Your first 30 seconds
Much has been made about the infamous ‘elevator pitch’ and those of us in marketing struggle on a daily basis to capture the imagination of customers and prospects in 30 seconds or less with something quippy and memorable that describes what our company or organisation does.
In a recent conversation with the Marketing Director of a global IT company, even they found it difficult to tell me quickly why their company was ‘different and better’ than their competitors.
But what about your own, personal 30 second pitch?
If you find it difficult describing your company’s assets in a positive way, try describing your own. It can be quite hard to shout about yourself without feeling embarrassed or fraudulent. Having said that, developing your own pitch can open doors to opportunities you might not realise are presenting themselves
Take for example, the opportunities presented by an airline queue or a hot tub.
As a marketing professional, I am proud to say that I bagged two of my most lucrative positions from conversations in an airline queue and in a hot tub at a hotel spa, dispelling once and for all that most business is done on the golf course! Now, I have to say, I wasn’t exactly looking my best in either location, but thankfully, my personal pitch was enough to compel the other party to want to know more and subsequently, to hire me to do two very nice pieces of work, (thank-you very much!).
We recently gave a training workshop at Cisco for marketingmoves interim personnel where we thought about the ‘first 30 seconds’ and we reviewed our personal brands. We also focused on our personal elevator pitches and developed a much more sophisticated articulation of what we’re all about, personally and professionally. Have a look at our website and work through the training: www.marketingmoves.com/personal-branding.
The big message is; ‘You’re the CEO of you’ and your main job is to market yourself. The starting point is to make sure you know who you are and where you want to go and then, to put an articulation around a structured plan in place to make sure you get there.
We can help, so give us a call on 01932253352
Compiling your CV
The CV that you send to us is the CV that we forward to potential employers. It is how you market yourself and as such should first and foremost be achievements based. Do not attempt to write a book, instead use bullet points where possible. Ideally the CV length should not run to more than 3 pages.
Listed below are a few suggestions
1. First Page – Personal details with Education/Qualifications and Training. Also include an ‘Experience Overview’ which should highlight your core Business, Marketing, Commercial and Technical skills etc.
2. First/Second Page – Career history in reverse chronological order to include months and years for each role. Over and above this we suggest the following format:-
- Describe in one or two sentences the profile for each employer/division in terms of products/turnover/size etc.
- Highlight your immediate superior and any direct reports. Also include budgetary/P&L responsibilities. This should also be done in sentence format.
- Again in sentence format describe your overall remit for each role or specific responsibilities in bullet point format.
- List specific qualitative/quantitative achievements (up to 6) in bullet point format relating to each role. This is the most important part of the CV.
3. If you adopt this format to cover all your previous jobs from the last circa 10 years, then you will have a clear, concise and consistent CV.
