Category: Cover Letter

Identifying Your Skills to Get the Job


Shun the “unfit” label

When applying for a job, it is paramount that you identify your strengths and weaknesses in addition to being prepared to address them in conversation. By knowing your attributes, chances are that getting the job you really want will surely get easier.

However, you should not be too confident since overconfidence is one of the common mistakes that plagues job applicants. Appearing too confident, or giving the impression that you are somewhat of a know-it-all, will only get you labeled by the interviewer as unfit for the job.

Identifying your skills

That having been said, let’s begin with first things first: Identify your skills. This is your ticket to get that job, and you should be able to articulate your abilities and expertise as best as you can. Many people have a hard time communicating their skills and abilities as this is sometimes seen as bragging when done socially. But you should not be shy or afraid to discuss your skills when pursuing a job; especially one that requires such skills.

In fact, it is important that you convey to your potential employer what your talents are; and in that situation be able to sell your abilities to that employer. Your ability to do so will be instrumental in getting the job that you really want. Just as important however, is that you do not appear arrogant or condescending while being careful to avoid selling yourself short.

If the interviewer asks you about your strengths or what separates you from the other applicants, you should be able to readily give a suitable or acceptable answer. So before you even go to the interview part of the process, your resume should highlight your skills and talents for the prospective employer to take a look at.

Types of skills

There are two main types of skills: Hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are tangible in the sense that these are things you do like. For example, knowing how to operate different kinds of machinery, knowledge of a specialized computer program, ability to type fast, skills on using various types of tools, credentials regarding special crafts, etc.

Soft skills on the other hand, are skills that tend to be rather abstract in nature, like personal qualities. This may include, for example, being a good team player, having the ability to work on your own, being enthusiastic or organizational and decisive.

The Steps to Follow

List your previous jobs and acquired experience

First thing you’d want to do is make a list of all the companies you worked for and the things you learned from those jobs. There will be a lot of things to list and you should be careful enough not to forget even the smallest details of activities you participated in or organized. It is also a good idea to list the volunteer activities you participated in.

Include a list of your hobbies

Although it might sound trivial at first, it is also very helpful to list all your hobbies. There are a lot of abilities that your prospective employer may get from your hobby list, a list which might also provide some insight into your personality.

For example, if you were part of the school’s debating team, your employer may deduce that you have good analytical skills. If you were a champion chess player, your employer might interpret this to mean you are good at making critical decisions.

Think of your daily routine and the things you do and often take for granted. Are you an organized person who always keep your things in proper order? Are you an extrovert who can easily make friends in a matter of minutes? These may seem ordinary to normal things to you, but your future boss might think otherwise.

Your decisions

Deciding what career you want – After listing all your skills and all the things you do well, it is then time to decide what field or career you want to pursue. Select the skills outlined on your list and partner them with the employment you are seeking. Always take time to consider if your skills are relevant to the job which you are aspiring toward.

A primary business tool on hold

Don’t worry if you have to remove some of the skills from your list. It is also important to include on your “skills list” any abilities the prospective employer will likely value, depending of course, on the particular employer.

Stand by what you write – You should be realistic about your skills and the level of expertise you are capable of. For example, if you indicate that you are a very organized person, then you should be able to show this to the interviewer by being able to organize your thoughts and effectively use the time that was given for your interview.

It is important to know your skills every time you go job hunting because you should always put your best foot forward. Good luck!

Getting Started with Cold Calling


Empathy or sympathy?

Imagine for a moment that there’s a little Girl Scout on the street carrying boxes of different flavored cookies, and she is timidly trying to knock on her neighbors’ doors, but worried that somehow she’ll be booed or snubbed and the doors would just be slammed shut in her face after she offers her cookies for just a few cents? Would you, as a marketer, be empathetic with this little girl? Or sympathetic with her?

If you are empathetic with this little Girl Scout, then you might just have an idea of how she’s feeling just before approaching doors. Will her potential customers know that she is on official business and would just be selling cookies for the good of humanity? Will she be able to speak her rehearsed cookie scripts? Will she make her first order?

Little that we know, a lot of grown ups, even professional salespersons, experience anxiety at the mere thought of making their own cold calls. It’s so normal to feel butterflies fluttering up and down your stomach that just thinking of making the call (whether personal or business) could at times make some folks want to throw up.

The dreaded cold call

However, it is important for me to point out a more exact description of what a cold call really is. A cold call is a personal call, it can be a visit or phone call to someone you know a little or someone whom you really don’t know at all. The main reason for the call is to introduce something you are selling for personal or official business.

Others think that a cold call is only to be made to total strangers taken from phonebooks or referrals from other individuals or companies. On the contrary, this cold call can be made to someone you already know or to a prospect you’re already familiar with. It can be someone you met last month at a party or maybe someone introduced to you by a friend and you found him/her to be a good prospect to sell the product to.

That having been said, contacting someone you know will allow you to break the ice for a moment with some preliminary small talk. Either way, you should try to narrow your prospects in the beginning to the point where you feel comfortable; and once you’ve mastered the “comfort zone” technique you can then move on to more challenging prospects… even those you never even thought of approaching before.

Cold-call symptoms

The ordeal you have to go through at first is making that personal – meaning one on one – physical appearance or telepresence. This can make you so tense that you feel like quitting everything. There are even cold calls that make you feel like you want to disappear in a heartbeat.

Even professionals like doctors, lawyers and professors feel the same way; which is why they depend on friends or clients’ referrals for fear of losing their dignity and good name after making an unsuccessful cold call. But believe it or not, one deep breath can help do the trick.

Nothing can be as uncomfortable as prospecting someone for your cold call. The fear of being rejected, shouted at or being made to feel like a fool are roadblocks which keep you from selling. These very real apprehensions can be overcome with the right attitude combined with guarded planning, preparation and if possible – Training. Believe it or not, good salesmanship is an attribute anyone can acquire.

Take a look at these simple tips on how to Cold Call

Be positive, prepared and confident

Always be positive – Remember that cold calling is a powerful business strategy, but you must first be honest with yourself and have a positive disposition (attitude). Your co-workers and the prospects on whom you’re about to make the cold call should be the people to feel positive about. There must be enthusiasm in your voice that people can feel right away.

Prepare to be prepared – It’s just not enough however, to know the procedure and to have the right attitude. Preparation is a very important element in your approach; so you must prepare the list of prospects to be contacted by phone or in person.

Also learn how the introduction should be done and what prospects do; and perhaps the most important part of all is that your product or service should be something that could be of good use/value them. Being well prepared can turn a simple cold call into real solid business.

I am what I am – Never sound too over reactive or appear obviously nervous on the phone or when you shake your prospect’s hand. Never try to be somebody you are really not with an aim to getting the attention you need. Assume that talking to your prospective customer for the first time should be the key to a lasting relationship.

Cool, calm, poised

Calm down – It is important to anticipate rejection and have a response or responses in that event. However it must be understood that although rejection can be really hard to accept, it is never personal and should not be interpreted as an attack on you. Never interpret the refusal of your product/service as a rejection that could put you down and roll back your progress.

Be patient and learn from your mistakes. You will reap a good harvest if you commit yourself to being persistent, because persistency will also help you find a strategy that will work in the long run; so each turn down must be looked at as the next stepping stone. It is your way of “turning stumbling blocks into stepping stones”

The art of questioning – You cannot expect someone to believe you right away and just sign up after describing your company’s objectives, so you have to ask the right questions. Ask what they do correctly and promptly to help you use it along in the conversation. A surefire attention-getter when opening a conversation can be “May I ask you about something Mr./Mrs. prospect?” People want to help and this question lowers their guard.

The next question might be “Can you help me out about this thing sir/ma’am?” This question does not ask for a yes or no answer but would definitely give you a valuable response that you can use all throughout the interaction. If you imagined that the little Girl Scout on the street asked the same types of questions, then she would have left each doorway with 2 less boxes of cookies in her bag!