Page 162 - Oscar Adler - Sell Yourself in Any Interview_ Use Proven Sales Techniques to Land Your Dream Job (2008)

SELL YOURSELF IN ANY INTERVIEW

use of technology to ensure a successful job hunt. How you
present yourself electronically is as important as how you
present yourself in person.
A word about electronic communication: For many com-
panies, e-mail has become the primary means of communi-
cation. There is a casualness and immediacy to e-mail that can
be extremely valuable during the interview process. Make no
mistake, though, even your e-mails will be judged for pro-
fessionalism during a job search. Choose your words care-
fully—this is not the time to use Internet shorthand. Write in
complete sentences using correct grammar, spelling, capital-
ization, and punctuation—and always end with a benefit of
what you can offer the company.
Be aware that humor and sarcasm typically fall flat in an
e-mail. You cannot indicate your meaning with tone of voice
or a wink and a nod, like you can when you are face to face.
Your written message may be misinterpreted for a wide
variety of reasons:
❏ The reader is not paying close attention because some-
thing else is going on in the room.

❏ The reader may be responding to something that hap-
pened just prior to reading your letter or e-mail.

❏ Your reader’s interpretation of your message may be
colored by an emotional response that you have no way
of knowing.
If you have a clever, inappropriate, or overly long outgoing
voice-mail message, change it now to something more pro-
fessional. Keep it brief and to the point. Similarly, if your
screen name or e-mail address is “Itappakeg” or something
equally unprofessional, change it now. You should know that
companies can and do search the Web for information on

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