Whether you are networking, completing a job application, writing a cover letter, or interviewing; you will need to take your audience into consideration. What are their needs or concerns? What can you do to make their lives easier or make it easier to help you? In order to answer these questions, you need to identify your audience.
Tim Tyrell-Smith's post on Tim's Strategy identifies the audiences for you. And he takes it one step further to help you understand what they may be looking for or what motivates them and why they are of value to you.
- Recruiters
- Fellow Unemployed
- The Employed
- The Folks in HR
- The Hiring Manager
Each of these people have a different perspective and that is why you need to customize your written and verbal communication to fit the audience. One size does not fit all.
Don't assume you know, find out what motivates them.
In sales, they call the un-customized pitch, spraying and praying. Throwing out every feature of the product or service without finding out the potential customer's needs is the mistake every new salesperson makes. They learn over time how to ask potential customers probing questions to identify need so that they can customize their responses. It becomes exploratory, not slamming information down someone's throat.
New job seekers frequently make this mistake as well. They are in such a hurry to get to their next job, they forget to find out what their target audience wants.
Recent Comments