Persuade Your Way to a New Job
Did you know that employees who don’t switch jobs get paid at least 50% less over their lifetimes than those that do?
The job hunt process seriously suuuuucks. So if you can make it easier, shorter, and more enjoyable…why wouldn’t you?
One way to do so is to consciously use the levers of persuasion throughout the process of finding a new job.
Using persuasion tools increases your odds of being hired by influencing the people hiring you, but it also shows you have valuable skills; recent LinkedIn data showed that persuasion is the second-most sought after soft skill by recruiters.
TO GET A NEW JOB, PERSUADE YOURSELF
First, it’s important that you persuade yourself that you should and want to get the new job. Whenever the job hunt starts to grind you down, re-read this list:
- You’ll Make More Money (Especially in the Long Run) — People that stay at the same company more than two years get raises that are about 13% less than those who switch and end up getting paid at least 50% lessover their lifetime. For example, my first job switch involved a salary bump of over 150%. In contrast, the average annual raise in America is around 3–4%. And even if you don’t take the new job, you can use an offer to leverage a higher salary at your current job. Money isn’t everything, but it does give you more control over your life and peace of mind.
- Don’t Confuse Coworker Loyalty with Employer Loyalty — If the 2008 recession hit again, would your employer be “loyal” to you? I’ve personally seen a relative work decades at a robust, healthy company, with close friends as managers, only to be laid off in a restructuring a few years before retirement (all during a bull economy)! Whoops. A company’s choice to keep you around is ultimately decided by their bottom line. Your decision to stay should similarly be based on your self-interest.
- Explore Your Options — You will never know if there are drastically better opportunities if you don’t look. This is especially true if you’re early in your career.
- Make Yourself More Valuable — View your job hunt as a way to win no matter what happens. For example, in the process of looking for a new job, you’ll increase your value. You’ll practice your pitching skills (by pitching yourself), making you more adept at pitching for future clients, convincing coworkers your idea is the best option, etc. You’ll also like have a chance to practice your negotiation skills.
- Prove Your Worth (to Yourself) — By taking inventory of your skills and pitching yourself, you’ll find out you bring more to the table than you realized. That knowledge makes it easier to ask for raises, act with confidence, etc.
- Exercise Control — Even if it takes six months (note: it’ll probably take longer to find a job you love) to find a new job, you’ll prove to yourself that you can exercise control over your life. That will foster a “growth mindset,” which is crucial for your long-term success and well-being.
“PERSUASIFY” YOUR RESUME AND COVER LETTER
Your resume and cover letter are your first shot at making a good impression. It’s pretty easy to find quality templates, like the ones on Canva, but how can you make them persuasive? Here are some ideas:
Framing
- Frame Skills Broadly — Frame your skills broadly so that a prospective interviewer can easily imagine how they would fit the role. This is “strategic ambiguity.” For example, “I manage staff writers” is narrow. But “I manage employees and ensure everyone meets deadlines” is broad.
- Frame Your Value Relative to the Company — Don’t talk about what you want and like. Talk about why the company should want you. My favorite line to use in a cover letter is “I believe I would make valuable contributions as a [role] at [company] because…” This frames your skills relative to their needs.
Authority
If you have anything that lends you authority, include it! This could be, for example, certifications, publications or presentations you’ve given. Remember, authority also depends on how you appear. For your resume and cover letter, this means they should both look professional. Some tips: (1) justify the text (aka, make it flush against the left and right side of the document), (2) organize it into sections with visual cues like lines to delineate it, and (3) use a professional, confident writing tone.
“You”
Tap into self-reference bias by writing your cover letter using “you” to refer to the reader.
Use Examples and Detail
One you frame your skills broadly (see above), back it up with concrete, detailed examples. Your brain is lazyand prefers things it can easily process. Concrete details and examples are way easier for the human brain to process than abstract concepts. So include concrete examples that back up your attributes and skills. For example, writing “My work includes marketing campaigns for small-to-mid-sized non-fiction publishers” is more effective compelling than “I manage marketing campaigns.” The first one is more believable, credible and memorable.
Use Your Middle Initial
Always use your middle initial. It makes you appear smarter, more eloquent, and more qualified.
Give A Reason
As you’ve read about, providing a reason (even if it’s totally asinine) will increase the odds you get your way. For example, you could include in your cover letter a sentence like “I believe I am an excellent candidate because I am qualified for the position.” That really doesn’t say much. But it likely increases your odds. Always, always, always include a “because” in your pitch.
Label the Employer
You know that giving someone a label that aligns with the actions you want them to take will increase the odds they take those actions. For example, in your cover letter, you could say something like “I’m aware [Company] has a reputation for [feature], and, thanks to my experiences, that’s something I bring to the table.”
THE NEW JOB INTERVIEW
Great, you’ve landed the interview. Now you want to know “how can I be persuasive in a job interview?”
Here are some tips for the interview:
Use Examples and Details
As mentioned above, your brain processes concrete information way better than abstract information. So give your interviewer specific examples that show your skills and value. Don’t tell them you’re a good team-player. Show them by explaining how that thing you did last week to make your supervisor’s life easier is a good example of how you’re a team player.
Authority
Improve the effectiveness of your authority:
- Clothing — Dress in a way that makes you look like an expert.
- Titles — Refer to your titles or certifications. Too often, interviewees don’t talk about the formal title of their current job.
- Public Presence — Have you done anything publicly that you can site to bolster your authority? Articles, blogs, presentations, etc.
Likability
Increase your likability:
- Compliments — These work even if the interviewer consciously realizes what you’re doing. For example, “I read your bio on the company webpage and it looks like you do some really impressive work here.”
- Mimic — Your interviewer’s brain likes people that are similar to him or her. So mimic their behavior. Follow their posture, mood, and vocab. Find similarities in hobbies, education, place of origin, etc.
- Name — Use your interviewer’s name. You don’t have to do this a ton, but a good rule of thumb is to always greet them with their name, and say goodbye with their name.
Talk Past the Sale
You already know this is a classic negotiation technique. Talk about the job as if you’ve already gotten it. For example, “As part of the [Company] team, I would add [X] value by doing [Y].” Or ask questions like, “How and where would I interact with you while working here?”
Make Yourself Memorable
- Interview Timing — Thanks to primacy, humans remember the first item in a series more than the middle items. And thanks to recency bias, we also remember the last items in a list best. So try to be the first or last interviewee in a day.
- Send Thank You’s — Follow up with thank you emails (either early or late in the day, to tap into primacy and recency). This will keep you on the interviewer’s mind. And, to paraphrase Scott Adams in Win Bigly, what someone thinks about most will seem irrationally important in that person’s mind. I’ve included a draft you can use at the end of this post.
Scarcity
You can tap into scarcity:
- Appear In-Demand — Make yourself seem like a hot commodity. Don’t overdo this, because it can kill your chances. But it’s a great idea to mention that you’ve applied to and/or are interviewing at other places. Also consider emphasizing that your skill set is rare, which you can do by combining your primary skills (aka, what work you do) with soft skills (hobbies like writing, what you like learning and reading about outside of work, etc.).
- Make the Job Market Sound Good — You can make passing references to how the job market is good and it’s hard to find good talent, or how you have a skill set combo that is rare.
Give A Reason
As discussed above, humans are more likely to take a course of action if they’re presented with a reason for doing so. So give your interviewer a reason to hire you. For example, end the interview saying: “I would be the best candidate for the job because I have a unique skill set that would be a valuable addition to [company].”
Consistency
Tap into consistency by getting the interviewer to commit to a “small” form of hiring you. For example, you can ask: “Do you think I would make a valuable addition here?” Or: “Do you believe I’m qualified for the position?”
“Set Up” Questions
These are killer. They’re a one-two punch: (1) ask the interviewer a question that (2) sets you up to respond to their answer. For example:
You: “What makes a good [Position] at this company?”
Interviewer: “Well, we need someone who can juggle many tasks.”
You: “That’s definitely a valuable skill. I have to juggle a lot of tasks in my current job, where I simultaneously manage X, Y, and Z.”
Questions for Them
Getting someone to talk about themselves taps into the self-reference bias. You can do this by asking questions, and you should always have at least three questions for your interviewer, ideally more. Some time-tested classics:
- “What do you think makes a good [Position] here?”
- “What brought you to [Company]? What’s kept you here?” Ideally, you research the interviewer beforehand so you can say “I saw you did [X] before coming here, what brought you to this company?”
- “What do you think are the company’s goals right now?”
How have you used the levers of persuasion in the job hunt process? Share your expertise in the comments.
Follow Up Thank You Template
Hi [Interviewer].
Thanks for taking the time to meet yesterday. I really enjoyed hearing about [X] and your discussion about [Y] gave me better insight into [Company]’s culture.
If you have any follow up questions, or if I can provide any other information to support my candidacy, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Best,
[You]
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