When Marketing Yourself, Social Skills Trump Social Media

On the Job Market? It Doesn't Hurt to Be Old-Fashioned

Posted by Bart Cleveland on 03.11.09 @ 10:39 AM

Bart Cleveland

You want a job. Perhaps you are just out of school or you just got laid off. Or maybe you just want to increase your potential through a better opportunity. So you're marketing yourself.

How successful you are may be directly associated to how old-fashioned you are. By old-fashioned I mean you have the social skills to impress your future employer. You understand the importance of decorum and civility. You are capable of representing yourself as one who understands and appreciates professional behavior. You know that how well you present yourself to a potential employer has as much to do with successfully landing a job as your experience and capabilities.

Unfortunately, the majority of people I experience in this position have virtually no awareness of the need for these skills. I think the cause lies behind the electronic age of communication and a lack of proper training from parents and educators. Whatever the cause, it is not helping them fulfill their potential.

Case in point: I received a call today from a student wanting to know if we were hiring summer interns. She left her number for me to call her back. A few hours earlier, I had received an e-mail from another person inquiring about a position. Here is the inquiry without identity:

My name is (name). I am currently a student at (name of education institution). I was wondering if you had any internship opportunities available for the upcoming summer. Thank you, (name)

Are you surprised that I'm not really interested in talking to these people? I'm sure they are nice folks, but it's obvious that they don't have a clue about business. And I don't have time to find out if there is any potential beneath their naivety.

My advice is to treat your job search like an ad campaign. The potential employer is your target audience. Your communications with the potential employer are your ads. Remember, an ad only works if a consumer invites it into their consciousness. They pay attention only when they feel they will be rewarded. Potential employers are the same. The reward a potential employee must offer an employer is the indication that the potential employee can hit the ground running. A person that can do so approaches a job search in a very different way.

I have three interns. Here's why they were asked to join us: First, I received a letter explaining the individual's intense desire to do great work. Their notes indicated an awareness of our work by citing something that they particularly liked. Each followed up with a call to make an appointment at my convenience. Sometimes they called several times, realizing a busy person has other priorities in addition to hiring employees. Each of our current interns came to the interview fully prepared to demonstrate why he or she would make an exceptional addition to our staff. Each dressed and behaved professionally. Each sent me a handwritten "thank you" note for my meeting with them.

This is an example of how the cream of the crop gets a job. If you are not taking the proper attitude in approaching potential employers, your talent is irrelevant. The days of hiding the crazy geniuses in the back room are over. You have to be a genius in the back room and in the boardroom if you want to do great work, because that's what our business today demands.

Things are pretty tough these days. Unemployment is the highest it has been in 25 years. The ability to market oneself in a competitive field is difficult enough without giving employers another reason to ignore you. Give yourself an extra advantage over your competition. Learn the basic business and social skills that say you are worth the effort of a return phone call. If you are given an interview, remember that employers are looking for a reason to not hire you, because they don't want to make a mistake. If you're not sure what to do, go check out some books on how to get a job, do an interview, etc. Apply what you learn and you will find people more willing to give you a chance to prove yourself.

7 Comments

By mariunc | Missoula, MT March 11, 2009 12:07:08 pm:

Bart,

I couldn't agree more. I recently worked at a recruitment fair and was appalled at the number of people who showed up in jeans, sweatshirts and ball caps, didn't have resumes, and lacked the general social skills needed to impress (ie--no self introduction, handshake, thank you). It is dire out there right now, and I don't envy anyone graduating from college or looking for a job.

One of the easiest things that can be done is to set yourself apart from the crowd and brush up on the first impression. I hate to say it, but usually when the first impression doesn't impress, it doesn't really matter what skills or knowledge you can bring to the table.

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By bridgetjordan | Minneapolis, MN March 11, 2009 02:58:10 pm:

I defintely agree with this article. However, I think the number of companies who now only accept online applications needs to be addressed. How then are you to really set yourself apart when the company does not provide contact information with the person in charge of hiring, or really any contact information for that matter? I found this when applying for jobs with larger companies, they only accepted online applications, and in a few instances you were not given space to freely type, but merely enter very straightforward information about yourself. This felt very limiting when job searching. Almost as if these companies do not want to bother with follow up calls or hard copies of resumes and cover letters. -Bridget

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By Bcleveland | Albuquerque, NM March 11, 2009 04:11:15 pm:

Bridget,
The principles I referred to can be applied to online. In fact, I prefer to be contacted that way initially. Even online you must set yourself apart from the crowd.

I would also apply both the old-fashioned communication vehicles and electronic together to make an even stronger case for yourself.

A hand-written thank you note after a response from a prospective employee is uncommon today. It definitely makes a statement.

You listed a number of obstacles of how companies handle their application process. I suggest that you not let these obstacles hinder you. Be creative in your approach. Every company wants outstanding employees. Outstanding employees go the extra mile, even when they apply for the job.

Remember, an agency is in the business of marketing, not hiring. Realize you need them more than they need you, especially if you are entry level. You are right to feel that they don't want to bother with most people. You have to do what is necessary to show them you are not "most people."

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By William | East Rockaway, NY March 11, 2009 08:19:11 pm:

Hey Bart ... Good article for beginners and seasoned pros alike. Unfortunately, old-fashioned "good manners" are a thing of the past, because few know of or appreciate them. We have become a society of social miscreants where traditional style and etiquette are no longer required. Hold a door open for somebody or stand when a woman leaves a table at a restaurant, and just watch the weird looks you get. Like you're from Mars! bcrandallnyc@aol.com

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By lancecordill | FORT WAYNE, IN March 13, 2009 02:00:47 pm:

Hmmn, nice article. I guess at my level I now have to ask the question, "Who is promising what to whom for a job tommorrow?" It is as if recent or soon to be college graduates coming out of an academic program with a business degree that had a cognate focus in advertising, marketing or public relations assume they "deserve" a job because they have studied in school received good grades and a pat on the back from the college peers and professors. Yet, I was one once, don't have squat in the way of practical field experience to warrent what little mettle they may actually be able to bring to the work table. I'm sorry, but I am noticing a complete disconnect between the troops who actually are working out in the fieled and the "office pouges" who get hired to push paper and sit on their duffs all day and think they can visualize their way to actually executing an event. That most of these "office pouges" tend to reside on either of this country's coasts and NOT here in the mainland (I'm in Indiana) and seem to have an interpersonal acumen the size of a pixel of a picture of a pixie stick I fancy is no mere coincidence. Granted, the "office pouges" have that gig. How they got it (like attracts like) is obviously above my pay grade? But, I would hope that at some time in the future, organizations take a closer look at us talents who have had their skills honed out here on the front lines of actually executing programs than plotting a cell on a Excel spreadsheet. Now, drop and give me 50 push-ups if I am correct. I willl return the jesture if I am wrong.

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By jconner13 | Mendota Heights, MN March 18, 2009 12:28:19 pm:

As a graphic designer and career service professional assisting creative graduates I must applaud you for this article. As I tell my graduates, they can be the most creatively talented person in their class but that's no indication of hire ability. My socially astute graduates get the job every time -- even if they don't stack up as high on the create scale.
It is also not surprising that there is a definite correlation between the socially savvy graduate and a total lack of "entitlement" in their expectations and approach to entering the workforce. There are far too many socially void "artists" cluttering up the pipeline.

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By George0013567 | us April 27, 2009 05:12:29 am:

Hi,

This is a wonderful opinion. The things mentioned are unanimous and needs to be appreciated by everyone.

George,

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