How to Sell Yourself

How to Sell Yourself

companies by Janet Leiser | Senior Editor

Forget the Internet and help wanted ads, a career adviser says. Expand your network to hear about the best jobs and learn how to sell yourself.

It's not rocket science, Jerry MacDonald says. It's just a simple and profound way to market yourself so that you stand apart from the crowd of suits.

From a catchy resume that shows an applicant's accomplishments, not a job history, to a dark suit and white shirt, WH International teaches professionals, especially high-level managers, how to manage their careers by marketing themselves to the right people in the right way.

"We have our own little niche," MacDonald says. "We're one of a kind."

The firm's Tampa office serves clients on Florida's Gulf Coast, from New Port Richey to Fort Myers. Clients, who pay a flat fee for the service, include retired generals and colonels, nuclear submarine engineers, accountants, television news reporters, chief financial officers, chief operations officers and chief executive officers.

Russ Haines sought WH International's help about five years ago after he retired from Xerox after more than 27 years as a manager and trainer. The firm helped him land a job as manager of a large call center with a high turnover rate. He loved the challenge. But when that employer announced it was relocating to Oklahoma, Haines stayed behind.

Today, Haines is one of WH International's eight local employees. He has helped more than 150 people redefine their careers and increase their earnings.

"The process really is to help people figure out what they want to be when they grow up," MacDonald says. "It's funny to say, but most of us don't know, so we help them.

"People are used to hearing of headhunters, placement firms or temp to perm agencies, we're none of the above. We never have been. We're a career marketing and career management firm. We work with talented individuals."

In fact, MacDonald claims the company has a success rate of 99.9% because it doesn't take on everyone that walks into its sixth-floor office in Westshore's Urban Centre. MacDonald, as president and principal owner, is in charge of the Tampa office, as well as locations in Jacksonville and Orlando.

The biggest problem for most people when it comes to finding a job, MacDonald says, is "most of us are never taught to sell ourselves at the level we belong in. Our marketing skills are too low so we never hit the right goal."

He knows firsthand since he was once one of those unpolished, bumbling self-marketers.

The firm

WH International is part of an 80-franchise chain started in New York about 30 years ago by a group of retired military officers who realized how difficult it was for former military guys to transition to corporate America, MacDonald says. The franchises are mostly independently owned.

The process itself has continued to evolve since then, he says. And it varies according to each city's business climate.

Most job seekers spend 80% of their time searching the Internet, he says. Yet one study shows that only 6% of about 62,000 people followed in a recent year obtained a job through the Internet.

"We have to educate them to get them away from that thing," he says, appearing to contradict today's trend of people relying on the Internet for everything, from finding a doctor to ordering wines to finding a date.

When it comes to publications, including newspapers, he says that only 20% of the jobs sought by professionals are listed, yet 90% of job seekers focus their search there.

Where should executives seeking a change look?

They should turn to people they know, he says. And that doesn't mean sending out a resume to someone who'll just stick it in a drawer or trash can and avoid your telephone calls because they don't have a suitable job for you.

It does mean calling that person, sharing a cup of coffee or lunch, and discussing your situation and skills and finding out who that person knows that might be hiring. Then call those people and continue the process until you find the right position with the right company.

"We teach them how to keep their career search in their control," MacDonald says.

Haines says that one of the worst things a job seeker can do is post a resume on the Internet. "What happens is you get sucked into that Internet thing and now you're totally out of control," he adds.

As for resumes, they're overly used and abused, he says. They should be given to an interviewer when requested.

WH International helps clients identify the key decision makers they should contact, including those in their network. It also sends them to other networking meetings. The firm belongs to more than 20 organizations, including the CEO Council of Tampa Bay and other groups, where it takes candidates to broaden their network.

"High-level jobs are hardly ever advertised," MacDonald says. "We have to have a way to get them in the door there. So we help them figure out who they want to go after."

Before an interview, WH International searches databases it subscribes to in an effort to determine how much the interviewer is paid and how well the company is doing.

"If you want to make higher income then you are now, you have to make sure the vice president makes double what you make," MacDonald says. "Otherwise he can't afford you."

Most of the job search is the responsibility of the job seeker.

"We don't do it all," MacDonald says. "What we're doing is teaching them how to fish where the big fish are instead of where the little fish are where everybody is. If I give them a fish, or a job, and six months later they lose it, now what? You have to be in control of your career the rest of your life."

WH International will help a client for three years, no matter how many jobs they quit or lose. That's also why they're careful in who they select.

While the Tampa Bay area has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, and most people who want to work have a job, MacDonald says higher-level positions aren't typically included in the statistics.

"There are always people looking for positions," he adds. "There are always companies looking for good people. We're the bridge between the two of them."

He contends WH International clients have an edge for many reasons, with one being that they understand the job they're after isn't likely to be advertised on the Internet or in the newspaper.

"How does the vice president find his next operations manager?" MacDonald says. "What does he do when the guy walks out the door and says, 'I'm leaving?' They don't advertise. What do they do? They call other key decision makers they have a relationship with and get referrals."

So many people, including those in the human resources field, don't know where jobs come from, he says, adding, "I tell them they have to see the person who can hire them on the spot or who can create a position for them."

Haines says the process has not failed one of his clients. Some haven't been happy with their job or the position was eliminated so they had to go through the process again.

"But it doesn't ever not work," Haines says. "You have to be ready, willing and able."

REVIEW SUMMARY

What. WH International Inc.

Industry. Career advisers

Key. Never post a resume on the Internet.

Keys to Increase Your Worth

• Get the right kind of marketing tools.

• To open doors, rewrite resume to list accomplishments.

• Learn how to interview and negotiate.

• Learn how to network.

• Gain access to the right people.

Source: WH International Inc.