Kathy Marcus

Kathy Marcus is a job seeker that I met about six months ago through a local networking group whose mission is to keep people employed in the Rochester, NY area. It was the first time that Kathy was out of work in a long time and she was up for the challenge to find a new employer.

Over the six months, Kathy has experienced like many job hunters the highs of finding the perfect job to the lows of being beat out for the position by someone else.

Kathy has proactively educated herself about the job hunting process by attending state sponsored events, job networking groups, meeting people one-on-one and being a part of a job support group.

In the holiday spirit of giving, Kathy shares some of the knowledge she gathered over the past several months as an active job seeker and has graciously let me publicize the information to readers at Elephants at Work. You’ll find her own words under each day’s job hunting lesson.

Day 1:  It’s all about Sales

Did you know that we job seekers are in sales each and every day? We are selling ourselves as competent, qualified professionals who are looking for that right opportunity for our experience and skill set.

When we’re at a networking meeting or event, the grocery store or sending an email to our networks, we need to exude confidence and a positive energy that draws people in. Don’t skip right to the hard sell and be the person standing in the doorway passing out your networking cards to strangers that you’ve never spoken to. Be the person who does their research, listens to others and has quality conversations with meaningful connections. There will be plenty of time for your ‘pitch’ once you’ve established rapport with your audience by learning more about them and how you can help.

Remember, the most successful salespeople are great listeners. Fine tuning this skill is as important as your resume and elevator speech and will distinguish you as a good person to know.