3 things things every JOB-SEEKER should consider

Are you on the job market or do you know someone who is? Well then here’s someone you’ve gopt to meet!

Sharon is an executive recruiter with decades of experience across all functional areas, including sales, marketing, HR, operations, general management, and finance.

She is also a dear friend with whom I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating on several workshops focused on networkingand personal branding.

Sharon & Andrea

This summer Talk About Talk is re-releasing the top 10 episodes of all time, one per week for 10 weeks. This week, I’m thrilled to re-release my conversation with Sharon about communication skills for job-seekers!

I’m not surprised that Sharon made the cut. People ❤️ LOVE Sharon! Her superpower is reading people. (Perfect for a recruiter, right?) She’s also generous, she knows her stuff, she’s highly connected.

You’ll learn a lot from Sharon and have some fun too!

3 things to Talk About this week:

1. The Generosity Mindset
2. Demonstrating Your Impact
3. Recommended Reading: Bragging Rights

1️⃣ The Generosity Mindset

How do you feel about networking? Does the prospect of connecting with potential employers excite you, or does merely reading the word make your skin crawl?

I get it.

This is why Sharon encourages us to approach networking with a mindset of generosity. As she says, the people with whom you’re networking generally want to be helpful.

So ask yourself how you can add value and extend generosity in return.

One way of doing so is to be respectful of their time. Make it easy for them to help you by being prepared with clearly defined job search goals.

❌ “I’m looking for a new job.”

✅ “I’m a global CFO with M&A experience looking for my next role in the health care industry.”

See the difference?

2️⃣ Demonstrating Your Impact

Say you’re an employer reviewing resumés of job candidates. Which one is more appealing?

Candidate A, Vice President of Sales

Managed a large team
Increased sales

Candidate B, Vice President of Sales

Managed, coached, and mentored a team of 50, two of whom are now in leadership roles.
Implemented strategic priorities to increase sales by 30%.

My guess is you’d go for Candidate B. Why? Because they demonstrated impact.

According to Sharon, what employers want to know is how you can help them make money, save money, or solve an issue.

As a job candidate, you have many opportunities to demonstrate your impact, starting with your resumé and LinkedIn profile.

After every bullet point, ask yourself, “So what?” Then rewrite anything that does not clearly show how you helped make money, save money, or solve an issue.

The other key opportunities to demonstrate impact are at networking events and job interviews.

Of course, when you’re actually speaking to a recruiter or employer face-to-face, talking about your achievements might make you feel self-conscious. Luckily, I know a great resource that can help you overcome that…

3️⃣ Recommended Reading: Bragging Rights

Whether it’s demonstrating your impact in a job interview, networking, or optimizing your LinkedIn profile, the job search process always involves an element of self-promotion.

For many of us, self-promotion seems like something to be avoided; after all, we don’t want to come across as arrogant.

But according to award-winning entrepreneur and author Lisa Bragg, purposeful self-promotion is not the same as boasting.

To learn about how to speak about yourself and your work with confidence and purpose, I encourage you to read Lisa’s newest book, Bragging Rights.

Lisa interviewed me for her book and quoted me twice. What a honor! (Do you see what I did there? Subtle self-promotion!!!) I also attended her book launch party!

Lisa & Andrea

There you go – 3 things to Talk About this week:
1️⃣ The Generosity Mindset
2️⃣ Demonstrating Your Impact
3️⃣ Recommended Reading: Bragging Rights

A big thank you to Sharon Mah-Gin for sharing her insights! How often do you get to hear advice directly from a recruiter?

If you know anyone who’s looking for a new job, please forward this email to them. Thank you!

Talk soon,