The importance of the personal story was perfectly illustrated to me last week when I was approached by a friend asking for help in getting back in the job market. She had a resume and a LinkedIn profile – fulfilling the absolute minimum requirements for any job seeker – but had no idea how to jump start her search.

Initially, she wanted my help pursuing a senior development position with a local non-profit and asked for some help modifying her resume to make her more attractive to the organization’s director. However, a quick perusal of her resume convinced me that no amount of creative writing could transform her background in the hauling industry and real estate management into anything remotely appropriate for the opening she wanted to pursue.

Not wanting to dash her hopes upon the jagged rocks of reality, I sat down with her to discuss her previous work experience and asked her to recount some of her most distinctive, enjoyable and memorable moments from her previous jobs. Initially, she started to recount the tasks she performed in each of her previous positions, but I told her to put the resume aside and just tell me stories that stood out in her mind.

She described the day she was hired at the hauling company, interviewed in a dank interior office, lit by a single bulb and crammed from floor to ceiling with paper. Unopened envelopes, bills, unsent invoices, even checks, piled on every surface and jutting out of every cabinet and every drawer. The office resembled a scene from Hoarders and presented a challenge to my friend. She offered to get the entire office and business organized and running efficiently and was hired on the spot.

She then spent weeks opening every envelope, sorting payables from receivables, meeting with bankers to discuss how the company would work with the bank from that day forward, met with the accountant to clarify how the books should be kept, contacted all the clients to resolve billing issues and personally handled all client service calls. She took over the business and made it run. And she loved doing it. She faced a herculean task that would have driven me into one of the cluttered corners, whimpering in the fetal position and dove into the project headlong.

I love her story. And she had others. How she expanded their client base from 65 clients to over 3000 by herself. And how she handled all client service calls and built enduring relationships because her clients never called their hauling company, they called Paula. She became the face and voice of the company and turbocharged its growth.

Once I heard those stories, I didn’t care what accounting program she used, or how they processed payroll. I simply trusted that she could face a task – no matter how complex – dive in and get it done. And I appreciate it more because she excels at the things that I avoid. And I know dozens of business executives like me who desperately need someone who can organize their business and keep it running smoothly day to day. Is there a title for that? I don’t know. But I know there’s a story to tell that will let Paula put whatever title she wants on her business card.

So, what are your stories? The ones that are so memorable you still remember the tiniest details? They don’t have to be your greatest successes, either. Frequently they result in failures that taught you permanent lessons. As long as they continue to inspire you, they’ll inspire your listener. So jot them down. They’ll separate you from every other job seeker who focuses on their tasks without sharing the technicolor details of their real accomplishments.

There was a lot of overlap and similarity between these successful hiring execs that centered around several consitent themes:

1. Always hire talent, even if you don’t have the perfect spot for them yet. The single most difficult task of any executive is finding and retaining talent. If you discover a gem of an employee, hire them and create a role for them. You never regret adding creativity, ingenuity and intelligence to your team.
2. Ask questions that require them to tell stories about their experience. Resumes are filled with dates, sales targets met, percentages of quota filled and numbers of direct reports. But these recitations of statistics and static observations don’t tell whether the job seeker will fit into your company and culture. Ask them to describe in detail how they managed their greatest failure. Or how they managed to get corporate support for a new, unusual product launch. How do they work? Who do they work with? What do they value? If their answers match your culture, grab them up.
3. Culture always trumps strategy. One lesson learned by virtually every executive is that a brilliant mind doesn’t always result in a successful employee. If the new employee doesn’t share your values and embrace the way you conduct business, they will not work out for you long term. They never do. Hire to culture, not just capabilities.
4. Rely on referrals for your best candidates. Put the word out to your network of friends and business associates announcing what you’re looking for and let your network generate a stream of referrals. Your friends will only refer those they believe are truly capable of doing the job because if the candidate fails, the referrer’s reputation is similarly diminished.
5. Don’t focus solely on hiring talent from your industry. It’s predicted that the average graduate coming out of college today will likely have dozens of jobs and will switch careers entirely several times during their worklife. Hire talent, aptitude and attitude, not specific industry skills. These are the people that can step into the roles that don’t even exist yet.

Control Your Contact
You don’t want to get hiring calls while you’re at your current job or while you’re making lunch for your kids. You need to be in a private area that allows you to focus on the conversation. In addition, you need your resume, your list of questions and a notepad in front of you to jot down important thoughts and details and you need to be prepared. Provide your prospective employers with a single number to reach you. Typically this is your mobile number. If you receive an unscheduled call, ask if you can call back when you’re available to speak privately or have them reschedule the call at a time when you can be prepared. Make sure you have a very professional voice mail message on your mobile phone and check your messages regularly. Return every call as soon as possible and if you end up in a phone tag situation, be persistent and proactive.

Focus
Only conduct interview calls when you are able to devote 100% focus to the call at hand. If you get a call while you’re in your car or out in a social situation, ask to reschedule the call. The hiring manager wants to conduct the best interview possible and will understand that you can’t focus on the interview if you’re distracted. They will be understanding and accommodating and will respect your desire to perform your best.

Practice Your Answers to the Tough Questions
You know exactly where your professional weaknesses are, and you should expect that they will be revealed during the interview. Do you have a lot of project experience but not much management experience? Are you competing with MBA’s when you only have an undergraduate degree? Did you move to four different companies in three years? Be especially prepared to discuss these difficult issues, and determine how you can position your weaknesses in the best possible light. Knowing how you are going to respond to tough questions makes them much less intimidating.

Google Yourself
Every job candidate should be aware of all the information that will be revealed about them during a public web search. Every employer I know conducts at least a quick Google search on every job applicant just to discover what’s out there, so make sure you conduct an Internet search on yourself to preempt any surprises. In this new age of social media dominance, you need to be aware that your social media activities will also be reviewed by many employers and recruiters. Expect your Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter pages to be examined, and if you have anything on your sites that can be considered offensive or inappropriate, either remove the items or shield them behind privacy walls. Anything that remains public can and will be used against you during your job search.

Arm Yourself With Information
When you apply to a company, it’s incumbent upon you to learn something about that company. Knowledge is power. Read their entire website. Learn their company stories, how they were formed, what their mission statement reveals and familiarize yourself with the entire breadth of their products and services. Read their News Release page to see how they present themselves to the public and to determine how active they are in their industry. Then do a Goggle news search to see if they’ve been in the news for any reason, good or bad. When you’ve done your research, you can be assured that you will stand out among the crowd of applicants with your ability to speak informatively about the company and its activities.

Tell Stories
The single biggest drawback of resumes is their focus on titles, dates and responsibilities. But your real job consists of daily stories that demonstrate how you work with others, clarify the skills you bring to each project and explain how you achieved specific results. Facts are forgettable while stories are memorable. For each position that you’ve held, write down the three most compelling and illustrative stories that demonstrate your expertise, your commitment and your management style.

Engage in Conversation
An interview is a dialogue, not a monologue. Although the interviewer will typically control the conversation and ask most of the questions, you need to engage the interviewer during your responses. If you’re asked about specific technical qualifications, respond precisely then ask how your skills would fit in or fill a need with the employer. Your responses should be limited to two minutes before you ask your own question concerning how your talent and experience would fit in with the employer’s organization. This is an excellent time to determine if you fit into their organization and culture. If their management style revolves around a command and control dynamic but you excel in an open organization with a less formal management structure, then both you and they should discover this early in the search process. Ask questions and engage in a real conversation about life and work within their company.

Final Thought
When you answer your phone, and there’s an employer on the other end, you’re on. You have to be prepared to convey your professional strengths, relate the value you bring to an organization and express your enthusiasm for their company.  Think ahead about what you will say, how you will respond to difficult questions, and have your personal stories memorized that will demonstrate the skills and experience you offer. Use your resume as a guide but let the conversation extend to the employer’s current pain and problems that hiring you will alleviate. If you’ve prepared, you won’t be anxious and you’ll deliver the great first impression that will get you the face to face interview that you really want.

Alec’s approach was so simple and so direct, that it will undoubtedly be copied frequently by other job seekers. And why not? It was imaginative, it was unique and it worked. No reason others shouldn’t push the same envelopes in their job search endeavors as well and take full ownership of their personal brand and determine precisely how it’s presented.

For those imaginative small business owners, you can do the exact same thing when preparing to meet with a client who needs SEO or social media services. Buy the Google adwords for their company name a few days ahead of your meeting. Then, during your pitch, ask them to Google themselves and see your pitch for their precise needs at the top of the page. They’ll wonder how you got the top position, they’ll be impressed that you know how to manipulate the page rankings and you’ll have demonstrated your capacity to outimagine your competitors.

Bottom line, you and your firm can appear distinctive and memorable. And that’s always a good thing.

In Episode 9 of our real-life, real-time job search experiment with Cleveland sales executive Tim Krenn, we prepare for an interview with the CEO of a potential employer.

Tim’s success in developing his personal branding characteristics and his distinctive personal branding statement (I’m the guy who can build the relationships with the people you most want to do business with) accelerated his job search success and resulted in positive interviews with the sales and HR directors of a local technology company.

While Tim prepared for his initial interviews by reviewing our video series on The Toughest Interview Questions Tim’s next step – interviewing with the company’s CEO – offers some distinctive challenges that differ from the standard job interview.

1. The CEO is not making the hiring decision. Although the CEO runs the company, in most cases hiring decisions are ultimately left to the executive who will manage the new hire. The desired result after interviewing with the CEO is permission to hire you, not a mandate to hire you.
2. The CEO can veto your hire. While the CEO typically won’t make the hiring decision, a disappointing interview can result in the CEO’s refusal to hire you. The CEO always has veto authority if they don’t believe you have the right skill set, experience or personal characteristics to succeed within their organization.
3. The CEO’s priorities are different from the hiring manager. Your interview with the hiring manager will likely explore in great detail your previous experience and how you would transfer your talents to their company and help him succeed on a day to day basis. The CEO has entirely different priorities and is focused on organizational issues, not departmental issues. As a job seeker you need to understand the CEO’s priorities include growing the company, developing talent, reducing costs and maintaining organizational cohesion. Your responses should focus on the CEO’s needs and how your hire can help him reach his organizational goals.
4. Culture trumps talent. The most frequently underestimated aspect of the CEO interview is the importance of company culture to the CEO. Successful companies align their employees behind shared values that define how the company does business and how employees deal with each other. No matter how talented you are, if your personal and professional values don’t align with the company’s, neither of you will be successful. CEO’s understand the critical importance of company culture and need to be reassured that you embrace their priorities and values.
5. The CEO’s questions will differ from the hiring manager’s. The CEO will typically be less interested in all the specific details of your past and will explore broader themes dealing with your understanding of their industry and their company, your personal goals and aspirations and your personal characteristics that can provide value to their company. Although you should be ready to answer the typical job interview questions, you should be prepared to answer a lot more questions dealing with how you envision your future and your career progression with the organization.
6. There’s no more important first impression. The CEO is accustomed to making quick judgments and decisions, and he’ll be looking intently for indications of potential problems or lack of fit with his organization. Your first impression must match his expectations of professionalism, attention to detail and consideration. The little things can have enormous impact, so make sure that you’re dressed impeccably, your shoes are shined, you have a pen available in your pocket, you have a portfolio containing fresh copies of your resume and a notepad to take notes and you show enthusiasm for the company, its industry and your specific position.

You should be excited about the opportunity to interview with the CEO. Reaching this milestone means that everything you’ve done so far has been successful and the company is hoping that you clear this final hurdle. So do your research, prepare for the questions that the CEO is likely to ask, show your confidence and enthusiasm and get ready for the job offer.

Your interviewer is going to expect that as an interested applicant to their company that you’ve done some homework and will come prepared to ask some insightful questions. However, what many job seekers refuse to acknowledge is that the primary purpose of the interview is to make the interviewer comfortable and confident in their hiring decision. It’s not about you, it’s about them.

Most of the questions that should never be asked during an interview are focused on what’s in it for the job seeker. Asking these questions portrays the job seeker as interested only in their own interests, not in the company’s interests and can torpedo your chances to secure an offer.

1. What does your company do? There is simply no excuse to arrive for any job interview without thoroughly researching the company and understanding their company, their history, their products and something about their industry and their position in that industry.
2. Do you do background checks? This question will sound the alarms in the interviewer’s head, immediately triggering concerns about what you may be hiding. Assume that all companies will investigate your background, confirm your academic credentials, check with your references and validate all periods of employment.
3. Do you do drug tests? Like the previous question, asking if they do drug tests raises concerns that you might not be prepared to pass a drug test or need some advance notice. Again, assume that every company will require a drug test and adjust your lifestyle if necessary to pass the test.
4. Do you have any other jobs available? If it becomes apparent during the interview that the job you’re interviewing for is well below your qualifications or anticipated compensation, it makes sense to interrupt the interviewer and inform them that you need to understand the growth potential of the position since you have 15 years of experience, have managed people and earned 25% more. That allows the interviewer to either explain the potential of the position or shift gears and present another opening that is more congruent with your experience.
5. Can you guarantee me that I’ll still have a job here a year from now? There are no absolutes in business, and there is no guarantee of future employment. Asking this question suggests that you have an expectation that the company owes you your job, not that you owe them your best effort. Work hard, demonstrate your value and you’ll likely still have your job in a year.
6. Can you tell me what public transportation is available nearby? Getting to work is your responsibility. So is learning how to get to work. If you require public transportation, investigate its convenience and timeliness before your interview. It’s not the company’s responsibility to show you how you can get to work on time.
7. Is (my/my spouse’s/my child’s) medical condition covered under your insurance plan? Although it’s illegal to ask you about any specific medical conditions you might have, if you volunteer that you or a family member has a chronic condition, that revelation may influence their decision to hire you. It’s perfectly fine to ask for a copy of their employee benefits booklet after a job offer is made, but it’s a bad idea to reveal any serious medical conditions during the interview process.
8. How many breaks do I get each day? Can I see the break room? Asking any questions about breaks implies that you’re more interested in those times when you don’t have to work than you are in performing the job itself. This prohibition also applies to asking anything about smoking breaks. Many companies prohibit smoking entirely and others recognize the additional health care burdens that frequently accompany smokers and prefer to hire non-smokers. Best to keep your concerns about breaks to yourself than provide a reason for an employer to reject you.
9. How many warnings do you give before someone is fired? Asking about any type of disciplinary process will raise immediate concerns about your suitability for the position. The interviewer will immediately wonder if you’ve had disciplinary issues in the past and if you will be difficult to work with. Better to avoid you altogether if there are any management concerns.
10. How soon can I transfer to another position? After spending the interview convincing the interviewer that you’re competent and interested in the job, it would be a huge mistake to imply that you’re more interested other potential opportunities. This question announces that you’ll jump at the first opportunity that presents itself and won’t be fully committed to the job that’s being considered.

Though readers may view this ongoing series tracking the job search of Cleveland sales executive Tim Krenn as an interesting case study, for Tim this is real life. The guidance we provide needs to produce real results in the form of a job offer out there in the real world.

That’s why this morning’s call from Tim was great news and an affirmation that we’re guiding him on the right path.

Tim had an interview this morning with a large technology company needing to break into a new market. Their sales director met with Tim and told him that they were interviewing a lot of candidates so he needed to know why he should consider Tim for the position.

With all the work that Tim had devoted recently to preparing his personal brand statement and constructing the stories that demonstrated his three key competencies, he was prepared to hit the question out of the park.

Tim immediately related his personal branding statement:

I’m the guy who can build the relationsips with the people you want to do business with.

And then recounted the stories from his professional experiences that demonstrated his ability to penetrate new markets, develop strong personal relationships and gain enduring market share.

The sales director told Tim that he was the only candidate who had a concise and direct answer to the question: why should I hire you? And it was the single element that vaulted Tim into leading consideration for the position.

Your personal brand is powerful and effective when thoughtfully constructed and deployed. Build yours today.

When we last left Tim Krenn, our Cleveland-based sales executive, we instructed him to create his personal branding statement – the single sentence that defined the value that he brings to an organization.

Tim examined his professional strengths and crafted the statement:

I’m the guy who can build the relationships with the people you most want to do business with.

It’s an intriguing statement meant to arouse interest and curiosity from the potential employers that he meets, but he needs to be ready to expand on that statement with concrete examples that demonstrate his talents. What’s Tim’s next step: he needs good stories.

Stories That Resonate
The most recognized and popular brands in the world don’t just tell you about their products, they tell stories that involve their products. Facts are forgettable while stories are memorable. I have no idea how many laptops Apple sold last year but I know the story of their early days in Steve Jobs’ garage. I have no idea how many passengers Southwest Airlines flies each year, but I know the story of Herb Kelleher drawing a triangle connecting the dots between Dallas, Houston and San Antonio on the back of a napkin and creating the idea for their new airline.

Stories connect emotionally and enable the listener to easily absorb the information you want to convey. Authentic stories, when told well, are powerful and memorable and are an essential component of a thoughtful and thorough job search.

Stories Set You Apart
As a job seeker, you need to be ready to answer questions that reveal insight about your background, passions and skills. Reciting your degrees and your sales numbers doesn’t convey anything about you other than the end result of your efforts. However, recounting a story detailing how college was so important to you that you worked two jobs every semester to earn enough to pay tuition and how you always made sure that one of the jobs was in a restaurant so you would be able to get at least one good meal a day tells so much more about you than your degree and your GPA.

Ultimately, the employer isn’t hiring a degree, they’re hiring a person. And if you’re the person they remember as committed, hard-working, creative and industrious, then you’ve got the advantage. Your story gives you that edge.

Just make sure that every story has a distinct purpose and communicates one of your three marketing messages. For Tim, his stories will focus on his ability to build lasting relationships, his strategic business development skills and his consistent record of achievement.

Ready for Anything
Every job seeker should know the three strengths they want to communicate and have at least a couple of stories ready that demonstrate these skills in action. If you prepare these stories now, you’ll never be caught off guard or stumble to answer the tough interview questions and your stories will  separate you from every other candidate pursuing the same job.

Day 4 of our real-life, real-time job search with Cleveland sales executive Tim Krenn.

For those of you just tuning in, we’re documenting the real-life job strategies and efforts of a Cleveland-based sales executive whose looking for a new job.

So far, we’ve had Tim create his social media identities on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, we had him take a headshot that could be used as his visual identity across all his platforms, we created a professional blog bullgoosesales.com focusing on power sales and networking and we’re in the process of creating Tim’s personal brand.

Creating a distinctive and memorable personal brand may be the most important component of your entire job search. Every job seeker is armed with the same tools: a resume, cover letters and a lot of hope.

But, not matter how well written your résumé is or how thoughtful your cover letter is written, you still haven’t done enough to separate yourself from the rest of the people seeking the same job. You’ve got to stand apart. You’ve got to be distinctive. You’ve got to be memorable. Bottom line: you need to build your personal brand.

Your Unique Selling Proposition
At the core of your personal brand is your personal branding statement. What is it that separates you in your professional field? What makes you unique and desirable?

In sales, this would be called your Unique Selling Proposition. What is the one thing that will make a hiring manager tell himself that he’s got to meet you?

The problem most job seekers make when they define themselves is their definition is simple a restatement of their professional responsibilities. “I’m a recruiter .” Or “I’m a tax accountant.” But that’s not nearly enough. Your branding statement has to be much deeper than that. It must really reflect your core strengths and attributes that an employer will desperately want to have.

To illustrate what I’m talking about, when working with Tim, his first attempt at defining who he was resulted in the generic statement “I’m a sales executive.” Having known Tim for nearly 20 years and having worked with him professionally, I knew there was much more to him than that.

360 Degree Evaluation
I gave Tim an assignment to talk with his former managers, peers and clients and ask them how they would describe him. This process of getting feedback from people above, below and at your peer level is often referred to as a 360 degree evaluation and can be enlightening and revealing.

The feedback Tim received was pretty consistent and included descriptions like: genuine, passionate, empathetic, great listener, adjusts to anyone, understanding, personable, sincere, caring, achieving, personable and visionary.

The dominant theme revolved around Tim’s ability to connect with his clients and peers and build lasting relationships. And in sales, those relationships are crucial because people do business with people they like. Tim builds lasting friendships with everyone from the machine operator to the CEO and is able to convert these relationships into sales.

The Branding Statement
This recognition resulted in Tim creating his own personal branding statement:
I’m the guy who can build the relationships with the people you most want to do business with.

It’s simple, it’s focused and it’s intriguing. It’s the type of statement that invites the next question from a hiring manager: Tell me more.

Note what it wasn’t. It wasn’t a laundry list of everything that Tim can do. It didn’t include his record of achievement, though that record is impressive. It didn’t focus on his strategic sales and business development experience, though his skills there are also strong. But Tim focused on one thing. A single differentiator that leads to curiosity, interest and a face to face meeting where Tim can tell his whole story.

And that’s where we’re headed next. Telling the stories that illustrate who you are and why they need you. Stay with us as our real-life, real-time job search continues here on the Job Shopper.