Tip #4: Concentrate on unique transferrable value A transition (indeed any hire) depends on value not skills. Determine what value you bring -- value that transcends the boundaries of industry or function and underlies all your successes. Examples might be an ability to 1) consistently deliver growth no matter what the circumstances, 2) always find the one thing within an already good process that makes it deliver even more productivity or revenue, or 3) motivate a team to gel and excel in difficult circumstances.
Tip #5: Begin yesterday You need to lay a foundation – you cannot wait until a job loss or other crisis occurs. Research is a critical component of a multi-faceted portfolio of a job search toolkit. Use social networking tools like LinkedIn or Twitter to build visibility around your value proposition and to engage with emerging thought leaders in your targeted field. Write a blog and articles; attend industry events; make connections with movers and shakers; do field research by speaking with those doing the work you want to do; learn the industry trends and buzzwords.
Tip #6:Create employer desire You cannot assume a decision maker will immediately understand how his value will translate to the company. Do the work to discover the company's (and industry's) trends and needs. Using that information, use your skills to predict impact with value-driven accomplishment stories and construct value-driven solutions that predict success and translate directly to the bottom-line.
Tip #3: Leverage volatility When mass layoffs occur, smaller companies that could not compete for top-talent rush into to fill the gap and gobble up superior performers. When you experience a layoff, don't limit the search to your industry or function, an unrealistic salary, or a geographic location. This is the time that companies are thinking creatively and are more open to speaking with "non-traditional" hires with a great track record, and companies will be directing their recruiters to do so, too
Tip #2: Follow the money New, growing, and emerging fields like green technologies, clean energy, social media, and others, will have fewer job applicants trained in those precise areas. They are looking for the best, but know that the best will often have to come from somewhere else. If your value and experience speak to employer needs, transition is assured.
Tip #1: Start with the known During your career, if you are ever laid off or you just want out of your current field, companies, industries, and functions that have some connection to that field are often the most productive to pursue. Examples might be healthcare to biomedical; teaching to educational sales; consumer products brand management to B2B marketing; banking to corporate finance; engineering to green technologies; software development to new media.
THE CIRCUMSTANCE
What was the opportunity, problem, or challenge? State in no more than 2 sentences.
THE CONDUCT
Actually, the steps to the solution! What specific actions did you take…or why did you take action? In most cases, three or four actions should be identified, along with the rationale for taking those actions. Where possible, use the personal pronoun ”I” followed by and action word, such as managed, directed, led, designed, created, formulated, negotiated, planned, trained, sold, etc. State in no more than 2 sentences.
THE CONCLUSION
Wherever possible, QUANTIFY results and try to include a time frame. Where results don’t seem quantifiable…think again! While sometimes it is difficult to establish a clear cause-effect relationship between actions and results, it is perfectly permissible to cite a beneficial result that your actions contributed to, even if the actions of others also played a contributing, even vital role. The Conclusion should be 2 or 3 sentences for greatest effectiveness.
It is not necessary to “tell all” when relating a Three C story; simply tell your story. The listener will identify with the favorable objectives. In the telling, invite interviewer questions, especially when you have good back-up data. The most effective Three C presentations are typically brief; each should be able to be told in less than 90 seconds.
Circumstance - Conduct- Conclusion
Complete and Concise Interviewing
Is the Conclusion truly responsive to the Circumstance (i.e. problem or opportunity) identified? If not, rephrase either the Circumstance or Conclusion to make them line-up with one another. This creates interest.
Have you cited an appropriate result for each action taken? If not, either you should…or the action was incidental and can be dropped from the story. A frequently apparent shortcoming in many Three C presentations is the inclusion of irrelevant information…usually in describing the situation, but occasionally also in the actions or in the results.
Don’t bury your listener with unnecessary detail. You’re painting a word picture with broad-brush strokes. Layer your results; checking to make certain that each is more significant than the one preceding it. In the telling, after you detail the most significant result…STOP…and wait for questions or for a response.
Auditing your experience…
Three C’s are stories; a good storyteller is welcome and remembered in almost any environment. Many clients, upon successful completion of their campaigns, cite the Three C technique as the most effective of all techniques used in converting interviews to offers. It is a technique worthy of study and practice…
a technique it would be wise to master.
Circumstance - Conduct- Conclusion
Complete and Concise Interviewing
An effective Three C story presents a scenario in which the interviewer can identify with the challenges you faced in considering your circumstances and conduct. Strong Three C’s position your skills to the employers' needs. He or she will react favorably based on the positive results.
Create demand and position your branding. Communication is marketing from the point of view of the hiring manager. One of the best ways your career search communications can be looked at is as brief anecdotes which, when properly utilized, stress your values and strengths, and establish your credentials in areas of need or concern as they exist in the mind of your listener.
Responses following the Three C technique may be considered the simplest, most concise, most direct forms of COMPLETE COMMUNICATION; and they are the strongest conversational fortification one has in career development, the market campaign, or the job search. One of the most memorable ways of presenting value is to do so in a manner that succinctly describes problems you were successful in solving by using a “story-telling” format. Story telling is a powerful medium, especially when you concentrate on action-oriented stories that portray several abilities in one telling. Invariably, incidental circumstances in the story will register memorably because of their relevance to the listener's needs.
“I came to RLS for four reasons: (1) I needed my resume to stand out in the crowd, (2) I needed access to contacts and business leads that I can’t acquire on my own, (3) I needed someone who can help me expedite this transition process more quickly than I can on my own, and, (4) I wanted someone to help me optimize my negotiating position.”
Within a relatively short period of time, Jack was discussing an opportunity with the president of a company that owned 20 different businesses.
The company president said, “We’ve been thinking about adding a marketing/operations strategist for over a year. We own 20 different businesses; your resume caught my eye. Don’t know how you found me, but I’m glad you made contact. The job is to take three of them (approximately $21M) and help us grow the product and the market share.”
This contact came directly through the ‘targeted resume placement’ activity Jack’s marketing consultant assigned to him to do the first day of the month. He was contacted within 4 days and spent the next few weeks writing a proposal (per our tutorial on the proposal approach) about what he would do with this portion of the company.”
“The offer is interesting, especially when you put it against my wish list from our meeting. It’s 15 minutes from my house with a base salary, 15% equity, a performance bonus I helped structure, and a minimum of $50K in compensation for a special market analysis project I proposed. And remember the request for a company car? They gave me $250 car allowance (expenses) and a vehicle from the ‘owner’s collections’. That’s right! He collects cars… he has 82 of them. My company car is a fully restored 1967 Silver Shadow Rolls Royce."
Jack said, “This has been truly amazing. It’s perfect for right now. It’s diverse, it’s unique, and I won’t get bored. Could last forever… could last a few years…. Either way, I’ve got you guys on my side.”
Whether you are trying to market, sell, promote or advertise any product, service, company or yourself, you can't succeed by appearing average, and especially without target marketing and the proper exposure. It is this premise upon which RL Stevens has founded its methodology, a methodology that over the past quarter-century has helped thousands move toward more satisfying and rewarding careers. Let us help you maximize your career potential! We guarantee your total satisfaction with each phase of our work and to work with you until you are in a new position. We further provide an option for Career services for the lifetime of your career. No other career firm provides comparable services or such guaranties to back them up! Chris was a young MBA graduate with little experience and high aspirations. He had felt that his credentials would carry him into a position with high pay simply on the degree alone. Sophisticated organizations of today, however, have made it clear that they are much more interested in practical experience and applicable knowledge than only high grades or good schools. It became very clear that coming to RL Stevens was one of the best moves Chris could make. Although very bright, his job search skills were largely ineffective before contracting with us. His consultant determined which fields would gain Chris experience and a good salary as well as affording him full use of his skill set. After targeting the appropriate job targets, his consultant began to help Chris develop a strong resume, coached him through the art of interviewing, and provided him with knowledge of how to network effectively. He also provided research material from which Chris could extract vital company information about organizations where he wanted to work. Within a few short months Chris was able to target, approach, and reach a decision-maker within a company for which he really wanted to work. With careful coaching from his RL Stevens consultant, Chris convinced the company of his abilities to enhance their public relations program and got the offer as planned. Ira came to RL Stevens because he had been in marketing for a very long time, but wanted to get into a more external public relations-oriented function. He had no idea how to go about such a task since it had been more than 25 years since he'd conducted a job search and had no direction regarding what other fields or industries he could migrate into with his background. To add complexity to his situation, he believed that age and a total lack of formal education would hinder him greatly in marketing himself. Ira's consultant assured him that a unique marketing plan preceded by some effective self-assessment would make the task easier. Moving forward, he and Ira determined that Ira would be happy in a variety of positions including running his own public relations consulting business. Ira decided to explore all the possibilities at the same time leaving no stone unturned. In the meantime, it was strongly recommended that Ira enroll in a formal education program to strengthen his resume and his marketability in that regard. The strategy worked very well and, in the end, Ira made the decision to join a national consulting firm offering small business expertise specifically focused on public relations issues. The flexibility and independence coupled with his flair for excellent advisement have helped him greatly in carving out a niche in an industry that will work for him for many years to come.
Alexis Aronson, RL Stevens: “The right position, in the right career field, with the appropriate compensation package provides peace of mind and a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment.” With significant experience in marketing, management, creative writing, industry consulting, and state-of-the-art market research capabilities, we could provide you with the keys to success. At RL Stevens, responsiveness, dependability, and quality of service are held in high regard. Having come from a variety of management positions ourselves, we understand the need for personalized service from a professional who will ensure that your needs are always met. We would develop multiple, simultaneous, unpublished marketing channels to the job market the better to help you attain your goal. Whether you are trying to market, sell, promote or advertise any product, service, company or yourself, you can't succeed by appearing average, and especially without target marketing and the proper exposure. It is this premise upon which RL Stevens has founded its methodology, a methodology that over the past quarter-century has helped thousands move toward more satisfying and rewarding careers. Let us help you maximize your career potential! We guarantee your total satisfaction with each phase of our work and to work with you until you are in a new position. We further provide an option for Career services for the lifetime of your career. No other career firm provides comparable services or such guaranties to back them up! As a Public Relations consultant, you may need our expert consulting for YOUR career. Let us help you maximize your potential! Client Campaign Profiles for the Public Relations & Communications Marketplace Diane partnered with RL Stevens to aid her in uncovering public relations career opportunities in growing companies and healthy industries. She also sought to balance her life more, increase her salary potential and discover greater growth potential with a company. Utilizing highly competitive intelligence gained from RL Stevens’s databases and career information sources, Diane impressed a strong player in the current market. This firm flew her out to their corporate offices for the final interview phases. The skills she refined with coaching from her consultant won a respectable offer. Diane also received a radical increase in interest from recruiters when she re-submitted our new resume utilizing some industry-specific keywords. The focus and direction phase of our service helped her to understand and represent those functions on-line and in her marketing tools. As often occurs with our professional clients, when their current employer learns that they have received other highly competitive offers and are planning to leave, it extends a strong counter offer and a bidding contest ensues. With our frequent support, Diane was able to engage in a strategic negotiating process with her present company that lasted a week. In the end, Diane not only gained an increase of $40,000 in salary, including bonuses and commission, but also was acknowledged by Corporate and the CEO. She was given a promotion and promised a career path that included continuing responsibility, leadership, and decision-making power at the corporate level. When her firm needs new employees, she now calls us to send them appropriate candidates, knowing we attract solid professionals who are exploring competitive opportunities.
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