Dave the job seeker assured me he had prepared this elevator pitch.

“Okay!” I said, “Hit me with it”.

He began.

“I was born in 1969 in Melbourne Australia” he started. I went to school at Box Hill South Primary School until I was 12 or so, and then I became a student at Box Hill High School.”

His story continued…

….“So my first job was at fifteen where I joined as a rookie journalist and then I….”

and so it went. On and on and on.

15 minutes later he drew to a close and looked at me proudly.

“That’s it?” I smiled.

“Well”, he admitted “I’ve cut it down a bit for you because you know me”.

If this was an elevator pitch it would have to be one very slow elevator or the world’s tallest building!

As a person on the job hunt, you’ve probably come across the phrase “Elevator Pitch” and wondered what it means and whether you should have one. Briefly, an elevator pitch is a short, yet compelling statement of introduction that you can communicate in the time it takes for an elevator to get to the floor of choice. (And yes, you should have one).

Very few people may find themselves in the happy position of sharing a short journey with a top-level decision maker, but most of you will have an interview at some time in your career. It will be important to know what to say and how to break the ice, especially when you’re asked the time-honoured question, “Tell me about yourself.”

WRONG: I am a General Manager. I am 51 years old, my wife’s name is Margaret and we have three children, Samuyl who is 16, Mmarkk who is 14 and my “baby” Moon Unit who is 10. I have an MBA from Melbourne University. Um I really enjoy the football and I keep fit by playing cricket. I have been with my current accounting firm Messrs Find-it and Bill for five years, and before that, I was in the retail industry as the General Manager of Dresses ‘R Us.

The statement above is timed at 30 seconds. What have you learned about the candidate that is concrete and advances his candidacy?

CORRECT: I help businesses create prosperity by identifying lucrative growth opportunities. Most recently as General Manager for a large-accounting firm, I executed five acquisitions that delivered more than 7 million dollars in yearly revenues while retaining 98% of the customer base. Prior to that, I led an unprecedented change management program that re-positioned a national retailer as a leader and innovator. Would you agree that my experience is a match?

The statement above is professional, it’s concise and it’s interesting. It is, 26 seconds of wow.

Start working on your elevator pitch now. What makes you unique? What short snapshot of your experience can you provide that meets the needs of the job for which you are applying? It takes some time to work on this, so you’ll need to really commit to it, write it, rewrite it, edit and rehearse it. Make it sound conversational, deliver it in a well-modulated and interesting tone, and seek to engage your interviewer by outlining the key points of your candidacy.

Eye glazing or compelling and fact-filled?

It’s your choice.

Your heart skips a beat as you disconnect the call. A combination of nausea and elation hit you as you turn to your partner wide-eyed, incredulous.

“I got the interview” you say quietly as if by saying it louder you’ll somehow make it untrue.

As you grasp the reality, you grin and laugh. “I got the interview!” you repeat while performing a tiny jig at the kitchen bench.

Your partner laughs delightedly with you as she joins you in dance; two silly reactions enveloped in joy. “Yay!” she cries happily. “Your dream job! That’s incredible!”.

As you both lapse into thoughtful silence, she looks at you. “So, she says, “What next?”

What next?

The words seem to echo around you. You’ve never considered that scenario. Heck, you’ve been looking for a job forever! It’s all been about getting to this point—the resume so carefully developed, the cover letter, the networking, the blogging. But now, indeed, “What next”?

Like everything that means something in your life, you should have a plan.

Your references. This is good place to start as it may take a while to catch past colleagues and managers and find time for a coffee and a chat. Your references need to know what type of job you’re going for and you need to jog their memories on instances in the past that qualify you for this role now.

While you’re discussing these details, you need to ask. Is there something that he or she may say or recall that could hurt your candidacy? Now is the time to get this out in the open. If an individual has this power, you need to reassess… do you still want him or her to be a reference?

A few years ago, a client told me how a reference with a propensity for letting her mouth run before her brain was actively engaged, sabotaged his candidacy. To a question about confidentiality, the reference had replied: “John did really well until that incident where he was suspected of leaking information to the press. Of course, I never knew exactly whether he did it or not, but management sure thought he did!”

Suffice to say, if your reference doesn’t quite get what she’s being asked to do, it is time to find a substitute!

Google. Have you searched for your name on the Internet? If you see your last Facebook status or a Twitter comment sent at 3am when you were a tad tipsy, delete these items now. If you can find them, the new employer or recruiting firm will find them too. Look for off-colour remarks or photographs on Flickr or MySpace that you would not like your next employer to see and remove them.

Do you have a Linkedin profile? These score quite prominently on Google. If you want to push some ill-advised “digital dirt” that you cannot remove further back on the Google results, create a Linkedin profile. Essentially, you want to counteract any questionable material with a consistent, professional brand that instils confident and oozes professionalism. Recruiters or employers may have already checked the Internet, but just in case they haven’t, take steps to fix the situation. Whoozy is a good way to keep track of your online profile.

Next: Research the company. What do you actually know about your dream job? Do you know about the company culture, what they do, where their head office is, what they do make or sell, their history, their people? What do you know about their leaders? Who is their Chief Executive Officer? Are they a listed company? What do you know about their share price? If you cannot answer any of these questions, it is time to educate yourself. Interviewers are incredibly impressed when candidates take the time to research and show knowledge of the company. Google is your friend for doing this as well as Linkedin.

Have you been given the job description for your dream job? If you’re in a leadership role you may want to consider developing a strategy document that you take with you to interview. Show how you meet the criteria of the position and what you plan to do in your first 30, 60, 90 days on the job. It’s a smart, professional idea that sells and positions you as a problem solver with initiative. If you don’t know where to start, the service WinTheView provides step-by-step instructions for preparing such a document; right through to printing it out and advice on when and how to present it. (Ask me).

Dress to Impress. What do you have to wear to the interview? The old advice of wearing clothes one step up for the position you want to secure, is still good. Smart business attire never fails to reinforce a professional image. Make sure your suit is conservative, your tie is straight, your shoes are shined and if you cross your legs, the socks are not bright pink with Tweety Bird emblazoned on the ankle! For women, watch the hemline of your skirt (rehearse sitting in front of a mirror and see how much thigh is exposed when you sit comfortably), keep the jewellery and makeup to a professional day-time standard, and wear shoes that don’t make you totter clumsily because the heels are too high.

Are you well versed in personal etiquette? Don’t leave them wilting in your wake. Ensure no overpowering fragrances or after shave. Don’t smoke before you walk in. No garlic for dinner the night before. Be nice to be near. Don’t walk into the office slurping a coffee or check your mobile for Facebook updates, tweets or texts.

Finally, just how long has it been since you interviewed last? Consider investing in a coach who is expert in interviews. He or she will be able to advise you on the techniques needed to avoid self sabotage and interview paralysis and help you with the pitfalls of negotiating a salary. If you can afford it and this job means something to you, do it. It will be a worthwhile investment of time and money.

Have you done all that?

Take a big breath then, straighten your shoulders and put on your winning smile.

It’s time to get your dream job.

I am a member of the Career Collective. A group of experienced career professionals who blog on specific topics every month. Look for our posts on Twitter #careercollective. Meantime, check out other member articles on this topic–links at the bottom of this article. Please see other discussions on common job search blunders and possible solutions from Career Collective members below.

How to Stand Out in a Job Interview @heathermundell

Avoid These Reference Mistakes @DawnBugni

Unspoken Secrets of Job Interviewing Prep: How Your Nonverbal Presentation and Behaviors Impact the Impression You Make @KatCareerGal

Prep for Interviews Now: Snuff out the Elephant in the Room Later! @chandlee << not working yet

What Should Job Seekers Do Now to Prepare for an Interview @erinkennedycprw

Take a Ride in the Elevator Before You Interview @barbarasafani

Are You Ready for the Elephant in the Room? @WorkWithIllness

“Tell Me About Yourself” (Oh, Yikes!), @KCCareerCoach

The job interview as a shared narrative @WalterAkana

Prepare your references for job search success @Keppie_Careers

No Pain No Gain In Job Search and Interview Prep @ValueIntoWords

Job searching? Take a cue from the Boy Scouts @LaurieBerenson

Preparing for Career Success Starts with Interviewing the Employers @JobHuntOrg

Cinderella 2010:

Taking a break from hearth cleaning at home, Cinderella scours searchforaprincess.com when she spies the perfect role advertised at Prince Charming Inc. Seems the CEO, Prince Charming, is looking for a Princess to co-manage his kingdom. The successful candidate need have no actual experience in kingdom management, but must possess a demure smile, the ability to triumph over workplace bullying, a magical mentor, professional ballroom dancing skills, and a foot able to slip perfectly into a one-of-a-kind glass slipper.

Quickly, Cinderella completes the details online, clicks the “Submit” button and waits for a call from the palace. A week later still no call. Three weeks later, Cinderella decides that a career in hearth cleaning is clearly in her future. Her hopes dashed, she shrugs and continues scrubbing. Seems whatever Prince Charming was looking for, it wasn’t her.

Many job seekers are like Cinderella 2010. They see the Internet as being a quick and easy solution that will transform their job search dreams to a reality; no fuss, no bother.

Want to apply for a job you like? It’s easy! Just upload your details, hit the submit button and wait for the call!

Want to call a recruiter about the job or the progress of your candidacy but too reticent/nervous/scared to do so? Just shoot off an email!

Want to work for a company but worried that you will meet a gatekeeper who will not let you gain access to the decision makers? An email will take care of that too!

One of the biggest misconceptions about the Internet is that it made getting a job easier. It didn’t. It just provided a swifter transit for communications; communications incidentally that may not even reach or be read by the right person or people; as Cinderella 2010 (clearly the ideal candidate) discovered.

The fact is, human resources is a human contact business and no matter how streamlined the initial process of communication, at some point, the job seeker is going to have to get off his or her chair and be proactive; talk to someone, pitch skills and make contact. Take the risk of being rejected instead of hiding behind an electronic wall.

The amount of effort you invest is directly aligned to the outcome. Prince Charming, seeking to fill the position of Princess will not travel from door-to-door bearing a glass slipper until he finds you. There is a price for taking the easy way out in just about everything in life; the price you pay in the job seeking arena is not standing out, not being seen, and not being recognised as the right candidate for the job.

Adjust your way of thinking beyond the electronic wall. Pick up the telephone and call a recruiter, ask intelligent questions about the job being offered and get known. Raise your profile; talk with friends and former colleagues to uncover the potential for upcoming jobs so you can start making approaches before a position is advertised. Form a friendly relationship with gatekeepers who have the power to get you before decision makers. The way forward is in your hands. Remember, minimum effort yields minimum rewards.

Revised ending: Cinderella 2010. Cinderella 2010 calls the Palace.

“Hello? My name is Cinderella. I forwarded my details to you a few days ago and I may have neglected to mention that I may be the individual you seek. Specifically, I believe my foot may fit a glass slipper that I inadvertently lost following my last dance with Prince Charming at the ball……”

Some people have a knack for walking into roles for which they are, on paper at least, entirely unqualified.

Passion and wanting it so much it hurts, as any failed Australian or American Idol contestant can tell you, doesn’t make it happen for the rest of us.

I’ve seen hundreds of people over the last twenty years, desperate to get into a new job with greater responsibilities and excitement.

Take for instance, the eager, young up-and-comer, yearning to take on the manager’s role, disheartened by failure to snare it, yet not understanding that it was the lack of years, experience and maturity that was behind the ultimate decision.

Then there is the Executive Assistant, experienced in the art of managing corporate soirées, Board meetings, catered lunches and more with flawless perfection, who dreams of an event management role catering to people in their thousands, in cavernous rooms with hi-tech equipment. Time and again, her hopes are dashed as she is passed over for other candidates with a strong background in event management.

Most people fail to face the realities of the job search. Think about this critically. If you were hiring for say, a Chief Executive Officer for a global financial institution, would you select the twenty-two year old recent MBA graduate as the person to lead this world-leading institution? He or she may have the knowledge of contemporary business practices, but does he or she have the wealth of experience and knowledge that it has taken to reach that level over decades? That is experience and knowledge that no amount of classroom training can buy.

There’s nothing wrong with throwing your hat in the ring and hoping you may have a chance (as long as there’s nothing to lose like relying on the dream to feed your family and keep a roof over your head). It is also a good value proposition for you to work towards your goals; to see what you have to do to get where you want to go and then pursue it…whether it is training or following a strategic, planned career path. What is soul-destroying, is failing to face the facts about your candidacy and then, like those failed American or Australian Idol hopefuls, plunge into feelings of devastation, bitterness or anger.

How do you stand aside and look at yourself realistically?

For a start, look at the job description or criteria for the position you want so desperately.

If the job description indicates that the successful candidate should have five years of experience in senior management and you have only been acting in a team leader role three levels down, then chances are that your application will not come close to being seriously considered. No matter how wonderful your resume is and how much you have achieved in your short stints as a team leader.

If the job description indicates that the successful candidate should be a senior sales representative with a strong track record selling mainframes to multinational companies and you currently sell wine to the local liquor outlet, then the chances of getting your application considered are slim. It really doesn’t matter if you fulfil all the other criteria of being enthusiastic, client focused, well organised and able to service important customers if you cannot supply the two key ingredients of the job — being in the right industry, and having a track record of selling a specific product.

No-one is saying you shouldn’t have goals. No-one is saying that you can’t make a strategic career transition to where you want to go, and no-one is saying that you need to stay in the same job or industry forever. Dreams can come true, but they have to be supported by pragmatism and the willingness to face facts. Trying to squeeze your skills into a space that leaves no room for growth or movement can be every bit as disheartening as stretching them paper thin to reach boundaries that are beyond your reach.

Being realistic about the opportunities available to you right now, and establishing a vision and a plan for how to execute and achieve your long-term goals is the recipe for hope, optimism and ultimately, career success.

Give someone your undivided attention. It’s not old-fashioned to stop multi-tasking for a minute. Manners are what makes us civilised; and they also appear to be in decline.

Just last week I was talking with an Operations Manager friend of mine, who was hiring. He told me he couldn’t count the number of people striding into his office for an interview sipping coffee.

“If they’re going for a cool and nonchalant look, they’re failing” he said, before adding that his favourite line is “Oh did you bring one for me too?” –a line that at least caused several candidates to look a little sheepish. What the heck are these people doing? This is an interview. It’s not a chat over coffee if the other person doesn’t have a coffee. It is not a café. It is an office.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg according to search consultants who regularly cite the mobile phone as being the extra unwanted person in the room at interviews. Buzzing, beeping and at times answered by the candidate, the mobile phone is known for getting more attention than anyone else present.

Just recently, an executive search consultant revealed that a candidate for a Chief Financial Officer role, slouched in the door of this global organisation unshaven and wearing a tracksuit. This vision of motivational and professional splendour was made all the more complete with the addition of “pillow hair”. The consultant gave a sterling piece of advice to this would-be senior-level candidate: “Go home. Think about the way you are presenting yourself and we’ll forget this interview ever happened. If you’re still interested in the role in a week, give me a call”.

What the heck was he thinking?

Jobseekers. Heed this advice. Manners count. A lot.

• Decision-makers don’t want to listen to your private telephone calls; they want your undivided attention at interview. You will survive without constant communication updates for an hour.
• Decision-makers don’t want to see you slurp coffee and throw your empty cup into their wastepaper basket. It’s distracting and it’s rude. You will not die of thirst without a drink for an hour.
• Decision-makers want to think that you considered a meeting as an exciting opportunity and that you dress up for important occasions. Not that you’ve remembered you had to take a detour on your morning jog.

Brush up your manners and look at yourself critically. Ask yourself. “What the heck have I been doing?”

As a member of a new community of resume writers and career coaches called the Career Collective, this post is one of many responses to the question, “Are you a cookie cutter job seeker?” I encourage you to visit other members’ responses, which will be linked at the end of my reply by 9th October! Please follow our hashtag on Twitter: #careercollective.

Imagine you are in front of an interviewer right now.

Your interviewer leans back comfortably in his chair, smiles and encourages you to break the ice. “In less than a minute” he grins, “I want you to tell me about yourself”.

Ah ha! You’re ready for this question.

“Well” you venture brightly, “I’m very team oriented. I have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and I’m definitely well organised and reliable. I feel that I am very good at solving problems and I am a very hard worker”.

You stop and smile pleased with yourself. You have said all the right things and easily beat the one-minute deadline. You’ve done well.

Haven’t you?

Not by the look on the face of the interviewer who clearly is undergoing an attitudinal shift. Still polite of course, but the smile has wilted somewhat and the warmth that greeted your arrival has been replaced with what appears to be disappointment.

What went wrong?

You took the “cookie cutter” way–using the same stock standard phrases that you have heard from a thousand different sources starting with your high school careers class. These phrases have become entrenched in your way of thinking under the category of: “Things You Must Say To Employers”

The key issue with mimicking friends and taking job search advice from non-experts, is that the employer or recruiter or HR person has heard it all before too. Over and over and over again in fact. On every resume, and by every enthusiastic jobseeker who ever attempts to impress at a job interview.

This so-called tried-and-true approach has a number of problems:

• It indicates a lack of originality or creativity; as far as the interviewer is concerned when pressed to come up with an original thought, you resort to clichés.
• It makes you look as if you truly believe that being organised, articulate and likeable is the panacea to company problems which is unrealistic at best. (Arranging pens nicely on the desk and having a team focus is unlikely to resolve a difficult union negotiation or bring in the big dollars on a complex sales deal. Or cut costs, or boost productivity or fix quality problems in manufacturing for that matter).
• By resorting to clichés and doing what everyone else does you have proven yourself in the interviewer’s eyes as being unoriginal, a follower, unable to impress or present information in a stressful situation, and that you are far from a risk taker.

Is that the “you” you know?

Is that the way you want people who don’t know you to perceive you?

Let’s rewind (I’ll give you an opportunity that none of get in real life!).

Your interviewer leans back comfortably in his chair, smiles and encourages you to break the ice. “In less than a minute” he grins, “I want you to tell me about yourself”.

“Well” you say, “I am an Executive Assistant to C-level executives. I started my career in administration as a word processing operator and in just a few years I’ve been privileged to work with some of the top executives in the tourism sector. I think that if you asked my current boss, the CEO of X company, he’d call me his lifeline! [pause to smile]. My role is to relieve him of any administrative burdens so he can do what he does best. As a result of that, I’ve had to learn some really complex work in finance and operations so I can speak confidently with other executives and get things done. If you asked me to summarise, I see myself as a management proxy and solution provider”.

Just 33 seconds.

In 33 seconds you have painted a word picture of who you are and what you do.

• You have shown yourself as articulate (you didn’t have to say you had “excellent communication skills”—you proved it!)
• You have provided background indicating that you have worked hard at self-improvement and that your efforts have paid off as you are now chosen to support C-Level executives.
• You have indicated that you’re not afraid to learn and you have the capacity to understand complex material.
• You have shown you are modest by citing your employer as saying that you are his “lifeline” (it is not boasting as you are citing a source!).
• You have indicated that you understand how important your role is in allowing the company to prosper (you free the executive to do what he does best).

And to wrap it up you place yourself in the position where you are able to competently act as a proxy for your manager, and solve problems.

Yes in just 33 seconds.

It sure beats clichés and doing what everyone else is doing doesn’t it?

So here’s your homework; stop sabotaging your efforts by resorting to the cookie-cutter style. Rid yourself of clichés and discard the advice of well-meaning people outside the careers industry. Think about yourself in terms of how you make a difference, who you are and what you do that sets you apart from others. Take what you know to interview and replace the fluff on your resume.

(Best to do it now)

Don’t you deserve to be seen as the person you really are?

Other posts from the Career Collective on the same topic can be found here:

The Emerging Professional: On the “Cookie Cutter” Approach to Job Search: Do You Need a Recipe?

Sterling Career Concepts: Job seekers: Break out of the mold!

Dawn Bugni The Write Solution: Dawn’s Blog Is your job search “cookie-cutter” or “hand-dropped”?

Rosa Vargas, Creating Prints Resume-Writing Blog: Being a Cookie-Cutter Job Seeker is a Misfortune

Heather Mundell, life@work: How Not to Be a Cookie Cutter Job Seeker

CAREEREALISM: Cookie Cutters are for Baking…Not Job Searching!

Sweet Careers Passive Job Seeker = Cookie Cutter Job Seeker

Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, Career Trend Blog: Eating Bananas Doesn’t Make You an Ape

Miriam Salpeter, Keppie Careers: How Can a Job Seeker Stand Out?

Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog:Avoiding Being a Cookie-Cutter Job-seeker In Your Resume and Throughout Your Job Search:

Heather R. Huhman, HeatherHuhman.com: Break the Mold: Don’t Be a Cookie Cutter

Rosalind Joffe, WorkingWithChronicIllness.com Forget the cookies! Start with vision

Career Sherpa, Hannah Morgan

Career By Choice’s Expat Success Tips: Ongoing Career Management is No Longer Optional for the Expat in Today’s New World of Work

Today’s question comes from “Peter” who writes: “I am having trouble with giving people a clear understanding of my past experience and key strengths in my updated resume”.

Gayle writes:

Peter you aren’t alone! I’ve been writing resumes now for almost 20 years. Most people do not have the chance, time (or the inclination) to hone their expertise in the art of resume writing, and of course, that’s obviously why professionals in the field exist. I guess you could say the same for any profession — doctors, accountants and lawyers too! While there are exceptions, as general rule, the people who try to self-diagnose illnesses, fix a complex tax issue, or represent themselves in Court, do tend to come to grief one way or another simply because they don’t understand the nuances of what they’re doing. The same goes with resume writing.

The key things you may be missing in writing your resume—which seems to be the problems most people face, is writing objectively about yourself. Resumes are sophisticated marketing documents today so consequently unless you’re a personal branding expert, you may not know how to represent the person you are representing (yes even if that person is you!). People also make the mistake of writing for the past. Which means they are pitching to get the same job they just left. If they can’t convey where they are heading and keep looking to the past, then the next employer is going to question “What’s in it for me and my company today?”

The next thing many people get wrong is they list duties rather than achievements. Or they try to hide behind “teams” with phrases such as “we did this, we did that”. Resumes need to be very specific about achievements and what part the person personally had in delivering a result. For example, take Linda, a Pre-Sales Consultant who provided the technical information that went into a winning proposal or tender. Linda cannot realistically take credit for personally delivering a $200M sale! But she can take credit for providing the core data included in the winning tender of a $200M sale. Now her statement “Part of a team that won a contract with IBM”, can now say: “Analysed, scrutinised and produced the core financial data to in a proposal that went on to win a groundbreaking $200M sale for XYZ Inc,” Then Linda’s cooking!

If you are having difficulty in articulating your achievements, the best way to start is to use the C.A.R. strategy. CAR is an acronym for Challenge, Action, Result. What was the challenge of moving into a new role, or starting up a new project, or penetrating a new market? What action specifically did you take to overcome those challenges? And finally, what was the result of your actions? If you can form and shape each of your achievements around the CAR strategy, you will be much more able to articulate your talents and expertise to the reader.

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=34&aid=147740

Great blog post on Ten Things Great Bosses should know. If you’re a manager then face your foibles and set them straight now. If you’re an up-and-coming leader make sure these become your mantra for success.