Quintessential Careers Press:
The Quintessential Guide to Storytelling that Propels Careers
Chapter 4: Networking as Storytelling

Page 50

Example:

The business school at Pepperdine University suggests knowing your audience and knowing yourself, including key strengths, adjectives that describe you, a description of what you are trying to let others know about you, and a statement of your interest in the company or industry the person represents. Armed with that knowledge, the job-seeker can then outline the Elevator Story using these questions:

  1. Who am I?
  2. What do I offer?
  3. What problems can I solve?
  4. What are the main contributions I can make?
  5. What should the listener do as a result of hearing this?
Example:

  1. Who am I? I am an experienced financial operations manager with more than 15 years of managerial experience and a track record of leading teams of people who achieve benchmark results. I have an extensive background in operations analysis, training, and managing the performance metrics in an operations environment.
  2. What do I offer? I offer excellent project-management skills, and I’m a pro at cost savings.
  3. What problems can I solve? I can implement money-saving projects. I led a project team that came up with new payment programs for people experiencing serious long-term hardships that were impacting their ability to make regular payments on their debts. I suggested the project to the president of our company. My project team designed the requirements for the new programs and the system requirements to support the enrollments. We determined the metrics needed to measure the program’s success, helped design the required training for the program rollout, and handled the actual rollout. Within 12 months, we had saved more than $50 million in potential losses through the use of the new programs.
  4. What are the main contributions I can make? My background demonstrates a strong record of loyalty to my employers as well as top results and consistent promotions consistently to positions of increasing responsibilities. I can contribute strong analytical, communication, and leadership skills, and can build a strong team of people focused on achieving the organization’s goals.
  5. What should the listener do as a result of hearing this? Can you suggest any employers who could benefit from my skills and experience?

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