As a routine part of my coaching practice I talk to clients interested in changing jobs and going after something that will improve their station. I also see their rsum and cover letter that they create to respond to the open position. In addition, I often help them through the interview process to get their thinking aligned for a successful outcome. Throughout this process one common theme emerges: Clients are so focused on what they bring to the position (features) that they are unable to translate those very features into benefits for the employer or the hiring manager. What is the best way to do that?
The Power of Shifting Focus from You to Them
So, this blog is about learning how to shift your focus from you to them throughout the process, starting from your rsum, cover letter, and how you practice interview skills if you want to really bag that opportunity. Job seekers are often worried about their qualifications to land a job (their Features), but what an employer is looking for is the Benefits, instead. Let me explain: Most rsums are designed to showcase a candidates qualifications. In marketing lexicons these are merely the features a product possessesin this case that product is YOU! The problem with the Feature mindset is that it is based on a me-centric focus. Such a focus thus prevents the readerthe hiring managerfrom quickly seeing how what you bring actually will create immediate and long-term value for that hiring manager and the company. So, before we shift our focus on creating a Benefits-rich message, let us first explore what a Feature-based message looks like and what mindset is the basis for such a message:
The Feature Mindset
A typical feature-laced message focuses on the past: I have been a product manager for the past 15 years and have successfully managed life-cycle of products ranging from consumer appliances to software financial packages. Often, too, they will add statements such as I am a fast learner and work well with different teams. Whenever you are tempted to make a (feature) statement such this, just try its opposite and see for yourself how ludicrous it sounds: I am a slow learner (in fact, my most recent performance review stated that I never learn, even from my own mistakes!) and teams find it difficult to work with me.
If, instead, you shift your message from what you do to what their burning need is, your message becomes much more interesting to them and allows them to move in a positive direction, often resulting in an offer for you.
Shifting that Mindset
So, let us find some examples of how you can shift your focus from you (features) to them (benefits):
Feature (you)
I bring a broad range of experience dealing with international customers. I have made deals with the Germans, the Japanese, and Indians. This has taught me how to work with diverse nationalities to get a deal done.
Benefit (them)
As you can see from my rsum I have closed on deals with many international customers. I know that Prizm (employer you are after) is going after the Brazilian market with your new line of automotive widgets. My previous success with several Brazilian customers stems from my understanding of their typical approach they take in their negotiations. For example, Brazilians tend to be emotionally more expressive and do not like confrontation (Those from the US, on the other hand, tend to be more factual in their approach and mildly confrontational, in comparison). Learning how to manage this mindset I have been successful closing all three deals at my previous company worth $12M. I can do the same for Prizm, leveraging that success. By the way, I also have a working knowledge of Portuguese.
Feature (you)
As a Corporate Development leader I have identified new opportunities for a company to grow in new areas. When I was at ABC I scouted four new companies for potential acquisition and resulted in acquiring two from this initiative. I can do the same for you.
Benefit (them)
After looking at how your product offerings are doing in the market it is clear to me that you need to quickly get into new areas of technology that are on a high growth track. IoT, Energy Management, and Home Security are few that stand out where Arrow (employer you are after) is not yet seen as a market leader, despite its efforts to launch products in those areas. I know a few start-ups that have done exceptionally well in each of these areas and are looking for some ways to exit. When I join Arrow my priority would be to bring CEOs of these companies for starting discussions on how to make them a part of Arrows portfolio companies. In fact, I often play golf with one of those CEOs.
Yet another area where I can add value to you is to review your existing corporate investment portfolio of $150M and see if there is an opportunity to improve the ROI through a better alignment of that portfolio with the emerging growth areas.
Of course, coming up with benefit statements as I have shown above requires your doing some insightful research on the target company and framing the benefit you provide to them in a way that resonates with the hiring manger and the selection team. A less desirable alternative is the shotgun approach with your message and a hope that something sticks and that you get invited to the dance. Once you zero-in on their pain and what their burning need is, you have several vehicles to ratchet up your message: rsum, cover letter, interview, and your closing statement, to name just a few.
So, the next time you are tempted to send a generic rsum with a banal cover letter re-think your approach and see how much more traction you get by shifting your mindset from Features to Benefits
Good luck!
| About Author | |
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Dilip has distinguished himself as LinkedIn’s #1 career coach from among a global pool of over 1,000 peers ever since LinkedIn started ranking them professionally (LinkedIn selected 23 categories of professionals for this ranking and published this ranking from 2006 until 2012). Having worked with over 6,000 clients from all walks of professions and having worked with nearly the entire spectrum of age groups—from high-school graduates about to enter college to those in their 70s, not knowing what to do with their retirement—Dilip has developed a unique approach to bringing meaning to their professional and personal lives. Dilip’s professional success lies in his ability to codify what he has learned in his own varied life (he has changed careers four times and is currently in his fifth) and from those of his clients, and to apply the essence of that learning to each coaching situation. After getting his B.Tech. (Honors) from IIT-Bombay and Master’s in electrical engineering(MSEE) from Stanford University, Dilip worked at various organizations, starting as an individual contributor and then progressing to head an engineering organization of a division of a high-tech company, with $2B in sales, in California’s Silicon Valley. His current interest in coaching resulted from his career experiences spanning nearly four decades, at four very diverse organizations–and industries, including a major conglomerate in India, and from what it takes to re-invent oneself time and again, especially after a lay-off and with constraints that are beyond your control. During the 45-plus years since his graduation, Dilip has reinvented himself time and again to explore new career horizons. When he left the corporate world, as head of engineering of a technology company, he started his own technology consulting business, helping high-tech and biotech companies streamline their product development processes. Dilip’s third career was working as a marketing consultant helping Fortune-500 companies dramatically improve their sales, based on a novel concept. It is during this work that Dilip realized that the greatest challenge most corporations face is available leadership resources and effectiveness; too many followers looking up to rudderless leadership. Dilip then decided to work with corporations helping them understand the leadership process and how to increase leadership effectiveness at every level. Soon afterwards, when the job-market tanked in Silicon Valley in 2001, Dilip changed his career track yet again and decided to work initially with many high-tech refugees, who wanted expert guidance in their reinvention and reemployment. Quickly, Dilip expanded his practice to help professionals from all walks of life. Now in his fifth career, Dilip works with professionals in the Silicon Valley and around the world helping with reinvention to get their dream jobs or vocations. As a career counselor and life coach, Dilip’s focus has been career transitions for professionals at all levels and engaging them in a purposeful pursuit. Working with them, he has developed many groundbreaking approaches to career transition that are now published in five books, his weekly blogs, and hundreds of articles. He has worked with those looking for a change in their careers–re-invention–and jobs at levels ranging from CEOs to hospital orderlies. He has developed numerous seminars and workshops to complement his individual coaching for helping others with making career and life transitions. Dilip’s central theme in his practice is to help clients discover their latent genius and then build a value proposition around it to articulate a strong verbal brand. Throughout this journey, Dilip has come up with many groundbreaking practices such as an Inductive Résumé and the Genius Extraction Tool. Dilip owns two patents, has two publications in the Harvard Business Review and has led a CEO roundtable for Chief Executive on Customer Loyalty. Both Amazon and B&N list numerous reviews on his five books. Dilip is also listed in Who’s Who, has appeared several times on CNN Headline News/Comcast Local Edition, as well as in the San Francisco Chronicle in its career columns. Dilip is a contributing writer to several publications. Dilip is a sought-after speaker at public and private forums on jobs, careers, leadership challenges, and how to be an effective leader. |
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