According to event organizers as many as 4,000 people showed up for the NBC game show “Deal or No Deal” casting call at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, CA, this last Saturday.
In groups of 10 hopeful participants gathered around one of the six tables where a casting director was seated. The casting director listened to each give their very best 20-second sales pitch, to try to get themselves on the show.
If you are representing your employer (as Human Resources recruiters often do) or in business for yourself, you must master the art of self-promotion. Every opportunity you get to explain what you do is an opportunity to earn new business (or new job candidate). If you are self-employed or have represented your employ in pubic, you might already be familiar with the concept of having an elevator pitch, which is a short, 15-20 second explanation of what you do, how you do it and for whom.
Ergo, it's an explanation that can be delivered in the same amount of time that it takes to ride an elevator.
Often times, when people ask you what you do, you might feel compelled to give a one word response: Engineer, Nurse, Recruiter, Accountant, etc. If you're giving a one word response, naturally people may ask follow-up questions: what is your field practice; do you work in a hospital or clinic; what sort of jobs do you recruit for; or what do you specialize in, etc. The problem with giving a one word response is not with being asked to further explain yourself, in fact, asking questions is a great way to build a relationship. It's the amount of time it takes to respond. If you're in an actual elevator, you're likely to leave your new acquaintance or networking friend hanging.
The second misfortune that comes with a one word response is allowing your prospective candidate to group you with other business professionals i.e. you're just another engineer, another nurse. Don't allow people to assume what you do. Tell them by developing an elevator pitch that can delivered to anyone, even your mom.
Start with the three questions above:
1. What do you do?
2. For Whom
3. Most importantly, what do they get out of it?
Or you can fill in the blanks:
I help (Who) _________________________________
(do what?)________________________
(so that they can) ________________________________.
Let's take the example of a recruiter. They're not independent contractors in most cases, so let's assume we have a Riverside County recruiter at a party with recent college grads. He or she might say something like this: I strategically partner with County departments to effectively attract and retain a world-class workforce to serve the needs of our residents. Ok, so maybe this is a little bit over the top, but it's at least a start and a better description than a one word response.
In some cases, you have to give a one word response; in which case, you should label yourself with specific details i.e. I am a highway engineer; I am an emergency room nurse; I am a law enforcement recruiter; I am a tax accountant.
The more specific you are about what you do, the greater your chances are of leaving a good first impression and more importantly, the greater your chances of finding someone with which you can develop a long term business relationship. In my case it might be, “So, you are looking for a job in the Desert… I can testify to the fact that County has great benefits… go see a fellow in HR by the name of Murrel… we met in an elevator some time ago and he ended up pointing me to the job I now have with the County.