The Job Nobody Dreams Of

Challenge Yourself: Why You Need to Set Big Goals - RainToday

While I have posted videos on this blog in the past I have never had a "guest author." Today I came across an article by Jill Kanrath that I wanted to share with you. Jill writes about selling to large organizations and nailed this article of changing the way you do business - Challenge Yourself: Why You Need to Set Big Goals - RainToday.

Laugh Your Way to a Job?

Job interviews are the most important moments of your life. You need to be on top of your game and while you can practice "interviewing" there are other ways to perfect your sales pitch (remember you are selling yourself!)...such as Improv!

Now I am not suggesting you head out to your local comedy club on open mike night (actually THAT would help) but there are techniques you can practice that would hone your conversational skills and be extremely helpful during a job interview.

Improv isn't necessarily about being funny...it's about reacting and how your react in a job interview determines whether or not you get hired. CNN had an article about Improv, along with another article on "The Improv Trick."

Several years ago I went to Darren LaCroix for mentoring. He was the 2001 World Champion speaker and focused on humor. One of the things I remember from his different books and seminars was a technique called "Make a C-Store Clerk Laugh." Basically when you interacted with the person at your local convenience store you needed to try and make them laugh. React to something they did or said and throw some humor back at them.

People like to laugh and they are impressed when someone reacts well on his or her feet. Practicing Improv can help you with both! If you want to get really serious about this you can find a local Improv class and/or join Toastmasters. Part of each Toastmasters meeting includes "Table Topics" where you have to speak for two minutes on a subject you were just given.

Working on your improvisational skills might not get you on Letterman, but it very well could land you you the job of your dreams!

Happy Selling!

If You Get Around To It...

One of the best books I've read over the years cannot be found in a book store or at Amazon.com. The Motivated Mind by Jason Garcia is a self-published work available only online. I am on Jason's email list for his newsletter and he recently offered up "The Procrastination Report" which deals with a problem most of us have...putting things off.

I especially like the section on "shrink the gap" where you chart the difference between when you hope things are done and when they actually get finished.

It's a great report and it's free. Don't put off downloading it!

Happy Selling!