Wouldn’t it be great if employers were chomping at the bit to hire you?
Take a second to really imagine a world where that’s true. A world where your inbox is drowning in endless job offers; a place where you get to hand-pick the company and career of your dreams; and most importantly, an environment where you get paid what you deserve.
But is that even possible today?
We hear so much about how the economy is bad and how the unemployment rate is high.
Critics and “experts” around the globe tell us we should just be happy with what we have, and that there’s virtually no way to get ahead in this economic landscape.
But you and I both know that’s not the truth.
The reality is thousands of people are landing their dream jobs every day.
But for every thousand people fulfilling their dreams, there are thousands more being forced to settle for less.
So what explains the difference? And is there a strategy we can use to ensure we consistently get the jobs we want instead of just taking any offers that come our way?
The short answer is yes.
You can rise above the noise of the crowd and begin forging your own career success story.
The even-better part? Putting the pieces of the career puzzle together is much easier than you’d think!
The Ace In Your Pocket
While most people think finding a job is about unleashing the resume floodgates onto the web and into career site portals, there’s a much more targeted approach you can use that gets you 10x or even 100x the results.
The shocking truth about the method I’m describing is that it comes straight from the frontlines of a career in sales.
Yep, you read that right. Learning some essential sales skills is a very powerful tool you can add to your career-seeking arsenal.
And when you do this, more job offers will start coming your way.
But Why Does This Work?
When you’re looking for and applying to jobs, what you’re really doing is selling yourself.
No, not in a slimy or sleazy way. But rather, you’re selling the company (and hiring manager) on the idea that you are the person who can help them achieve their goals.
It’s selling them on a vision that you are worth investing in, and you can get the job done… better than anybody else who comes through the door.
It not about being icky, or like the “hard-selling,” smooth-talking used-car salesman type.
That’s not it at all.
Instead, you can apply the principles of selling to your unique career goals. And rather than walking into an interview ill-prepared (or worse never getting an interview at all), you’ll know from the moment you walk through the doors that you’re going to seal the deal and get the job.
So close pay attention here.
No matter where you are on the career aspirations spectrum, you can implement these 3 selling techniques, used by top-performing salespeople, and begin reaping the rewards in your career and life today.
3 Non-icky Sales Tricks to Land Your Dream Job:
1. Elite Salespeople Sound Awesome
Would you ever walk up to the best salesperson in a company, listen to their pitch and say, “Eh… they sound… okay?”
No! Of course you wouldn’t. They sound amazing, and that’s not by coincidence. They’ve learned how to master their communication skills so they can open people up and make others want to listen to them.
Let’s face it: winners don’t shoot from the hip; they plan effectively and practice. Selling is already unpredictable. Why not control everything you can upfront? It all starts with the words that come out of your mouth.
The same techniques apply to landing your dream job.
You’ll need to spend time practicing your responses to common questions and preparing for the interview.
A great way to do this is to invite one of your friends over and have a mock interview, full of questions and in which you’re dressed professionally.
You can even record yourself so you can watch your body language, listen to your tone of voice and refine how your responses sound aloud (its very different than just reading off of a page).
So practice and prepare well in advance. This is not a skill unique to selling, but it’s required if you want to sell yourself as a perfect fit for the job. (Tweet this!)
2. They Prospect Effectively
Great salespeople aren’t stumbling in at 9am on a Monday wondering, “Who am I gonna call today?” They’ve already planned today out days, if not weeks, in advance, and they’re very specific about who they’re calling.
Top salespeople know that frontloading the work of finding people to call produces 10x or 100x the results of a haphazard approach. They aren’t calling a few people here, another few there, oh and maybe a few more after lunch.
They know exactly where they want to go in business, and they know that without the right people to call, they’re never going to get there.
So how does this apply to job-seekers?
If you think about the way most people go after a job, they are very haphazard in their approach.
If you were to ask them what kind of job they’re looking for, they’d respond with something like “I want a job that challenges me… and rewards me for hard work. I want to be passionate and part of a team that makes an impact.”
In reality, that doesn’t mean anything.
We need to apply the approach that salespeople take when going after customers.
And doing that requires us to get very specific on the kind of job we want. So instead of meaningless phrases (like the one above), you’ll want to define exactly the type of job you want, such as:
“An entry level position in business development in the NYC area”
Or
“A mid-level position as a systems engineer in San Francisco at a startup company”
Being specific like this then allows us to go out, like salespeople, and target the companies that meet those requirements.
Immediately, you can rule some companies out when you do this. And when you concentrate your efforts, you multiply your results.
This is how elite salespeople develop niche markets and huge client bases. You can use the same method in your career.
3. The Best Salespeople Get Referrals
Any salesperson who has built a sustainable business knows all about the power of referrals.
It’s a way to consistently connect with new people and establish trust quickly.
It works because when you’re being referred to someone, that means someone else vouched for your credentials. Instead of always making cold calls and cold introductions, referrals allow you to call on people who are already warmed up to you (a little).
This is all-powerful when applying for jobs.
Think about: if someone who already works at a company says you’d be a good fit for the company, how could they not at least consider hiring you?
And most jobs are filled this way.
Even if you don’t have a large network, you can use the tools salespeople often turn to when connecting with new people.
Some of those tools include looking for mutual connections on LinkedIn or Facebook, or searching through alumni directories and connecting on that basis
The other (more forward way) is to actually pick up the phone and call people. You can invite them out to coffee, or you can suggest bringing some lunch by their office when they’re free.
Whatever you choose, earning the stamp of approval of someone who already works somewhere is the most powerful way to get your foot in the door and raise your resume to the top of the stack.
Now It’s Time to Pound the Pavement
Selling is a powerful field with many distinct advantages. Don’t fear it when applying for jobs. Instead, embrace these selling techniques, wholeheartedly.
All it takes is coming to terms with what the tools of selling allow us to do.
And that is to motivate people to take actions that they should be taking.
In this case, the action is hiring you, and that’s the greatest sale you can ever make.
What’s your biggest take-away from this? How can you inject a bit of sales-y goodness into your job search? Share in the comments!
Image: photobucket
