"Once Upon A Time...."

So, what’s your story? You’re in a career transition and networking…and it’s essential that you create your story:the information you give people when you first meet them. It’s also called your “elevator speech”; your “30-second commercial”….it’s a short statement about who you are and what your benefits are.

Here’s mine: “I’m a career management expert. I know how to survive and thrive career changes. I’ve been down-sized, right-sized, and had my position eliminated. Because I’ve made all the mistakes you can possibly think of, I know how to guide clients through change and reduce transition time by 50%.”

Start your story out with an “I am” statement and then focus on what makes you unique. Here are some questions to help you create your customized story.

 Why should someone be interested in you and your service or product?
 What makes you unique from your competitor?
 What can you tell the person that they don’t already know?
 What will you do for them and their company?
 How will you make them look better?
 How do you contribute to the greater good?
 Why should they trust you?

These are questions that go through your head when someone approaches you with their product or service. The same questioning process occurs when you interview for a job. Because you ARE the product, you want to have a concise, interesting explanation to answer these questions. This can be a real challenge for most of us because it feels like we’re bragging and promoting ourselves…..which we were taught not to do.

Here are 3 tips to help you create an interesting, concise, honest break through story:

1. Make a list of your top 3 career achievements. Prioritize them. This allows you to decide which achievement you want to highlight in your story.
2. Make sure that your achievements are measureable. Use action verbs like increased sales by a percentage or use actual dollar amounts.
3. Determine what you’ve learned in the course of your career that will help others. It could be leadership style, communication, team building, sales, etc.

Make your story memorable and interesting!