cpws talking about yourself professionally 081016
TRANSCRIPT
Tanya White-Earnest | www.trident4careers.com | [email protected] 714.816.0366 x1943
How to be Comfortable (and Effective) Talking About Yourself Professionally
Daniel Sloan Marketing Specialist
Trident University International
Tanya White-Earnest Director
TUI Center for Career Planning and Workforce Strategies
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AGENDA
AUGUST 10TH, 2016
▪ Talking About You (Why and How to be comfortable)
▪ Networking, Informational Interviewing
▪ Interview
▪ Handling difficult questions
▪ Talking About the “Negative”
▪ Q&A
How to be Comfortable (and Effective)
Talking About Yourself Professionally
In which of the following situations do you
find it challenging to talk about yourself
effectively?
• When trying to explain what I do
• to family and friends
• When in the interview
• When in a networking situation
• When asking for a raise or promotion
• When contributing to my annual performance appraisal
• No one knows you better than you
• No one cares more about you than you
• No one is better equipped to share the nuances of your journey than you
• The ability to articulate your accomplishments in a way that shows your skills and experience will set you apart
WHY
HOW
1. Assess yourself
2. Be clear about who you are (what do you want to project?)
3. Create a consistent message
4. Create anecdotes to convey and support your message
5. Tweak your message for the situation
6. Always speak with confidence
WHAT
Don’t want to sound like you are bragging? Use:
Facts rather than opinions
Quantify
Qualify
Scope and Depth
KIS – keep it simple
CARE – context, action, results, effect
Practice
Right now, which of the following is most
important to you in preparing to speak about
yourself professionally?
• “Selling” my strengths
• Talking about my “weaknesses”
• Convincing others of my professional value
• Learning how to translate my skills to the job I am seeking
• Learning how to talk about a negative situation on my last job
NETWORKING
Be clear and concise about what you want and what you can do
Know who you are targeting – take time to get to know something about them before contacting
Know your unique value and how to share it
Know what’s in it for your audience (what’s important)
Understand the job or need and speak to how you can fill that based on the evidence of your past experience
Listen More than you talk
Use CARE
INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW
ASK GREAT QUESTIONS
• Provides insight into their needs
• Determine what is required
• What is most important to them (not you)?
• What causes pain?
• What are the vital skills?
• What are your greatest areas of contribution?
INTERVIEW
BE YOU – AT YOUR BEST!
Use their wording to get your points across
Use positive attribution
Don’t just focus on the “technical” aspects of your skills – be able to show that you fit
Don’t compare – eliminate competition from your mind
Don’t tell them what you cannot do, haven’t done, etc.
Don’t sell yourself short
Remember to think like a business - ROI
Yes, you do have at least one!
No one is perfect
Be genuine
Don’t use the “canned responses” you find on the internet – show that you really know yourself
What is your greatest weakness?
“I’ve been told that. . .”
Convey something that has been brought to your attention and that either you are working on, or had in many cases been an asset – (stickler for detail/ bogs down the process)
Relay the benefit of the trait/behavior, or the actions you have taken (are taking) to ensure that the weakness is not detrimental to your work process.
What is your greatest weakness?
“You know, they say that any asset used to the extreme becomes a weakness”
Convey something that is a strength for you, but that sometimes you may overuse and it causes problems– (stickler for detail – leads to procrastination)
Relay what you do to ensure you are not overusing the strength, but also share how it has helped to avoid or solve a problem in the past
What is your greatest weakness?
Tanya’s Tips: “Fine to talk
about the negative, just
don’t do it negatively”
Sharing Negative Situations Fired. . .difficult relationship with your boss, discrimination. . .
Don’t whine or complain
Don’t badmouth the company or your previous coworkers/boss
Don’t point the finger of blame
Don’t speak about confidential proceedings or information
Tanya’s Tips:
Use CARE
Rather . . .
Watch the emotion – know that your tone and body language conveys a lot of information and can override your words
Talk about the context – what was going on, situation
What did you do to overcome, deal with, or mitigate it?
What were the results of your efforts?
What was the effect for yourself / others
“I’ve got a lot of experience at. . .”
Over the last # of years I have progressed from ____ to ____ within the (field). During that time I have had the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in (share scope and depth of experience)
TELL THE STORY
TELL THE STORY
“I am a great listener”
“People tell me they love to talk to me because I really listen and make them feel heard”
TELL THE STORY
“I have outstanding attention to detail”
“In one specific situation, I was able to save my company over 25K. I have a habit of reviewing contracts after then are finalized, before execution, just to make sure all the “I”s are dotted and “t”s are crossed. Once I found that we had missed an opportunity to ______ which would have cost us 25K. ”
QUESTIONS
UPCOMING WEBINARS
Don’t forget to mark your calendar for other upcoming Center for Career and Workforce Strategies events including:
• August 24th– Virtual Job Fair
• September 14 – Compensation and Negotiation with Dr. Bruce Gillies
CONNECT WITH CPWS
• Call us at:
714-816-0366 extension: 1943
• Email us at:
THANK YOU! We appreciate you joining us today for:
How to be Comfortable (and Effective)Talking About Yourself Professionally
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▪ Career Planning
▪ Job Search
▪ Self-Assessment
▪ Career Transition/Advancement Assistance
▪ Resume Review/Critique and Preparation
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