Quick note: I am officially and actively searching for a job now. I wanted to start with that so that if anyone reading this is looking for a senior engineering leader or knows someone who is. Please forward my LinkedIn profile or contact me and make a referral. Thank you all in advance.
As an engineer, I never cared for the art of selling. I appreciated what salespeople did for the company, but it was never my interest or forte. Now, as a job seeker, I see how much salesmanship is necessary to prepare for my next role. I must actively sell myself in every job application, cover letter, resume, interview, and more.
I have been contacted by several resume professionals and digital marketing agencies offering to help improve my resume, freshen my LinkedIn profile, and hold mock interviews for additional practice. I took a free session with one agency last week and obtained several good insights, but the biggest takeaway was that it was time to think of myself as a salesman for my product (myself). Building a brand, creating a presence, engaging with my community, and doing regular outreach to prospects. While sales techniques alone aren’t going to get me my next job, it’s a skill I can hone and one that will undoubtedly lead to better prospects.
Sales Numbers
187,000 new jobs were created in July (per the Bureau of Labor Statistics), less than expected. :/
These July numbers from ADP confirm what I’ve been experiencing (smaller employers are hiring, larger employers less so.)
Encouraging Sales
“When you undervalue what you do, the world will undervalue who you are.” –Oprah Winfrey
I’m sure most of the feedback in this article on selling yourself in interviews (19m read time) includes things you’ve seen before, so I’ll summarize for those who have time to skim. But there’s depth to each of these sections, and I got insights from several, so I suggest reading any passages you can improve on most.
- Research the company and interviewer(s)
- Practice explaining your unique selling points.
- Master your elevator pitch.
- Present your skills and accomplishments well.
- Demonstrate your soft skills during the interview.
- Remember positive body language.
- Ask insightful questions.
- Close the interview with a plan.
- Send a thank you note.
Selling is Social
LinkedIn has a model called the Social Selling Index (SSI) that users can use to see how their LinkedIn profile compares to others on the platform. Their index considers things like how much of a personal brand you’ve created, how you’re contributing to discussions, that you’re connected to the right people, and that you’re building relationships (amongst other proprietary things, I’m sure.) It seems that anyone can get their SSI for free.
The tool targets those using LinkedIn to support their Sales roles, but since my job right now is to sell myself, investing the time to improve this score seemed like a tangible way to get more traction with employers. I’m starting by adding more personal details to my LinkedIn profile page, taking my role descriptions through Grammarly to help clean up any silly issues, and adding a Projects section to my page to list the accomplishments I’ve been a part of over the last few years.
While I’m at it, I’m also refreshing my resume. I hadn’t updated my resume when I searched for jobs in the last decade, so it was overdue. I created a quick one-page resumé for this job search, but it hasn’t been received exceptionally well (given the employer response rate I discussed last week). I’m giving it some additional attention (and a second page so that I can more deeply explain the impact of the work I’ve done. Hopefully, that will help improve my response rate in the future as well.
Selling Fun
For those with a few weeks left before school starts:
Final Words
If I can help with your search, please contact me. Please give me feedback on what you like or don’t care for in this newsletter, and I’ll adjust. For total transparency, I have no affiliation with any of the tools, companies, or resources I share. These are my impressions, not colored by any outside influences.
Originally posted on https://onlynewmistakes.com/