tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41456189353778904652024-02-19T05:45:38.897-08:00The Business of (Your Name Here)When you are searching for a job, you are in business for yourself. This is about that business. There will be thoughts about marketing, sales, contract negotiations, and motivation, because every business owner needs someone for support.John McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455531808178103967noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145618935377890465.post-62766350608425137462012-10-02T13:59:00.000-07:002012-10-02T13:59:10.385-07:00Not all “Job Fairs” are created equal.
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next Wednesday, Oct 10<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>, Career Prospectors, a
networking group for career seekers in the Richmond area, will sponsor their
second job fair this year. They have secured other sponsors (listed below, with
a link to the details and how to register) and they have secured, to date, 33
companies that are looking to fill positions immediately. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since the group tends to be professionals looking for jobs
in IT, Accounting, Logistics, Project Management, Sales, Marketing and Human
Resources, they have targeted companies that have needs that they might be able
to fill. With 8 days to go there are 141 people registered to attend on
LinkedIn events. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There are a couple of things I</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> find extraordinary about this
event. The first is that it is being organized by volunteers that know that if
they help each other in their career search, that they all will find jobs
faster. This will also show up in the way they attend the event, treating it as
a networking event, because they know that while there are some companies
looking for something they may want, there are other recruiters that will find
out the next day, week or month, that they need talent that they weren’t
looking for at the event. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The second thing that stands out is the little bit of cost
that is involved in putting the event on. There is no cost for companies or job
seekers to attend. There is of course, some cost for the space, supplied by one
of the sponsors and there will be some bottled water distributed and some
signage and name tags that will be sponsored as well.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Marketing is being done through networking, that is to say
word of mouth and social media, so there are no monetary costs created to
secure employers or prospective employees. Because the registration is being
handled on LinkedIn events and Meetup, there is also the advantage for
recruiters and job seekers of being able to follow-up easily. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the end, what it appears that is going to happen, is that
a group of people looking for great employees is going to come together with a
group of people that are demonstrating how great they can be.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sponsors for this event include:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Career Prospectors</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brandywine Realty Trust</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Attributes For Success, LLC</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">New Horizons Computer Learning
Centers</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Winning The Training Game</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To find out more <a href="http://linkd.in/NCfuHv" target="_blank">click here</a>.</span></div>
John McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455531808178103967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145618935377890465.post-28082191493180085612012-07-05T12:29:00.000-07:002012-07-05T12:30:22.952-07:00Working the numbers<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some numbers were shared at Career Prospectors the other day
by a successful candidate. The one that stood out was 253. Later the numbers 5
and 15 were also mentioned. I would like to add 12 and 4 to the list.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Before I explain the significance of these numbers, let me
give some background. Career Prospectors is a group of folks that come together
to help each other network, learn about resources and learn about the tools and
mindsets for a successful job search. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is a volunteer run organization and has no costs
associated with it. Through the connections of the people that run it, primarily
Charlie Wood, and the people that are searching for a new career there are
weekly speakers and programs. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The overall objective is to overcome the de-personalization
of the hiring process, by networking your way to hiring managers and sometimes
finding the “hidden jobs” in the market. To this end, much time is spent on the
basics of networking, including the personal introduction or “elevator speech,”
the types of events that are available, what the objective is at an event, how
to take it to the next level and how to sustain the relationship. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Typically at a networking event, the goal is to identify 1-4
people that a person may be able to add to their network or in other words,
build a relationship. The next steps to this process is to follow up and if
worthy of taking it to the next level, have a one to one meeting. These are
often referred to as having “coffee” if informal or “informational interviews”
if slightly more targeted and formal. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.byroningraham.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/people-talking-for-networking.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.byroningraham.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/people-talking-for-networking.png" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.byroningraham.com/blog/networking-with-purpose/" target="_blank">Networking With Purpose</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Keeping in mind that you are seeking to
go around normal company processes designed to keep you out, in neither case is
a job asked for and in fact the objective is to see if each individual may be
able to help the other out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">(BTW: Career Prospectors will be having a great presentation
on the <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groups/How-Get-Hold-informational-meetings-1840263.S.130763683?qid=bcee4229-d565-418b-9331-624b5a12f082&trk=group_most_recent_rich-0-b-ttl&goback=%2Egmr_1840263" target="_blank">informational interview</a> on Tuesday July 10<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now back to the numbers. 253 was the number of one on one
meetings held by this successful candidate. The number is purely anecdotal and
is skewed by the fact that this individual was looking for a senior leadership
position. Nevertheless, this is the number of times that this person sat down
with other individuals and created a relationship, one or more of which helped
in the completion of the job search.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The second number is 5. This is the number of one on one
meetings that are encouraged to be held each week by each member of the Career
Prospector group. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next number is 15. This was the number that an owner of
a recruiting company, in a presentation at Career Prospectors, said should be held each week.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finally, that brings us to 12 and 4. If a person needs this
many (253) meetings to find a new position, it will take 12 months at the rate
of 5 meetings a week. The alternative is to get out more often, hold the
fifteen meetings and get the search done in 4 months. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">No it’s not easy, but do you have the time or the money to do less? </span></div>John McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455531808178103967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145618935377890465.post-30056812478832721042012-04-11T12:30:00.000-07:002012-04-11T12:30:14.448-07:00Risk Versus Opportunity<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do you embrace opportunities or do you see risk? The problem
is they go together. You can’t have worthwhile opportunities that don’t entail
some risk. It’s the way you look at the two that determines whether you are
moving forward or holding yourself back.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I overheard part of a presentation, that among other things discussed social media. The presenter
admonished the group to be careful about what they put on social media. The
problem is that the risk was addressed more strongly than the opportunities. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCo55RqdV7cIfluBiE06ZJQQszfyIeXhwVDjWmrN_qTI5xvTGn65l45fKFzsmaA7fKyu-GY2F-uSeA-qv3tQLsYO1EMITmDysOO8S2n-TUpgAIlbpacHIvwQZ3NajD7X-GxDpnGa5K/s1600/glass+of+optimism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCo55RqdV7cIfluBiE06ZJQQszfyIeXhwVDjWmrN_qTI5xvTGn65l45fKFzsmaA7fKyu-GY2F-uSeA-qv3tQLsYO1EMITmDysOO8S2n-TUpgAIlbpacHIvwQZ3NajD7X-GxDpnGa5K/s320/glass+of+optimism.jpg" width="229" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I understand that you need to be careful. However, if the
group was told that they can market themselves online and that everything they
post to social media is a permanent part of their brand or image it should
achieve the same thing. If they were further told, that their lack of
participation dates them, or at least leaves them at a competitive disadvantage
to someone who is openly building a positive image online, they would have a
different perspective on the risks involved.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I believe there are other significant advantages to participating
in social media, but this post is about seeing opportunities and then assessing
risks rather than seeing risks, avoiding them and missing opportunities. It’s
about glasses being half full instead of half empty. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The real lesson to be learned from social media is that
there are millions using it to meet their goals. So what if instead of focusing
on the risks, you focused on how others are getting things done using it?</span></div>John McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455531808178103967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145618935377890465.post-36824158647503207042012-01-09T13:22:00.000-08:002012-01-09T13:43:03.406-08:00I was wearing their shoes<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I posted yesterday about recognizing my perspective in other
people. Today, I want to discuss seeing other people’s perspective. I talked
about how I had been put into this unfamiliar role working on the side of the
road monitoring tree crews trying to make right of ways safe. </span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The first thing I discovered was why it sometimes seems
there are so many people watching while so few are working. For at least a
couple of trees, there were as many as 11 people involved. The County had originally
ordered the work after a hurricane came through the area. They usually did not
have a representative but this was in a busy and hard hit park so there were 2.
A company that specializes in disaster relief work was contracted to do the
work and they had 1 person on site. The contractor subcontracts out the work to
companies that would normally be providing tree services in their hometowns,
there were 4 of them, three of which were working and the owner that was
supervising. Finally, in addition to myself there was another monitor, a
supervisor and the project manager for SAIC that had been hired to monitor and
document the work, so that the county knew how much to pay and ask for
reimbursement from FEMA.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Put another way, you have buyers, service providers,
contractors and regulators all at this job site. Each of these individuals and
groups is further bound by ethical and liability issues to do or not do certain
things. So even though I might be capable and willing to do a task, my doing it
might be an indication that I had become too close and possibly co-opted by the
group(s) I was monitoring and could put the company in jeopardy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhgv14ZeK7RTBrUdomk91fE1fn6yl31sOHx9n9Q0gQ4hli7C88vE0wnpEJ67CcCIM4Paqf8vnetxld_xYWZ4oiw7XECJdAOhavT2M_yAr8GdhOWHGj5d1k3PoXMAWTymswjn5lHZF/s1600/Hanger.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhgv14ZeK7RTBrUdomk91fE1fn6yl31sOHx9n9Q0gQ4hli7C88vE0wnpEJ67CcCIM4Paqf8vnetxld_xYWZ4oiw7XECJdAOhavT2M_yAr8GdhOWHGj5d1k3PoXMAWTymswjn5lHZF/s320/Hanger.png" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 4" 10' branch 30 feet high in the air, could do some real damage.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">While the first lesson pertained to the work and the fact
that so many different entities and interests were involved the second lesson
was even more eye opening. This lesson came during one of the traffic delay
incidents, where a driver honked their horn and went around the truck, directly
under the bucket and the limb that was being removed. It was hazardous,
irresponsible and frankly illegal, but I guess they couldn’t wait.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was then that one of the crew members looked at me and
said, “we might as well go back to Georgia, they don’t appreciate what we are
doing anyway.” It was a HUGE statement because it showed the different perceptions
of what was happening. For the driver, this crew and their work was an
annoyance, for me they were a tree crew doing work, but for the crew, they were
doing “hurricane relief” and “protecting the public.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Everyone was right. However if the limb had fallen on the
car, the resulting insurance settlement and body work would have taken a lot
more than the five minutes they would have been delayed by staying behind the
truck. For me it was a reminder, that while we see the same thing our
perception formed by the path we walked, shapes our attitude towards the event.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There was also a big leadership lesson. Each tree they
worked on before this incident either qualified by the rules or it didn’t. Each
tree after this incident either was detrimental to public safety or it wasn’t,
in which case it didn’t get worked on. By understanding why they were here,
doing what they were doing, I was able to lead better, which resulted in my
being assigned the more “difficult” to control crews which became more
productive and less difficult. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dale Carnegie wrote that we should not “criticize, condemn
or complain” and that we need to “Try honestly to see things from the other
person’s point of view.” For me those 2 lessons from How to win friends and
influence people couldn’t be any more closely linked. Try the latter and see if
you can really do the former.</span></div>John McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455531808178103967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145618935377890465.post-68654380695494075532012-01-08T21:33:00.000-08:002012-01-08T21:52:47.058-08:00They Were Wearing My Shoes<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well they weren’t really wearing my shoes, or even driving
my car, but I sure did recognize the attitude and frankly, it was embarrassing.
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let me take a minute to give some background. About 6 months
ago I escaped real estate. I know, the first reaction is usually the same to
that one; real estate is a hard business, it’s been a tough few years. Totally
true and almost irrelevant because I really had been trying to escape real
estate almost since the time I started. I just never enjoyed it, so I went to
work for a builder, I developed a web site when I should have been selling, I
went to work in a non-selling <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>capacity
for another builder, I trained agents in how to be successful, when I should
have been selling, and finally after 15 years, I sent my license back to the
state.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I didn’t leave real estate for something, but rather to be
done with it. This meant that I needed to figure out what I could/ should offer
the world and then how to do that best. In the meantime was the realization
that I needed to put some money in the bank. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So in September, I found myself working for SAIC as a
monitor following tree crews that were trying to make sure the right of ways
were safe in Henrico County Virginia. This meant with hard hat, orange vest a
GPS, digital camera, tape measure and clipboard I documented all their work and
conferred on whether it was eligible under FEMA guidelines. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was, for 5 or 6 weeks, 12 to 15 hours a day what I had
always called a “watcher” or “watcher, watcher.” If you have ever driven, you
know the scene; 1 or 2 men working and 2 -5 people standing around watching them
work.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHFwbIaoArZ3B_nADYjwL4FgdIUQFLVncghUK-QNZCJcrZd_foWMk8DK34JqmsEC-bvkI3HrAnqqVw9j8QZ9iVdkBGXKTWO9j9i61MwU-FFtulsXD2aBZTMciMxiUZpBIZISPAIIL/s1600/TreeworkPic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHFwbIaoArZ3B_nADYjwL4FgdIUQFLVncghUK-QNZCJcrZd_foWMk8DK34JqmsEC-bvkI3HrAnqqVw9j8QZ9iVdkBGXKTWO9j9i61MwU-FFtulsXD2aBZTMciMxiUZpBIZISPAIIL/s320/TreeworkPic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Removing branches hanging over right of ways, some are huge,
sometimes required stopping traffic. Now, it doesn’t take long before you stop
someone that gets really upset and tries to intimidate their way through or
even worse force their way though causing the crew to have to watch out for the
safety of the driver as well as themselves. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Looking into some of the faces of these drivers is what made
me realize, they were just like me. Until that time, I had always been the one
in the car, wondering why they picked this time, why they can’t get off the
side of the road and in general why were they in MY way. I was wearing someone
else’ shoes and I’ll talk about that tomorrow, but when I looked at the faces
of these drivers, pissed off and glaring back, it was like looking into my own
face and I didn’t like it.</span></div>John McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455531808178103967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145618935377890465.post-50620931005629509702011-11-03T14:13:00.000-07:002011-11-04T05:40:02.251-07:00The Elevator speech<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know the words above or the oft used alternative of “elevator
pitch” has some people cringing already. They know few people want to listen to
a speech that they didn’t ask to listen to and no one wants to be pitched to, unless
they are standing at home plate. Others cringe at the mere thought of having to
give a “speech” even if it is short with a limited audience.</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zNh5yVCYfBrA1sHL-wdIFXrB5wQUbzOmy1BTxNtTodn6Ot291KW_4Tp4FK6OFXklwkrgYn5bDXJbSm50MIPHVfleNniCpGmMAWp93qSF_u_BKqWOWJBS75VDvJ70SuY0sH-UlxvI/s1600/ElavatorBoredom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zNh5yVCYfBrA1sHL-wdIFXrB5wQUbzOmy1BTxNtTodn6Ot291KW_4Tp4FK6OFXklwkrgYn5bDXJbSm50MIPHVfleNniCpGmMAWp93qSF_u_BKqWOWJBS75VDvJ70SuY0sH-UlxvI/s320/ElavatorBoredom.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When you look at what an elevator speech is designed to do,
perhaps it should be called an introduction. Regardless of what it is called,
the idea is to give an introduction to you, your product and/or your service in
such a way as to generate interest in the other party. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">How do you get the desired response of “I’d like to hear
more,” “how do you do that,” “when can we discuss this in more depth,” “that’s
exciting,” and ultimately “how can you help me?” </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Start with what excites you about a person that is
introducing themselves or their product or service. Is it their credentials? I
doubt it. Is it their awards? Probably not. Is it their long or short history?
Short is better than long in this case, but it still is not exciting. The thing
that is going to be exciting to anyone and everyone is how the person makes
your life better. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next, when you are crafting your introduction, get to the
point immediately. Background information can come later, but if you haven’t
gotten to the point you may have lost their attention (or they got off the
elevator) and the point will be missed. This is not the time to do a set up for
the point. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is an old rule of thumb for putting a speech together:
tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them and tell them what you
have told them. The repetition allows the message to be understood more
completely and in today’s instant gratification and short attention span world,
it means you get the message to them before losing their attention. </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the intro or elevator speech it looks like this; Tell
them what you are going to tell them - I’m ___________. I or my product or
service (create, enhance, solve… ) _______________ by __________________. If
appropriate and time permits tell them (a story of where you or your product or
service created, enhanced or solved…) ____________________________ and tell
them what you told them.______________________________</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So it comes out like this: I’m John McClung. I help
companies increase their revenues by strategically changing their offerings,
marketing and sales. (If I have to stop right here, I’ve made the essential point
and if they want to increase revenues, they are ready for more) By changing the
offerings of a wholesale distributor I was able to increase direct revenues by
approximately $24,000,000. Changing the marketing for a builder led to more
than doubling their revenues and developing a local sales training program for
a national real estate company resulted in record setting sales growth in a down market. I’d
love to talk with you about how we could increase you revenues. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>John McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455531808178103967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145618935377890465.post-17788111019781215182011-09-06T04:22:00.000-07:002011-09-06T09:28:30.005-07:00All Star SupportWho is your "All Star" support group?<br />
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<a href="http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t110/dynamic_polarity/stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t110/dynamic_polarity/stars.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
We all have one wether by design or default. They are the people we listen to on a regular basis. The real question is: Are you listening to the right people for the situation? Do you spend time only listening to the people that support your personal point of view? There is an old saying "misery loves company," so are you picking the folks that will commiserate with you? If we don't pick our "All Star" Support group, it's easy to fall into the traps like those above.<br />
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Everyone has different needs, but here is how I selected mine:<br />
My wife is impacted and will impact any decision that I make about the future. Choose your spouse or significant other or chances are the changes won't work.<br />
A great, but not close friend, because they support my success but are not mired down by the excuses that come with my personal life.<br />
A great friend that is close, because they understand what fits me sometimes better than I do. It's important that this person be able to give you their complete honest opinion.<br />
The job club or group is being counted as one in my "All Star" panel as they hold me accountable and bring an understanding of the task at hand.<br />
A professional career counselor offers guidance and has been through this before with others.<br />
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In other words my "All Star" support group is supportive with no acceptance of excuses, and an understanding of the various pieces of my task and how they fit together.<br />
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What's your support group look like? Are they "All Stars?" Did you assemble the group for this purpose or was it by default?John McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455531808178103967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145618935377890465.post-6332787581006270482011-08-24T13:58:00.000-07:002011-08-24T13:58:13.805-07:00The smallest details make the difference<br />
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How much better do you have to be than other high level competitors, to be the best? In 2008 it was proven that 1/100 of a second or less was all it took to be the best in the highest level of competition. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Currently when you are hunting for a job, you are in an intense competition. You are in a competition where you don’t get to judge yourself against your competitors. Most off the time, if you don’t get the job, you won’t be able to find out why you lost the competition. However all competitions, including this one have one thing in common; the winner will have at a minimum a SLIGHT EDGE over the loser(s).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The slight edge that matters is the one that is being measured. In job hunting that could be anything. Do you exhibit a slight edge over your biggest competitors? Do you project confidence? Do you project professionalism? Are you clear about your strengths? Do you look better, dress better, groom better? Is your resume the best it can be? Is it printed on appropriate paper and in a style that is suitable for the job? Do you practice key answers so that they flow out automatically and increase your confidence? How do you distinguish yourself from your competition?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the end of the day, if a person talks to you and 3 of other job hunters, are they going to remember you? Will they think you had the slight edge? Will you fade into obscurity at the end of the day?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e353/griffmanjoe/Phelpsfinish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e353/griffmanjoe/Phelpsfinish.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: black;">In 2008 Michael Phelps won a number of medals in swimming. Some say he is the greatest swimmer of all time. He has won more gold medals than any other Olympian. One of his most memorable races was the 100 meter butterfly which he won by 1/100<sup>th</sup><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of a second. Do you remember the name of the swimmer that was 1/100<sup>th</sup><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of a second behind?</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>John McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455531808178103967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145618935377890465.post-15596760271938112002011-08-22T10:44:00.000-07:002011-08-24T11:29:39.269-07:00I say INCREDIBLE!<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">There are certain words that say a lot and nothing at all. We’ll look at “incredible” and what I mean by that in a second. There are also words that mean nothing and say a lot, just by the fact that we use them. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">An example of this second category is “fine.” I use the word fine even though I know that it is generally worthless. Someone greets you with “how are you?” Thinking, maybe knowing, that they really are just saying “hello,” you answer “fine” and ask the same question to them. They may say something like “fine” or maybe they say “good” meaning “Thank God this conversation is over” or “I really don’t have time to talk to you right now.”</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Even if you really don’t have time to talk, everyone understands the meaning and well, those messages are sort of draining, depressing - they’re NEGATIVE. You’ve given of negative energy and what do you get back in return, more negative energy. In other words a drain on you.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It could be that you were just trying to keep a stiff upper lip, as in; “My day is terrible, but I don’t want to burden you with it.” You still get more negative energy, so now your day is worse.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Want to change the cycle? Substitute the word “fine” with “incredible.” Unless you are just the most boring person having the most boring day, which would be incredible unto itself, there is something incredible about your day. In other words you can say it because it is not a lie. You and your day may be incredibly good, incredibly bad or maybe just incredibly normal, but there is something incredible going on.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">John Lennon sang “the more love you give, the more love you get.” Love is energy that we manifest and I would argue that almost any other energy we share works the same way. Haters, doom and gloomers and nay-sayers beware!</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The thing is that these days, people that harness energy recognize that polarizing the energy makes things work better. Yet there are still things that work quite well regardless of polarity. That’s incredible. No really, “Incredible” could be positive, it could be negative, it works well with either polarity and the result is it come back as POSITIVE ENERGY.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">On what may have been the worst day in my life, time will tell, I was asked no less than 5 times traditional variants of “how are you” and responded with “INCREDIBLE.” By the end of the day the positive energy that came back was so great that I’m not sure it wasn’t the best day of my life. Now that really is incredible.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So the next time someone asks you “How’s your day” or any variant, answer with the best smile you can muster INCREDIBLE! It will make your day better.</span></div>John McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455531808178103967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145618935377890465.post-5565290996821591952011-08-21T12:59:00.000-07:002011-08-21T21:18:36.270-07:00You're in business now!<div class="MsoNormal">Hi welcome to the BUSINESS OF ME. I’m not here to talk about myself, and I’m not doing this to talk about the “me” generation. This is not about me getting a job or some journey that I want to document in a journal publicly. I’m not a journal type of guy, so there would be huge gaps.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This IS about you. This IS about the fact that each person looking for a job/career IS in business for themselves, and for each of you, that IS THE BUSINESS OF ME. See many of us put the customer and the business first. Well, that’s what you need to demand of you.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The first step is to understand that you are in business now. You need to tape a note on the mirror and look at it each morning that says “I’m in the business of me.” OK, you can substitute your name for “me.” </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So what does every business have? It has a boss. You ARE that boss. It normally has functional jobs such as marketing, where they figure out where the customers are, and how to get them to recognize their brand, it has a sales job that follows up the marketing group and directly talks to the customer, there is administrative and HR folks that make sure that everything is tracked and documented, and there is the product.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>You are the President</li>
<li> You are the Director of Marketing</li>
<li> You are the Sales Force</li>
<li> You are the Admin</li>
<li> You are the HR department and ultimately</li>
<li> YOU ARE THE PRODUCT</li>
</ul><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">So each morning when you look in the mirror, you need to know that you are in business. It is THE BUSINESS OF ME.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This blog will discuss topics related to marketing functions, selling skills, motivating the sales force, packaging the product and protecting the business. I really appreciate comments, because that’s how I learn. If you think you have an idea for a post, let me know. Better yet if you want to post, contact me and let’s get you credited. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Getting people in the right seat on the right bus is good for us all. When you are in the right seat on the right bus, you are happier, more productive and resources (you) are being used efficiently. I’m convinced this is the way things such as the economy, government, businesses and our lives will improve. It’s all up to the Business of Me, starting with the face that looks back at you in the mirror.</div>John McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455531808178103967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4145618935377890465.post-68023432880041300442011-08-21T07:32:00.000-07:002011-08-21T07:32:01.393-07:00It’s a blessing<br />
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">I don’t know what set of circumstances led you to be where you are in life. I don’t know wether you are unemployed, underemployed or wrongly employed. Unless you are just an interested bystander, you like me are looking for another job or better yet a new career. That’s a blessing.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Let me explain. Regardless of what category you fit in, you have an opportunity to move forward. Life is not judged by the results we get, it’s judged by how we react to those results. You can mourn for what you have lost, but if you stay mired in it, it’s still lost. So have your little pity party. It’s OK. You deserve it. Now that that is over, it’s time to realize that you have an opportunity. </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">See this as the blessing that it is and realize that if you were not at this point, right now, you wouldn’t be having the chance to find the perfect job. </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">My friend and a person that I am glad to call a mentor, Dave Carpenter, pointed this out to me recently. He told me a story of a fabulously successful, by most standards, business person that resigned his job. When queried about where he was going, he said he didn’t know. His boss, certain that this meant he was going to a competitor pressed for more info. The boss, a successful, by most standards, head of a very prestigious company was finally convinced that the resignation was not for another job, but to avoid “selling his soul” to the job he had. A strange thing happened. The boss broke down crying. The boss had sold his soul to the job. This successful, by many standards, head of this wonderful company didn’t feel there were alternatives. </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We have those alternatives and that truly is a “blessing.”</span></div>John McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455531808178103967noreply@blogger.com1