Communication – diverse references

After a fun 2 days full of communication exercises and learning with IT consultants last week, I delivered the following references to the participants. Maybe there is something in here you can learn from?

General references

• “The consultant you want to hire”
• Creating strategic action
• My favourite SWOT questions and 10 tips for effective SWOT analysis
• Book on “Business Acumen” plus my blog-post summary/video
• De Bono’s book on creativity skills: “6 thinking hats”

Basic communication

• Covey’s 5^th habit: “Seek first to understand”
• Active empathy

“Advanced communication”

• Book on body language (including simple exercises to try): “The Power of Charm”
• Book on interogation techniques, which includes a lot on body language: “Criminal interogation and confessions”
• Information on “what eye movements may mean”, although this blog says it is all rubbish
• Book on cultural differences: “Riding the Waves of Culture”

Commercial communication

• Book on sales: “The New Strategic Selling” by Heiman + Miller
• “Be FAB to be heard” on positioning benefits, instead of features
• An interesting CV idea 🙂
• Job-hunting strategy + tips

Presentation skills

• My blog on how to build a presentation in 5 steps, including lots of examples via links
  • … plus all my other posts on presenting
• Prezi presentation (with sound) on the 4 pillars of an effective presentation
• Video: “Create Strong Messages” including reminder of the 3 most important questions
• Book “The Pyramid Principle” on how to structure communication, including “situation, complication, resolution”
  • …. plus my Prezis (with sound) on the same topic, in Dutch and French
• Book on Presentation Skills “The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs”

Assertiveness/Stress

• Book on “ego states”, how you build your own “story” and all things “transactional analysis psychology”: TA Today
• 10min video on “ego states” – how your perception of the other person impacts your ability to behave in the way you want

Thanks for reading!

@dan_steer

Job hunting strategy and 16 tips

If you are looking for a job, this post will explain the single most important thing you need to know about your job-seeking strategy. It also delivers 16 tips to get you on your way to employment…

 

First of all, a few assumptions

• Assumption number 1: There are enough jobs for everyone
• Assumption number 2: Most available jobs are not advertised
• Assumption number 3: Most job seekers only reply to advertised jobs, in the normal way

 

 

Let’s use the following example to see what this means for you. I have applied the Pareto Principle and am convinced that even if the numbers are not exact, the point is true:

• If there are 100 available jobs and 100 job seekers, there is enough work for everyone.
• Of those 100 available jobs, up to 80 of them may not be advertised at all. And certainly not everywhere.
• Of the 100 job seekers, 80 of them will only be looking in the usual channels for advertised jobs and will respond in the usual way by sending a CV and motivation letter and then waiting.
• The other 20 job seekers will expand their searching horizons and use different methods to make their applications.
• This means that 80 people are looking at 20 jobs (with a 1 in 4 chance of success) while the other 20 people can choose between 4 available jobs.

 

So: You need to be in the 20 group!

And you need to apply these 16 tips to look for a job:

• Recognise that everyone you know is a potential lead. And considering “The Obama Effect”, the potential leads are far more numerous.
• Email all your friends and family to tell them what kind of work you are looking for and ask them to send you any leads.
• Think about your added-value and created a polished tweetable message about yourself.
• Ensure any presence on social networks or the www reinforces your personal brand.
• If possible, announce your intentions via social media platforms and request input and feedback from peers. Update your LinkedIn profile and get some relevant recommendations.
• Research people with similar jobs in their targeted company and talk to them to get contact details, job leads and other relevant information.
• If you see any news about your targeted company winning new contracts or creating a new product, service or office strike while the iron is hot.
• Go to conferences in your field of interest and talk to people.
• Email the person you actually want to work with. Tell them you want support and ask for a phone conversation. If you don’t get a reply, try cold-calling them anyway.
• Adapt each CV and its content to the company you want to work with.
• Be FAB and answer the 3 most important questions.
• Use creative techniques to make sure your CV stands out.
• If you make a formal application, make sure it gets in the hands of the right people, bypassing reception and generalist recruiters at all costs.
• Follow up on your applications quickly.
• Spy on your prospective company building at arrival and leaving times to see how people are dressed. Now you know how to dress for the interview.
• Practice interview skills with a friend or coach.

 

To conclude, it is only fair to note whilst assumptions 2 and 3 are based on my experience with job seekers and recruiting companies, the first assumption could just be a wildly optimistic statement. All the more reason to apply the strategies noted above…

 

Good luck!

 

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Share with a job-seeker!

 

 

I could use a trainer …shoe pun :-/

This post has nothing to do with trainers. Well, sort of. It is about getting a job, getting seen or self-branding..

 

In 1999, a good friend of mine tried to get a job in a highly esteemed London Ad Agency. He was amongst 1000 hopeful graduates just on the market trying to get into the best spots. Big names, big competition. I wonder how many of them did what he did…

Instead of sending a CV, he sent a plastic moulded cast of his foot. In a shoe box. When the box was opened, there was a simple message: “I need a trainer. Call me” (+ his number).

I suppose that most other people sent in a CV. My guy didn’t. He did what everyone needs to do if they want to get somewhere with the help of other people….

 

1 – Tune in to the situation, values and needs of the other person

This is key to any “sales situation”, whether it be getting a job, selling a house or service or convincing your friends to come out on a Saturday night. You need to put your active empathy skills into practice and tune in to the other person. You’ve gotta be FAB. The shoe in a box was tuned into the need for creativity and an original dynamic approach.

 

2 – You have to stand out . You might say: That’s easy in the advertising world, but not in real life. OK, a good point – but I’m not asking you to be creative and wacky all the time. Just different to the other guy. What makes you different? Even if you have a simple classic CV, you have to have something that the others don’t have. A USP.

 

3 – But don’t bullshit. What I liked about the shoe in the box was that it didn’t make any great claims-to-fame that wouldn’t hold up. The action itself suggested “creativeness” but the need for a trainer underlined a lack of arrogance that needed supporting. Nice. Subtle. But cool.

 

These lessons may come from a world of advertising and recruitment, but they are valid for a lot of communication situations. Tune into the situation/values/needs of the other, stand out and keep it real.

Have fun!

Thanks for reading.

 

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visit www.infinitelearning.be

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