Attention spans are extremely short and time is very limited in today’s fast-paced, digital society.
Don’t force a hiring manager to read through a 5-paragraph letter of recommendation (of which only a few sentences really enhance your perceived value anyway). Here are two better ways to use references and referrals as self-marketing tools during your job search:
1. Create a Recommendation Report TM. A Recommendation Report is a powerful, 1-page marketing tool where you cut out the “fluff” found in most letters of recommendation where the writers talk about their background and how they know you. Instead, get current or former colleagues, bosses, customers, professors, etc. to provide (or approve) 1-3 sentence testimonials about you and your work. Then, you list each person’s name, title/affiliation, and their results-oriented quotes. For example, let’s say you were applying for a position as a Director of Marketing. Consider the value of having 5-10 quotes like the following on a one-page document that you could include when you applied for the job:
- “If you want to leverage social media to build your brand, generate leads, and increase revenue, Katie Johnson should be your go-to source.” – Mary Jensen, CEO for ABC Company
- “Reliable, enthusiastic, professional, and incredibly innovative … Katie Johnson would be an extremely valuable asset to any organization.” – Doug Smith, VP of Sales for XYZ Company
- “Katie Johnson’s track record as a marketer speaks for itself. She has the experience, knowledge, and personality to make any project highly profitable.” – Jim Thomas, SVP Marketing for DEF Company
2. Create a Job Search TV Channel TM. Wouldn’t it be cool to have your own TV channel during your job search where you could feature other people talking about how amazing you are? Well, thanks to YouTube, this is now possible. Yes, YouTube is not just for videos of dancing birds, talking dogs, or celebrity bloopers.
Go to www.youtube.com and create your very own TV channel at www.youtube.com/yourname. (This is much easier to do than it sounds.) You can use a flip camera or your cell phone to film 15-30 second testimonials from current/former bosses, colleagues, customers, etc. After some basic editing, you can upload them to your channel as separate videos or merge them together into one video. Enthusiastic video testimonials are much more compelling than text testimonials because they include body language and tone as well. You can also take these video testimonials and insert them into your email signature, your web site (if you have one), and your social media accounts (i.e. your LinkedIn profile). While not everyone will be comfortable with appearing on video, it’s definitely worth asking your best advocates.
Author:
Pete Leibman is the Founder and Keynote Speaker for Dream Job Academy, and his career advice has been featured on Fox, CBS, and CNN. His new book, “I Got My Dream Job and So Can You,” features lessons from young professionals who recently landed their dream job in a variety of fields.
