This must be the week for kindred spirits in the realm of using storytelling in the job search. Rob Sullivan, a pioneer on this topic, has been my Q&A subject this week. A more recent discovery was Judy Rosemarin (pictured at right) , whom I came across while researching the executive-interviewing book I’m now working on. She has made some wonderful contributions to the book.
In a blog entry in yesterday’s Newsday.com Judy calls elevator pitches “stale and rote. They make claims but show nothing.”
Instead, she recommends telling a story when encountering new contacts. Here’s her example that clearly would make a wonderful emotional connection with others:
When I was a young boy growing up in Chicago, I bought myself a paper route at age 12. All excited, I took my bag of papers and threw the first on a customer’s front porch. Out of the front door he came. “Who are you?” he asked. “I am your paper boy, ” I told him with some pride. “Well, I want my papers delivered later in the day as I work late and do not want to be awakened. I also want it covered so it doesn’t get wet. And, anyway, what is going to make you different from all the other paper boys I have had?” “I said, “Well sir, I plan to give you the best customer service,” and I have been doing that for over 25 years in corporate America.
Nice. I talk about elevator stories, a similar concept in my book, Tell Me About Yourself.
Judy has also done a terrific podcast, “The Magic of Storytelling for Job Search,” the transcript of which you can read here.
Added May 31: In the Comments section, Sean Buvala points out that “many of us who have story as our core work, for years, have said the elevator speech is dead.”
He offers a link for his podcast on the subject.