Being Unemployed Does Not Change Who You Are
By Norine Dagliano
I recently met with a gentleman (I’ll call him
“Mack”), who had contacted me to have his resume
written. I began our session, as I do all of them, by clarifying
what he wanted the resume to do for him. “I want a resume
that says to the employer ‘This is a guy I really want to
meet!’” No problem, I replied, that is exactly what a
good resume will do. After all, a resume is, in part, a marketing
brochure intended to get the attention of the potential buyer.
After that it is up to the job seeker to make the sale.
Mack knew sales. Prior to our meeting, he had faxed me a rough
draft of his resume. He had been in sales for over 20 years and he
was good at what he did. His resume boasted of “growing a
sales territory from $200,000 to $1M in two-and-a half years;
opening new markets throughout the eastern United States; achieving
President's Club Status for two consecutive years; founding and
building a retail business venture to over $365K in sales the first
year.” His accomplishments were jumping out all over his
resume, so what was the problem? Why did he think he needed the
help of a professional resume writer?
Approximately three years prior to coming to see me, he was at the
top of his career and going strong. He was in his fourth year as a
Division Sales Manager with an international equipment
manufacturing company. The VP of the Corporation had recruited him
to launch a new sales program and forge new inroads for the
company. His reputation in the industry had preceded him and he was
delivering results beyond the company’s expectation. Over $5M
in annual sales. Then the rug was pulled out under from him. He was
“downsized”, “RIFed” “Let
go”.
He shared the details of the last three years that he cleverly
tried to disguise on his resume as “Consultant”.
Searching online and in the paper for jobs. Sending out dozens of
resumes. Rarely getting calls or being offered jobs that paid far
below what he was earning. Using up his severance pay, his
unemployment, selling off personal items. Downsizing his life to
make ends meet. Taking a job with a company that folded after six
months. Taking another job that was far below his level of
experience. Looking, looking, and still looking. The story was sad
and one I had heard from hundreds of other job seekers.
“Let’s talk about your career,” I said.
“Tell me to what you attribute your impressive success as a
sales person and the fact that you were sought out and recruited to
almost every job you held."
Mack made it all sound so simple: “I don’t try to sell
people anything. I get to know them and the sales process comes
natural. I talk to them about what is important to them; I assess
their needs and determine what I can do to fill them. I build
rapport and help them to get to know me, to like me and trust me. I
talk about features and benefits and boast of service and delivery.
And I built a large network of people that know my product and know
me.” Like I said, this guy knew sales and I was certain that
if I were in the market for his product, he would be the guy I
would buy from.
We talked for over an hour about his career and I remained
impressed. Something was wrong with this picture though…after
all, he described nearly three years of frustration over not
continuing that dynamic sales career he had experienced. Then his
demeanor changed; the enthusiasm left his voice and his face; he
almost seemed to be choking back tears of frustration, and he asked
me, “What do you think is the best way to find a job?”
Wow, a guy with his background and he was asking me how to make a
sale?!?
Something happened to Mack when he was downsized. He lost a
job…but more importantly, he lost his sense of
“self”. He forgot how to sell. He approached the whole
job search process as if it was totally foreign to him (after all,
he told me earlier that this is the first time in over 20 years he
had to look for work; the first time in his life he ever needed a
résumé.) I simply reminded him of what he already knew,
but on a more esoteric level.
First, he needed a change in his thinking. Mack saw himself as
“unemployed” and was looking for a solution to that
problem. He thought the solution lay with finding a company to hire
him. And where would he find that company? Well, like most job
seekers, he was sure that there was a company out there advertising
that they needed him and all he had to do was find it. So, he read
advertisements…in news papers, online, wherever he could find
them. And he approached each potential employer hoping they would
be the solution to his problem. I’m wondering how many
companies bought his paint and equipment because they knew he
needed the sale to pay his bills. I seriously doubt it.
“Mack," I said, “you are a salesman and you are good at
what you do. You knew your product well; not only its features, but
its benefits and value. You sold products you believed in. You
approached each and every customer with an attitude that you had
something that would save them time and make them money. Further,
you didn’t sit back and wait until someone placed an
advertisement that they were in the market for your product. Not at
all! Instead, you scoped-out the territory. You identified
companies that could benefit from your product. You made cold calls
and set up appointments to assess their needs and explore solutions
to their problems (not yours). You networked, and used your
established network to build a bigger network. You gave outstanding
sales presentations and built the kind of rapport that convinced
the buyer that you were someone they wanted to do business with.
And, on those rare occasions that you did not make the sale, you
never took it as a personal rejection. You never let it rob your
self-confidence or used it as an excuse to settle for less than you
wanted.”
What is the best way to find a job?
Mack already knew the answer. He just needed someone to point it
out to him. As far as the résumé goes, I created an
awesome “marketing brochure” for him to send in advance
of his “sales calls” or to take with him when he made
his presentations. My sense is that he probably won’t even
need it!
