How to “sell” yourself

Step 1. Analysis
Any good marketer understands the value of market research. Who is your target audience? What
are they looking for? What does the competition offer? How can your product solve the customer’s problem
and/or improve the customer’s life?
Take a good look at the job description. Where are you a great match? Which of the top requirements do you
bring to the table? Can you claim expert status or impressive accomplishments that can separate you from the
pack? Understand what they are looking for and emphasize how you specifically fit those needs.
Sometimes it’s difficult to analyze yourself clearly (especially if you have been job hunting for a while and are
feeling bruised by the process). This is where a trusted mentor or coach can help with some objective feedback
on what to emphasize and what to downplay.
Step 2. Bold your selling points
Be proactive about what you want to convey in your interview. Based on the analysis conducted in
Step 1, you should have a pretty good sense of the key selling points that your interviewer will be most
interested in. Now it’s time to frame these selling points so that you can communicate them concisely and
powerfully.
I’m not advising you to write a script and I’m certainly not advising you to make stuff up. In fact, this is
particularly important for those who consider themselves a bit modest or uncomfortable “selling” themselves.
That’s why it’s so important to think about the approach and language that will be most natural for you — that
will still feel like YOU, just more confident and articulate about your positive qualities. The process of writing
down your speaking points will make a tremendous difference.
Sit down and list your top selling points. What do you want your interviewer to remember about you? Aim for
at least five main points —these can be areas of expertise, key accomplishments, education or training, soft
skills, personality qualities. For each of these, write a proof statement. This proof statement can be a brief
example or a more general statement about how you have demonstrated that strength in the past.
Example selling point #1: Management skills/experience
For a management role, you’ll want to demonstrate that you can successfully lead others. If this is one of your
strengths, highlight it with specifics:
Proof Statement A (specific example): In my current role, I have built a great team that has grown from 3 to
14 over the last five years. Early on, I learned a lot from my mentors about how to hire the right people and
coach them to success. Now I’m proud to say that my team has been acknowledged as the most productive and
cohesive group in the division. Now my bosses send young managers to me to mentor!

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Proof Statement B (general description): I love being a manager and I believe it’s one of my greatest
strengths. I have managed customer service teams at both large and small companies for more than four years,
so I know how to get the best out of customer service professionals.
Example selling point #2: Hard worker
A strong work ethic is a great asset and a desirable quality for almost any position.
Just keep in mind that interviewers hear this “hard worker” claim a lot and may not see it as a huge
differentiator. If you choose this as one of your interview selling points, make sure you have a great example or
proof statement that shows how you personify this quality. Also, be sure to supplement this one with additional
selling points that are more specific to the role and set you apart more clearly.
Proof Statement A (specific example): In my previous position, I put in many late nights to ensure that our
monthly client newsletter went out on time — and that it met the company’s high quality standards. Because of
layoffs, we were understaffed and I volunteered to take on many additional tasks beyond my role — I wrote
stories, edited for our other writers, oversaw layout, and served as the final proofreader to ensure no mistakes
made it to press. The issue was a huge success and resulted in lots of positive feedback from clients and from
senior management.
Proof Statement B (general description): I have always been that person who’s first in the office in the
morning and last to leave in the evening. I’m the guy who taught himself programming so that I could be more
valuable to my team on our site redesign project. I’m not happy unless I know I’m giving my all.
Step 3: Practice until it feels natural
Just like you would practice for an important speech or a big performance, you must practice for
your interview.  In Step 2, you outlined your main speaking points in writing (remember, not word for word).
To make sure you can deliver this crucial information in a compelling and natural way, you’ll need to speak
those selling points out loud (with your notes at first and eventually without them). The process of practicing
can feel awkward, but it allows you to work out the kinks BEFORE you walk into the interview. As you practice,
you’ll likely make tweaks to the content and how you deliver it. Your answers should come out a little bit
differently each time, but still cover the selling points that you’ve identified as most important. This practice
will also make you more comfortable with saying positive things about yourself and help you own your
strengths in your own voice. Once you know your selling points and have a sense of how you want to describe
them, you need to get proactive about finding opportunities to pitch yourself during the interview.

Here are some questions that provide useful openings for pitching your selling points:
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1) Tell me about yourself — Most interviews open with this question or a variation (Walk me through your
resume/background, etc.). This is an opportunity for you to start strong and steer the interview discussion to
your strengths.
2) Your strengths — Any question about your strengths is an invitation to share your selling points. Variations
on “the strengths question” include: • Why would you be a good fit? • Why should we hire you?
3) Your role descriptions — Any decent interviewer will ask you about your most recent positions. Instead of
just rattling off your duties, weave in examples that show off your key qualifications.
4) Your behavioral stories —Any questions that start with “Tell me about a time…” or otherwise prompt you
for specific examples from your past). Is suggested to prepare at least 3-5 strong stories that showcase your
strengths and achievements. If you’re trying to craft your selling points and still struggle with feeling
comfortable saying nice things about yourself, here are some tricks you can use:
1) Stick with the facts. Instead of stating an opinion about yourself (awkward sometimes), present some nice
objective facts that demonstrate your point.
Instead of: I’m a very strong writer.
Try: I’ve been published by Publication X and Z and was very excited to be selected for Writing Prize ABC during
my senior year.
2) Quote somebody else. Sometimes it can feel less “braggy” to quote somebody else’s positive opinion of you.
Truthfully, this approach can lend additional credibility even if you’re perfectly okay with tooting your own
horn.
Instead of: I’m a very effective project manager.
Try: My manager told me that I am the best project manager at the company and the CEO specifically requested
me to lead our highest-profile client engagement this quarter.
3) Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Give yourself permission to brag. Try writing your selling point
bullets as if you were a brazen self-promoter. You can always dial it back later if the results feel obnoxious.
However, I have seen many clients benefit from pushing themselves a little.
4) Get feedback from a trusted (and objective) advisor. Try it out loud with a friend or coach and get some
honest feedback. You’ll likely find that you’re too close to the topic to evaluate without some outside
perspective.
Look for an advisor with some knowledge of the interviewing process (many of your friends and family
members probably have experience interviewing candidates). Ideally, you also want someone who can
maintain some objectivity about you (often a parent or significant other will have trouble with this aspect) and
can give feedback that’s both candid and constructive.

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TO DO!

1. Be the solution!
Companies fill or create positions because they have problems they want to solve -- for instance, ineffective
advertising or long customer-service lines. So prepare for an interview by identifying the problems hinted at in
the job ad. (If there's no job ad, research the company and industry.) Then, prepare examples detailing how
you'll solve those problems -- and how you've solved similar problems in the past. Practice telling stories about
specific results you've achieved. And if you're interviewing for a career change, keep in mind that many
problems -such as a lack of effective project management or a breakdown of teamwork are not industry-
specific. Offering solutions to these problems is a great way to overcome a lack of directly applicable
experience.

2. Be specific!
Avoid empty clichés. Be prepared to back up your claims about your skills or characteristics with relevant and
specific stories. For example, don't just say you "work well with others" -- talk about the types of teams you've
worked with and what you've learned from them. Or if you plan to say you're "detail-oriented," come to the
interview prepared with a story about how your attention to detail saved a former employer money (or
otherwise saved the day).

3. Prepare sound bites!

Prepare three or four effective sound bites that highlight your skills and past successes. A sound bite is succinct
and direct, so it's catchy and easy to remember -- for example, "I've designed logos for three Fortune 500
companies" or "My efficiency plan decreased product-delivery times by 15 percent without costing the
company a cent." When you're coming up with your sound bites, ask yourself, "What were my
greatest accomplishments at my most recent job?" and "What sets me apart from other candidates?"

4. Prepare to talk about your resume!

Your resume and cover letter will likely form an outline for at least part of your interview. Because a resume
has to be brief, it probably says many things that could be elaborated on or explained in more detail. Often a
resume explains the "what" (for instance, "supervised two people"). Use the interview to talk about the "how,"
as well as skills you gained, praise you received and so on.

5. Be aware of nonverbal communication!

You say a lot about yourself with nonverbal language: your posture and your facial expressions, for instance. Sit
up straight -- leaning forward can make you seem closed off, as can holding a briefcase or purse in your lap.
Maintain eye contact when answering interview questions, and smile frequently. Also, practice
your handshake with a friend.

6. Be positive!
Avoid complaining about a former employer or laying blame at a former manager's feet -- doing so will likely
make you seem difficult to work with (or disloyal). Even if you quit your last job in a rage because you had
an incompetent manager, saying something like "I felt I was ready for a more challenging position -- like this
one seems to be" turns a potentially interview-killing situation into something that makes you look very
attractive to a hiring manager.

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Job interview QUESTIONS

1. Why are you here? 16. Describe a crisis you faced at work. What was
your role? How did you resolve it? What were the
2. If you had only one word to describe yourself, what results?
would it be?

3. When have you failed? Describe what happened

and what you learned from it. 17. Describe a time when you were asked to do
something you weren't trained to do. How did you
4. What's the one accomplishment you're most proud handle it?
of? Why?
18. Describe the boss who would get the very best
5. What qualities in your co-workers bother you work from you.
most? Do you appreciate most?
19. What will make you love coming to work here
6. How do you take advantage of your strengths? everyday?
How do you compensate for your weaknesses?
20. What would you do if management made a
7. If I were to ask your current boss what your decision you didn't agree with?
greatest strength is, what would he or she tell me?
21. What is there about this opportunity that most
8. If I were to ask your current boss to tell me one excites you?
thing you do that drives him crazy what would he tell
me? 22. What's your greatest fear about this opportunity?

9. What's one thing you would like to do better? 23. If you get the job, how could you lose money for
What's your plan for improving? me?

10. What changes have you made in working with 24. Assume that you come to work here. One year
others to be more effective at work? from now you go home one Friday evening thinking
that accepting this job was the best thing you ever
11. What do you think are the most important did. What happened during the year for you to feel
attributes of successful people? How do you rate that way?
yourself in those areas?
25. Is there any question I haven't asked you that I
12. How do you make decisions? should?

13. If you were limited to just one person to get

advice and help from, which person would you
choose? Why?

14. Tell me about a work incident in which you were

totally honest, despite a potential risk or downside.

15. What would you do if you made an important

business decision and a co-worker challenged it?

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