Beyond the Inverted Pyramid

Cover Letters Like Good Manners are Never Out of Style

A local business columnist today, posed the question in her column of whether a cover letter is still a must do for job seekers. I have just successfully concluded an eight-month long job search, so the cover letter questions is still very fresh on my mind. I think you should absolutely include cover letters as a way to set yourself apart from your competitors. A well-written, customized cover letter shows that, having taken the time to write a cover letter, you are serious about pursuing the position. It proves that you are a thoughtful, articulate person. It also shows that you understand basic tenets of etiquette and the assumption can be made that if represent yourself professionally in cyberspace, you most likely will do so in person. In my case, I was pursuing a position in the communications field, and the cover letter was my opportunity to show that I was skilled in my craft. I customized my cover letters to the job I was applying for by carefully reading the job posting and addressing how my particular skills were a fit to the opening. In cases where I got an interview (I got interviews for 13% of the jobs I applied for), part of my interview preparation included reviewing the cover letter to revisit what I had identified as my selling points for that particular job. Should you write a cover letter? Absolutely. Especially if you want to get a job.

Hi Ho, Hi, Ho, It's Off to Work I Go!

In several days, I'll be returning back to work after being off for nine months. I've learned a lot from the experience. Here are some expected and some unexpected things that I discovered:

Career counseling is only good as you make it. It's like a lot of things, you get into it what you put into it. Career counselors offer you tools to use in a career search. They do not have the answers. They can offer insight and encouragement, but, as in all things, the hard work is up to you.

The trash collectors never come through the neighborhood at the same time each week. They must set there own schedules.

Despite the fact that you can finally sleep in, the body has its our rhythm. I guess after 286 years of getting up to an alarm clock, it no longer needs an alarm clock. It knows when to get up and is not bound to be reprogrammed now.

My spouse, who works at home, actually seemed to like to have me around. I was sure there would be a divorce bought on by too much togetherness, but we got along remarkably well.

Just because a prospective employer buys a plane ticket and pays for you to travel half way across the country, doesn't mean you'll get the job.

It just means they want to see you.

You'll find support

in places and people you least expect it from and not get it from where you thought it may come from.

Cats really are good listeners.

Job hunting is a lonely endeavor. No one cares but you how many resumes you've sent out and who you're waiting to hear back from.

After every in-person interview, you have to wait two weeks to hear anything. No one has the sense of urgency you have about your job search.

Volunteer organizations really do appreciate your contributions no matter how small they may seem to you and they are a great way to maintain your skills and acquire some new ones.

It is possible to lose weight in a house full of food if you really want to.

Day-time TV really is a wasteland.

Journaling is therapeutic.

Hi ho. Hi ho. It's off to work I'll go.

Got the Write Stuff?

Whether you're advising a young person on a career choice or making a hiring decision, you may, at sometime, find yourself debating just what makes a good public relations person.  I've seen people come and go and I can tell you, despite the shape, size, age, industry, political affiliation or education, they tend to share some common attributes.

They are superb at networking.  Some people are just naturally outgoing and perfectly comfortable with meeting and greeting and glad handing.  Others learn how to do it quite well as a part of the job.  Their network is a garden that they cultivate and regularly harvest.  They build alliances. They recognize the areas of their own weakness and seek out those who can complement them. 

They are great relationship builders.  They are comfortable working with people at all levels of their organization.  They have friends and acquaintances from all walks of life.  I have a friend, now retired, who was a lobbyist.  He chatted as much with the company maintenance man about the best weed killer to put on the lawn as as he did with our state senator about the company position on pending legislation.  There is not wonder his path led him into politics. 

They are lifetime learners. A good public relations person embraces technology.  It is absolutely necessary to follow the development of a new media not only to use it to your own advantage, but to be aware of how others are using it, perhaps to your detriment.  Blogging is a good example.  Good public relations people need to have a good grasp of how to track what is going on in the the blogosphere in order to counter it if need be.

They are curious.  They need to have an almost insatiable curiosity, a need to know what is going on in their environments.  They read voraciously.  They are consumers of broadcast news.  They read the trade press. They are constantly scanning the environment and processing what they see, synthesizing it into observations about their own world.  Their thirst for knowledge generally leads them to be fairly well-rounded individuals.

They are great writers.  They are not only good at it, they have a passion for it.  I had an employee tell me as they were moving into another position that he never wanted to write another article again. I think, if that is the way he truly felt, it is good that he made the move. This vocation was obviously not a good fit.

While it's dangerous to make generalizations, I've found these observations to generally hold true.  If you'd like to add your own observations or challenge those, I've made, please feel free to add a comment.

Rocks, Dirt and Water

Rocks. Dirt. Water. 

There could not be a better enjoyment for a five-year-old boy or a middle-aged woman on a warm sunny morning. 

Earlier this week, as I was washing out my flower pots preparing to set out plants for the summer, when I looked up to find my five-year old neighbot asking me what I was doing, why I was doing it and if he could "help."  From that point he was a constant companion.

He washed the rocks.  He washed our hands and washed his muddy feet a couple of times.  He especially liked filling an empty pot with dirt from the potting soil bag and helping me put it around the plants. 

Amid the watering and the potting, a new friendship has bloomed as promising as the flowers now gracing our front porch.

Back to School on Interviewing

--Do your homework.

--Remember, it's not all about you.

--Be respectful.

--Be on time.

--Be prepared for surprises.

--Don't be afraid to say you don't understand.

--Ask for input.

Though it could be advice for kids going back to school, I'm thinking about some tips for conducting good interviews.

First, do your homework.  Whether you're interviewing the CEO or an engineer, don't take up their time by asking them questions you should have researched yourself.  With the wealth of information available on the Internet, there is no excuse for not preparing.  "Google" the person you're interviewing.  Read some items they've written or what has been written about them. Do some elementary research on the topic of the interview.  It saves time.  It shows you're interested in the topic, and, it will help you prepare better questions for the interview. 

Remember, it's not about you.  No matter how wrapped up you get in the discussion, refrain from monopolizing the interview. Discussion of your experience can help warm up the interviewee, but know when to back off and listen to your subject. Remember why you are there. 

Be respectful and be on time.  Don't keep your subject waiting.  It shows a lack of interest on your part and can negatively affect your subject's willingness to share with you. If you have to be late or even cancel, be sure you let your subject know. 

Be prepared for surprises.  Listen carefully.  It's not unusual for your subject to embark on an aspect of the topic you have not considered. Don't miss the opportunity to  explore a potentially good aspect of the story just because you hadn't planned on following that particular avenue.  I've listened to taped interviews of retirees where the interviewer followed a set of written questions he never deviated from. The question might be "Tell me about the building over on 2nd Street."  And the interviewee would say, "Oh yes, there was a big fire there in 1956 and we had to move out."  And the interviewee would totally fail to follow up on the fire incident and move on to "What year did you retire?"  I never found out what happened at the fire.

Don't be afraid to say you don't understand. If you don't understand the material, you'll never be be able to write about so someone else can understand it.  Worse yet, you may not get enough information to write a good story. When I was in high school working for my home town weekly, I came back from an interview without a story. My editor made me go back and re-do the interview. I was so humiliated that I vowed, I'd never come away without a story again and I thank him for that lesson.

Last, always ask your subject if there is something they'd like to add that you may not have thought to cover.  Sometimes, the subject will have an aspect of the story that you have not thought about.  Also, oftentimes, the subject will use this opportunity to clarify something, or take the opportunity to emphasize what he or she thinks is the most important aspect of the story. It's all good feedback.

Let me know if I've missed anything you'd like to add.

Take Steps Now to Build Your Personal Brand

Companies spend millions of dollars and a lot of effort to build their brands.  Why? A good brand brings its bearer instant name recognition and automatic credibility as well as a perception of reliability and trustworthiness in the market place.  A good brand is worth its weight in gold, literally and figuratively. 

 

According to an article in Business Week, the world's most valuable brand, Coca- Cola, is worth $6.7 billion.  (Read more at: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/toc/06_32/B399606globalbrands.htm.)

 

Brands are evaluated based upon how much they are likely to earn in the future.  As employees, we are similarly evaluated based on how much value we are likely to bring to an organization.

 

We could all benefit from taking some tips from the brand leader when it comes to building our own personal brand.  Here are some best practices from Coke.

 

First, anticipate the needs of your clients.  For example, knowing that the annual benefits enrollment period is approaching, my team suggested an online contest to stimulate readership of the enrollment materials.  The number of contest participants was used a way to measure awareness of the program. 

 

Retool.  When I discovered what all my teenage nephew could do with his IPOD, I used a gift certificate to purchase one and the whole world of podcasting has got me thinking about all sorts of application for reaching various publics.

 

Engage partners. When I had the opportunity to hire three new staff members, I involved my two peer managers in the interview process.  Since they would be regularly working with the new team members, it made a lot of sense that they have an input into the hiring decision.  Involving them gained their additional support in integrating the new staffers into the company. 

 

Don't fear failure. I was recently the only woman over 40 in a step aerobics class.  I knew nothing about step, and was afraid I may fail miserably among the younger, more lithe, class members, but they coached and helped me.  Thanks to their support and facing my fear, I'm ready to sign up for pilates.

 

Take a page out of Coke's book.  Build your own brand.  Anticipate needs.  Retool yourself. Engage your partners and don't fear failure.  Your brand, too, can be worth its weight in gold.

 

 

The Writing Muse--Brain, Pen, Paper

 

There's an odd connection between a pen and my brain.

I'm a fairly good speller. But, when I'm cogitating on the spelling of a word, it seems like it comes to me much more readily when I'm holding a pen in my hand.  If I don't have one, I seek one out and then the word comes more easily. It's hard to explain the way words flow down my arm, through my fingers and out of my pen in a constant torrent, fluidly like water in a swift running stream.  I'm not consciously aware of their existence.  And then I pick up a pen and they are released from where ever they've been pent up. 

I imagine this is the way it happens for naturally gifted musicians. They pick up an instrument and the melodies just flow. My grandfather, who was never formally schooled in music, could play any instrument he picked up--banjo, accordion, harmonica, piano.  I can play guitar, but I lack his gift. My playing, like most other things I do, requires hard work and practice.  Maybe I've inherited my grandpap's natural ability to express himself through the written word rather than through melody.

Carl Dixon on the Accordion

In any case, it is the one truly "natural" gift I have and I'm fortunate to have been able to both harness it as a vocation and put it to use as a form of personal expression.  Here's to you, Pap.

Live from the Nation's Capitol

Live from the Nation's Capitol. Here I am, live at the nation's capitol. I'm bleary-eyed from the red-eye trip here and then back again, but the sights and sounds of this place are unique to Washington, D.C.

A voice is blaring over the public address system, "US Airways is proud to host Honor Flight, a non-profit organization bringing World War II veterans from across the country in to Washington for the day to see their Memorial. Come wish them well at Gate 35." And I think, not for the first time, I'm not in Kansas anymore.

As we were landing at the Ronald Reagan National Airport, the Arlington National Cemetery passes  beneath me. Row after row after row of white markers standing in perfect symmetry, now and through the ages a silent tribute to all of those soldiers who rest there in perpetuity.

As I take a taxi through picturesque Alexandria with its brick sidewalks and colonial houses, I am reminded of just how long ago people settled here and have been making history. These homes haven't been swept away by tornadoes ripping across the flatlands. No, they've withstood storms of a different type. Urban flight, urban blight and urban renewal. $600,000 for a condo.

As I eat lunch at an otherwise ubiquitous TGIFridays, I look out across the airport tarmac, littered by luggage carts, to see the Rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial in the distance. This is it. This is the heart of our country. What happens here definitely does not stay here. It is heard across the world.

In Kansas the airport shops sell tee shirts saying "Will work for shoes" and sport Dorothy's ruby slippers. Here, the shops are predictably full of election memorabilia including tee shirts that say everything from "Thank his mama for O'Bama" to "Vote for Bill Clinton for First Lady."

And, once again, here comes the public address announcement. This time, in a manner representative of the melting pot this is, a man with an Oriental accent continues to promote the vets, "Help us cheer our heroes, our World War II vets, returning home to Atlanta, Georgia. Remember, freedom isn't free."

Here, in our nation's capitol, that is something that's impossible to forget.

Redescovering a Long-Lost Friend

I paid a long overdue visit to an old friend recently.

I walked into our local public library and I signed up for the first library card I've had in 10 years. Access to a home computer and the Internet had kept me away from my old friend for too long. While technology has eliminated the card catalog, and hottest seat in the house for many is in front of a computer screen, there are many things that have not changed.

The library is an equalizer, where the only cost for access to books, research, and now the cyberworld, is the desire for knowledge.

The library offers the thrill of adventure. Trolling through the library stacks is like sniffing out a good bargain at the local department store. You never know what you might uncover--an old book you read in childhood or a new book from a favorite writer.

At the library, retail renting is encouraged. You can try books that you may not invest the money to buy and return them if they don't fit, or get more of the same if they are a match. It's not the kind of thing you are encouraged to do at Macy's or Wal-Mart.

So, while I love my new friend, the Internet, there is a place for old friends, also, where you can revisit old adventures, but go on new ones there as well.

The Emperor Has No Clothes and Other Astute Observations

If you want to be thought of as more than person who does the company web site, then read this.

What do CEOs and organizational leaders really want from their public relations person?

James Lukaszewski, PRSA, recently shared the following with local Kansas City practitioners. If you really want to be viewed as a public relations strategist, embrace the following:

• Don’t waste time with chitchat. Make your case in three minutes. Always briefly recap the situation, its implications or the threats or opportunities it presents to the organization.
• Recap what you hope to accomplish.
• Offer at least three possible courses of action.
• Recommend the action you would take.
• Justify your suggestion.

It’s a good list and I’d like to add a few more, some of which Mr. Lukaszewski would agree with, I’m sure.

• Tell the boss when he is in the wrong. Don’t be afraid to say "The Emperor Has No Clothes" and ignore a problem because others do. You’ll earn the respect of your leadership.
• Know the environment. Lukaszewski calls this being able to tell the future. If you are an astute trendwatcher you can predict how a particular situation will turn out for your client.
• Don’t be afraid to speak up. When I was in the capacity to advise an internal client about a decision on whether to outsource work or keep it inhouse at about the same cost, I jumped on the opportunity to advise it be kept inhouse for the purposes of boosting employee morale. Other managers sat silent, intimidated by volatility of the leader and the situation. He took the advice.
• Don’t be enamored with yourself. This isn’t about you. A good public relations person offers suggestions implemented in the name of leadership. You are there to contribute to the success of the leadership and the organization’s goals not to make a name for yourself.

By following these tenets, you’ll find your reputation will builds itself and you’ll be the person people listen to when all the noise is over.