résumé:

  Mr. or Mrs. ______________ (employer), I understand that you are looking for a candidate to fill your position of ____________________. I am an excellent candidate for that job opening and would like to discuss my qualifications with you. Do you have a few moments?

  Do not expect that you are going to get an interview right then. That will happen only occasionally. If the hiring authority says that he or she does not have time right then, ask when there will be a better time: Be persistent about setting a specific time. When you have the boldness to do this kind of thing, you have everything to win and nothing to lose.

  CHAPTER 2

  Powerful Phrases for Increasing the Chances Your Résumé Will Get Read

  In today’s job market, 90 percent of the time you’re going to deliver your résumé to an employer by e-mail. Therefore, it is important to know how to craft an e-mail message with powerful words and phrases that will get your résumé read. Once again, the point of delivering a résumé to prospective employers is to obtain an interview. That’s true whether you use e-mail or snail mail.

  You want to send your résumé to a hiring authority. If you send your résumé to a company’s general Web address in response to a job posting, it isn’t likely to get into the right hands—that is, the hiring authority feeling the pain, or the person who truly needs to hire someone.

  It is best to make your résumé an attachment, rather than a part of the e-mail itself. That way, it’s easier for the reader to open, read, and print it.

  Unfortunately, if your résumé is sent via an e-mail message, there’s a good possibility it may never get read. The time of day that the e-mail arrives in the recipient’s inbox, the number of other e-mails the person receives, the person’s concerns of the moment, and his or her mood at the time will determine if your e-mail is opened and actually read. If there is urgency in hiring someone, all the e-mails with résumés might be opened. But if the hiring need is low, or if a higher priority has arisen, your e-mail might be ignored or even get deleted. The hiring urgency can ebb and flow, big time. Therefore, your e-mail communication must be short and personal. You need to send an e-mail that addresses the needs of the prospective employer in a concise manner.

  The following sections contain some tips for sending an attention-getting e-mail message.

  GRAB ATTENTION WITH THE SUBJECT LINE

  There is no better place for powerful phrases than in the subject line of an e-mail containing your résumé. Remember that you are communicating directly with the hiring authority—that is, the person with the “pain”—so write subject lines like the following:

  Outstanding candidate

  150 percent performer

  Personally referred by [the person you know]

  Proven track record [in the business they are in]

  A stable, solid, consistent performer . . .

  Or, you can use a phrase or expression that will catch the reader’s eye. For example, use a Latin phrase that might be recognized or pique curiosity, such as:

  Non illegitimus carborundum.

  [“Don’t let the bastards grind you down.”]

  Carpe diem.

  [“Seize the day.”]

  Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis.

  [“All things are changing and we are changing with them.”]

  If you use this kind of device, though, be sure to briefly explain it in the body of the e-mail, showing how it applies to the position being sought. Similarly, you can use a short quote from a famous person, followed in the body of the e-mail with an analogy to your experience.

  The subject line of an e-mail is a chance for you to be creative. Treat it like a newspaper headline or an advertisement. The subject line should grab the reader’s attention enough to get him or her to open the e-mail and read it. Be careful, though, that the subject line message isn’t so “out there” that the message gets deleted as annoying. For example, “You have just won the lottery,” or “News about your distant uncle who left you a fortune,” won’t get your e-mail message read.

  Try different approaches, too. Different personalities respond to different kinds of messages. For instance, a comptroller or a vice president of finance may not be teased into reading an e-mail with a subject line of “Hire a 150 percent performer,” but a vice president of sales would. Use your good judgment, but be mindful always of your objective: to get your e-mail résumé opened.

  BE AGGRESSIVE, NOT TIMID

  Remember, and this is important, that you are trying to motivate the recipient of the e-mail message. It’s possible that, within reason, what you might be personally uncomfortable doing may be just the thing that can get you an interview. Over the years, I have recommended that candidates do some fairly aggressive things, either to get an interview or to be remembered after an interview. Some candidates say things like, “Tony, it’s ‘just not me’ to be that aggressive. I’m uncomfortable doing that.”

  The obvious question is, “Are you more uncomfortable with being out of work and not being able to feed your family, or with doing something aggressive that’s necessary to find a new job?” If what you’re doing isn’t getting you the interviews, then you may have to do things that are uncomfortable. You are not being asked to betray your basic beliefs; you are simply trying to get an interview.

  I have personally placed almost 10,000 people in new jobs, sometimes by recommending that they do things they feel are either inappropriate or too aggressive. Obviously, this suggestion often works. The point is that you need to look beyond your own needs and consider the recipient’s needs, his “pain.” Writing a subject line like, “An exceptional candidate needs a job” does not communicate empathy or interest in what the employer wants. Hiring authorities don’t care what you need. They only care about what they need. Now, if you can get what you want by helping them get what they want, everyone is happy.

  MAKE THE E-MAIL MESSAGE A QUICK READ

  The body of your e-mail message should have the same qualities as a good cover letter: short, personal, and to the point. Consider the recipient and the number of e-mails he or she receives. I personally get between 100 and 150 e-mails a day. If the subject line grabs me, I quickly scan the body of the e-mail. But if the message is more than two or three sentences, I may not read it. The biggest mistake candidates make when e-mailing their résumés is to write long introductions about themselves in an e-mail message.

  Instead of going on for paragraphs about your qualifications, tie the body of your e-mail to the subject line in a way that’s short, personal, and to the point. Here are a few suggestions:

  Subject: “I have lost almost 300 games.”—Michael Jordan

  Michael Jordan stated, “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

  Like Michael Jordan, I know how to succeed. My résumé is attached.

  I would like to meet with you and explain my personal “Michael Jordan experiences” and how they would be of value to you and your firm. I will call you tomorrow at 3:00 PM to see when we might get together. Or feel free to reply back and tell me when your schedule might allow us to meet.

  Sincerely,

  (Your signature and phone number)

  Subject: “Never, never, never qu
it”—Winston Churchill

  Churchill was right. I don’t quit.

  I understand you and your firm are seeking a quality (accountant, salesperson, engineer, office manager, or other title). I would like to share with you the success I’ve had and how it will be of value to you and your company.

  My résumé is attached. I will call you tomorrow at 10:00 AM to see when it would be convenient for us to get together. Feel free to reply back with a time when your schedule might allow us to meet.

  Sincerely,

  (Your signature and phone number)

  Subject: Winners do the things losers fail to do

  All good companies and leaders are looking for winners. You and your company were referred to me by ________________. He said you were an expert in _______________ (profession) and would be a great teacher and mentor.

  I do the things losers fail to do. At this point in my career, I need a great teacher and mentor.

  My résumé is attached. I will call you tomorrow at 1:00 PM to see when we might meet. Or, feel free to reply back with a time when your schedule might allow us to meet.

  Sincerely,

  (Your signature and phone number)

  Subject: The 200 percent return

  The story of how my employer got a 200 percent return on his investment in me is a great one. I can do the same thing for you.

  My résumé is attached. When might we be able to meet? I will share with you my story and show how it can apply to you and your firm.