Recently, I've been reading a great deal of self-improvement and professional development books. These days, there are tons of books on the market about how to find a job, how to hold a job and how to improve leadership skills. However, if you look at lists of the best books over the years, one of the ones that stand out is Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People". The book was written in the 1930's, and still is considered the definitive guide on how to deal with people and be more likeable.
When I was in high school, a debate coach gave every member of our team a copy of the book and asked us to read it. A few years later in my early professional life, I attended a workshop where they went through the book. At the time, it was very useful information. In fact, I recently decided to re-read the book to see what new information I would take away from it.
One of the first principles for success that Dale Carnegie discusses in the book is that in order to get people to do what you want, you have to give them an "eager want". The best way to accomplish that, he said, was to look at things from the other person's perspective and focus on what's in it for them. He went on to give some examples of how this theory works in a job search. I thought it was so great that I had to share it.
"Looking at the other person's point of view and arousing in him an eager want for something is not to be construed as manipulating that person so that he will do something that is only for your benefit and his detriment. Each party should gain something from the negotiation."
He went on to give an example of a woman who was planning to relocate to Arizona. In order to find a new job in her new area, she sent out copies of her resume to 12 banks along with this cover letter:
Dear Sir,
In various capacities in bank operations with the Bankers Trust Company in New York, leading to my present assignment as Branch Manager, I have acquired skills in all phases of banking including depositor relations, credits, loans and administration.
I will be relocating to Phoenix in May and I am sure I can contribute to your growth and profit. I will be in Phoenix the week of April 3 and would appreciate the opportunity to show you how I can help your bank meet its goals.
In the end, she received responses from 11 of the 12 banks. Of course, this it isn't clear what the job market was during the time of this experiment. There was no mention of any networking the woman had done, for example if she had gotten the contact information of higher level managers at the bank through contacts. However, the point Mr. Carnegie makes is that instead of using her cover letter to talk about how wonderful and experienced she is, she talked about the needs of the company and how she can help them meet their goals.
It's a concept that's brilliant in its simplicity. By focusing on the needs of the company, she makes the managers want to hire her. We can use this information to do research about the company and its goals to market ourselves differently. In this tight job market, every advantage helps and this tried and true strategy could yield big results.
The next time you apply for a job, why not give this a try? Let me know how it works.
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