Stepping Stones Manual in Brief

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Stepping StonesThe manual

A career guidance and job search tool kit

ByPeter Sugden

‘I n bri e f ’

I f y o u l i k e w h

a t y o u r e a d w

h y n o t

p u r c h a s e t h e

f u l l v e r s i o n !



Stepping StonesThe manual

Written by

Peter sugden

Published and distributed in 2009 by

Burwood Victoria 3125Phone: 9808 3023

Email: [email protected]://sprintstart.com.au

Copyright© 2009. All rights reserved

v1.2

High performance coaching SPRINT START

http://sprintstart.com.au © Peter Sugden 2009 Page 2

Telephone: (03) 9808 3023Mobile: 0425 780 677Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


http://sprintstart.com.au/






Contents

Introduction 4

Your lifestyle and life goals 5

Your personal ‘pitch’ 8

Building your resume 10

Designing your phone call and meeting plans 13

Referral networking 16

Job interviews 19

Responding to advertisements 22

Conclusion 25

Appendix 28

Do you need help? 26










IntroductionHow do you get the right position in your organisation of choice? For many people the process of job

searching is cloaked in feelings of discomfort, uncertainty and anxiousness. You could be a university

graduate or retired athlete transitioning to a primary role in the workforce, a young adult looking for

your first job or someone whose position has unfortunately been made redundant. What do I do first?

How do I find a job? Where do I turn for help? These are important questions that need to be

addressed at the outset.

To be successful at your job search you need to be doing more than simply responding to

advertisements. You can both discover and develop potential employment opportunities in two

distinct areas. Firstly, there is the the ‘visible’ job market, the one most people know about. There is a

high degree of competition for these positions because to find the best candidate organisations have

actively publicised these in newspapers and increasingly over the internet.

The second area is through the hidden job market. In fact the hidden job market accounts for the

largest percentage of available positions. The challenge for you is to ‘find’ what they are and where

they exist. These opportunities have not been advertised nor are they even necessarily existing

positions. Someone may have just left the organisation, a new position may have been created or a

manager has seen a need for a change. The advantage here is that there is far less competition. You

are potentially going to solve a recruitment problem for an employer and often they are underpressure to fill a vacancy with a quality individual as quickly as possible.

This manual gives you the fundamental tools for successfully obtaining a job of your choice from both

the visible and hidden job markets. It means you might have to examine how you currently search for

work and in some cases have the courage to learn new ways of approaching things. But, you do not

want to be leaving anything to chance. Peter’s manual can offer you three key features:

1. A strategic approach your job search through planning and preparation.

2. A powerful way of selling your most valuable resource - ‘you’.

3. Effective tools to support your job hunt.

Understanding the fundamentals of this manual will:

1. Develop your confidence at prospecting over the phone and in person.

2. Increase your awareness about your exceptional qualities.3. Increase the belief in yourself during crucial conversations.

How to use this manual

This manual is designed to help you quickly understand the principles of gaining a job of your choice

whether that be a result of a job advertisement or as part of the hidden job market. You need to

identify the job search skills you have and what you need to develop. For younger candidates start at

the beginning and work your way to the end. For more experienced people you may just need to

select the appropriate section that will give you the necessary guidance.

No matter what job search methodology you use there are three fundamentals that all successful

candidates have:

Commitment

Persistence

Patience

Good luck with your job search!












Setting the scene for your job search

Successful people have certain things in common. They have developed an awareness of what they

deeply value, they focus on meaningful goals and they understand their unique qualities. This is a

good place to start for you. Take time to complete the activities below and the answers will help you

when you in setting a foundation for the rest of the manual.

Your life style I n your time away from work, what activities do you enjoy most?

Which of the above skills would you like to use in your next role or organisation?

What interests, activities or study do you plan to undertake over the next few years?










Your goals and personal / family aspirations?Short term goals:

Long term goals:










Your personal ‘pitch’




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Selling yourself through your personal ‘pitch’

It is often difficult to succinctly tell people about your professional self. It is acknowledged that you

need to capture the interest of a listener in the first thirty seconds of a conversation otherwise they

start tuning out. Television commercials are really good at selling products and services in thirty

seconds and there is no reason why this same thinking cannot be applied to selling your professional

self. This thirty second pitch principle is a really effective way of handling interviews, meetings and

informal conversations. It does three things:• It increases your confidence at presenting yourself in the best possible way.

• It dramatically increases the potential for listeners to remain interested in you.

• It encourages listeners to probe by asking questions which can then provide possible networking

opportunities and follow up conversations.

Your personal pitch should contain 3 major components:

1. A SUMMARY OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL SELF - how do you describe yourself professionally?

Clarify in terms of your functional area of expertise rather than a job title.

2. AN EXAMPLE OF YOUR LAST ROLE - state your key responsibilities in language that anyonecan understand. Job titles can be organisational specific and too discrete.

3. YOUR FUTURE FOCUS - paint a picture of the kind of work you want to do, the results you want

to achieve and contributions you want to make. You need to be honest as to the stage of your

career you are at. ie the areas you are currently exploring.

Consider this an an example:

“I am a marketing professional with extensive experience in major national retail and financial

organisations including ABC & 123.

My most recent position was with KLM Ltd and I was responsible for developing marketing strategies

and supporting customer loyalty campaigns.

My next career goal is to secure a marketing managers position in a large retail business.”

How to deliver the ‘pitch’:

• Demonstrate enthusiasm!

• Display confidence through practice, practice and more practice!

• Deliver your pitch with authority and surety!










Building your resume










What a resume means

A resume is an important part of your ‘personal sales strategy’. It exists to help communicate to

prospective employers a succinct snap shot of your career, qualifications and accomplishments. In a

significant sense it is not only a tool to help you stand out from other people, it assists in crystalising

your thinking and builds your own awareness to your strengths and achievements.

Seven things you should know about resumes

1. Resumes can be utilised for matching your background with job requirements.

2. Resumes can be used in some networking situations.

3. More often than not resumes are skimmed over. Your challenge is to present yourself so you

will be placed on the ‘read again’ pile.

4. Standard resumes are three to five pages with additions for specific projects etc included as

addendums.

5. One page resumes are extremely useful tools for networking opportunities and easily emailed

(only PDF) for people to view.

6. Resumes are ‘works in progress’. You need to be revising them regularly so it reflects

accurately your current achievements as well as suiting a particular purpose.

7. Never include details for referees in your resumes. These can be provided upon request and

means that you have the opportunity to brief your referees so they are as prepared as possible.

Tasks for building your resume

Task 1 Organising

• Reflecting on your professional history

• Understanding the purpose

• Placing a measure on your accomplishments

• Thinking about the format

• Considering the pitch and tone

Task 2 Writing

• Generate your content in draft form first. Use third person or keep language neutral.

• Begin at any point

• Write as you speak

Task 3 Revising

• Ensure clear and concise writing

• Your writing needs to captivate the reader• Use business language










Segments of your resumes

Things that should be left out

• Information not relevant for its purpose

• Hobbies and interests (unless you apply for a job in the specific area)

• Photographs

• Personal information ie age, marital status, religious and political affiliations

• Names of referees

• Reasons for leaving jobs

• Months of employment










Designing your phone call

and meeting plans




L i k e w

h a t y o

u r e a d ?

W h y n

o t p u

r c h a s e

t h e f

u l l v e r s i o n

!
























Your phone call plan

When making contact with people for the first time as part of your job search it is very important that

you maximise the chances of having an extended conversation with them. Your resume and personal

pitch are extremely important tools to use in fine tuning your call plan. Your overall objective should

be to anticipate the interaction and all its potential variations.

Things you need to consider in preparing for your job search calls:

• What do you want achieve from your call?

• How will you open the conversation?

• What response do you think you will get?

• What questions do you think you will be asked?

Your call plan approach:










Your information gathering meeting plan

A fundamental part of your job search is to broaden your referral network by speaking to a variety of

people about gathering information and advice in your area of interest and capability. Your major

objective from your phone contact is to secure an information gathering meeting. It is crucial at this

point that you have a meeting plan. You should have a number of objectives for your meeting and

these are listed below.










Referral networking










Understanding your Networks

Any job search strategy should incorporate a multi pronged approach of searching for opportunities.

These include responding to job advertisements and floating yourself to recruitment firms. An often

under utilised strategy is accessing the hidden market. The hidden market refers to positions that

have not yet been advertised and they are at various levels of conceptualisation. Here you need to be

accessing prospective decision makers and promoting the features and benefits of your skills. If you

can identify a need in an organisation before it is advertised you can gain a significant head start onother prospective candidates.

Your initial contact list

We all have contacts. Don’t underestimate how many people you know who could potentially give

you a referral into an organisation. The first task is to identify these people so you can begin your

referral network fan.










Try developing your contact list by identifying your top ten target companies and then thinking about

who you know who could give you an introduction into the organisations.










Job interviews




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?

W h y n o t p

u r c h a

s e t h e

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e r s i o n !
























What job interviews are really about

An interview is part of your personal sales strategy. It is an opportunity to sell the benefits you can

bring to the organisation. Just like your resume building and networking, interviews are the important

next phase of your job search and one that you must spend time preparing for.

Selling your benefits

Successful selling is about providing a product or service that satisfies a need or needs for the buyer.

Effective selling is about firstly, uncovering needs through careful questions and above all listening.

Secondly, it is about communicating how you can satisfy those needs. Thirdly, it is about making it

easy for the prospect to decide to buy. All products and services have features and benefits.










Your appreciation letter

Thank you letters are extremely important for showing your appreciation, building relationships and

maintaining a connection. Most commonly they are sent in typed form but do not under estimate the

impact of a hand written one as they are seen as much more personal. Below is a sample thank you

letter.










Responding to

advertisements










Standing out

Exploring the hidden job market is an essential part of securing the job of your choice but to round

out your strategic approach you must also consider responding to advertisements. Your task here is

to ‘STAND OUT’ from the large number of other candidates. The resume is a crucial part of your

armory. But how will you encourage decision makers to be interested in looking at it? Your cover

letter must be the tool. A good covering letter will go a long way to ensuring your resume is read and

dramatically improve your chances of an interview. A bad covering letter will have the opposite effect.Send it to the right person and make sure all the details are correct.

Some tips when answering advertisements

• Don’t repeat your resume!

• Before you respond to an advertisement make sure you have all the details correct. You want

the name, title and correct spelling of the contact person. Phone contact is appropriate here.

• When on the phone have some important questions prepared to ask about the role.

• If possible when phoning for details avoid being interviewed over the phone.

• When phoning it is not appropriate to mention the names of your referees or your salary.

• If the organisation is mentioned in the advertisement, research them to enable you to tailoryour application.

• Wherever possible address the letter to a person rather than sir/madam.

• If the employer is not named begin with RE: followed by the position title.

• In the letter show how you meet and surpass the qualifications for the position.

• Use an assertive and positive close ie, ‘I look forward to discussing this application with you. I

will make contact in the next few days.’

• Use the language of the advertisement.

• Be BRIEF and pinpoint the employers needs!

Your advertisement response should;




Be to the point!

Be brief!

Make your resume

irresistible toread!







Analysing a sample advertisement

Sales Coordinator• High performing culture

• Professional and value based business

• Be part of an international company

This is a great opportunity to develop your publishing

industry career by joining our national office. We are seeking

an experienced, enthusiastic and team oriented Sales

Coordinator to join our dynamic Sales and Marketing

Department.

Based in the national office, this role will involve a wide

range of tasks, including providing administrative support to

the sales and marketing team and underpinning the NationalSales and Marketing Manager’s responsibilities.

To be successful in this role you need a pro-active and ‘can-

do’ attitude, be energetic, have superior organisational skills

and be able to demonstrate an ability to build and maintain

effective work relationships with both internal and external

customers. You must possess strong written and verbal

communication skills, in particular advanced Excel and

Power Point capabilities with the ability to present data and

reports in a professional manner. Ideally you have had

experience in a sales and/or marketing environment.

A worthy salary package will be negotiated upon

commencement.

Applications should be forwarded to:

MsJ Murray

XYZ Personnel

PO Box 444

Wind bag 99




Experience andknowledge of sales

and marketin g

Ability to manageand utilise computer

based technologies

Proven capacity to work as part of a team

Highly competentcommunication skills

Strong capabilitiesin relationshipmanagemen t











ConclusionSuccessfully obtaining a job of your choice is never easy but it is not impossible. You need to have

confidence in a strategic approach. This manual has been specifically designed to quickly help you

understand the principles of gaining a job of your choice whether that be a result of a job

advertisement or as part of the hidden job market. You have examined aspects of what motivates you

as a unique individual, developed your personal pitch so you are ready to talk to anyone about your

capabilities in any situation and you have been shown how to build a resume that will set you apart.In addition you have become familiar with the need to plan all your phone prospecting and crucial

meetings and have been given guidance about how to do it. You have also explored the importance

and way to massage your existing and latent networks as well as anticipating how you will tackle the

key aspects to job interviewing.

If something does not come your way quickly do not become frustrated and dejected as this is

normal. Remember the more you refine and practice the elements of your strategy the better you will

get at landing a job of your choice. Plan your days so you regularly achieve things and keep your

promises to others and most importantly to your self. Your job search is ultimately a self discovery

process and at the end of it you should feel more confident about your capabilities and more

articulate about what you have to offer. In anticipation, congratulations on landing the job of your

choice!

As a final word take this thought with you as you strive to reach your goals.

“People are never born great. There are just ordinary people

who achieve greatness due to great determination”.










Do you need help?Let us assume you have diligently worked your way through the Stepping Stones manual. You have

developed your personal pitch, built an adequate resume and started looking at your call plans but

you are still a bit confused about taking the next steps. As a way of determining whether you may

need to seek more comprehensive and intense support, complete this questionnaire:

Yes No

Are you still puzzled about the key strengths you have? ❏ ❏

Are you still uncertain as to what your skills a nd values preferences are best suited toward? ❏ ❏

Do you still lack confidence in your abilities a nd how to sell them? ❏ ❏

Do you remain confused as to the next steps to take having examined the manual in detail? ❏ ❏

Would you benefit from more guidance to su pport you in gaining the position of your

choice?❏ ❏

If you answered ‘yes’ to the majority of these questions, then consider the ‘Stepping Stonesprogramme’. This five session career guidance and job search programme with Peter Sugden

reassures people like you who are needing a little more guidance and support. Look below for details.


L i k e w

h a t y o

u r e a d ?

W h y n

o t p u

r c h a s e

t h e f

u l l v e r s i o n

!























Stepping Stones Manual in Brief

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