#4: Yes, Yes, YES! How to be more YOU.
You want what she's having, don't you?
TL;DR/ Make yourself stand out and don’t be afraid to be you. Be Sally in a field of heroes.
It was July 1989, and the cinemas were getting ready for the traditional summer blockbusters. The third instalment of the Indiana Jones franchise, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was due to hit the screens, featuring the legendary Sean Connery as Indy’s impatient father. With Michael Keaton in the Batsuit and Jack Nicholson grinning his way through his role as Joker, Batman was on the horizon too. Not to mention the highly anticipated Ghostbusters II. Oh, I just did.
You can understand Billy Crystal’s concern about When Harry Met Sally coming out at the same time. The Leisure Pound/Dollar is hard-fought. But was his scheduling-based worry well placed?
In its national opening weekend, When Harry Met Sally achieved $8.8m at the box office (US), just over half the cost of making it. It went on to make a gnat’s chuff under $93m in worldwide ticket sales.
Batman did $40.49m, Indy $37m, and Ghostbusters $29m on their first weekends alone (US), collectively making hundreds of millions of dollars throughout their releases.
Crystal thought his film might flop, given the competition. But it didn’t, did it? It made 6x the relatively modest £16m production budget.
Sure, it didn’t make as much as the other films, but it didn’t set out to. You’re not going for a CEO role and salary when you’re a middle manager, are you? Or looking for jobs both at Amazon AND a startup?
When you’re applying for jobs, the chances are you’re going to think that you’re up against a load of other people who are better qualified, technically more capable, have experience in working for more recognised brands, meet 110% of the so-called essential criteria, and, and, and.
Well, newsflash, you probably ARE up against it. But that doesn’t mean to say they’re going to get a job.
Christ, it doesn’t even mean they’ll get an interview.
The target demographic for Michael Keaton’s outing as Batman, Ghostbusters II or Indiana Jones was not the same as When Harry Met Sally’s. Those movies would attract whole families and gaggles of teenagers, rather than couples or other small groups of adults.
So they weren’t comparing apples with apples if they thought it might flop.
When Harry Met Sally’s team also took the “platform” approach to releasing the film - opening in a few cities and selected theatres, creating a slow-burning word of mouth in the run-up to the national release.
The Takeaway:
Be prepared to be you. Be your best you and market yourself in your CV in a way that will appeal to your audience. Do not try to appeal to everyone. Don’t try to be Batman when you’re a rom-com.
Build a ground-swell of support. If you are new to the game, reach out to old contacts on LinkedIn or heaven forbid, use the phone, and tell them you’re back. Double up the potential benefit by asking them for a recommendation. You’ll be creating awareness and the potential for word of mouth.
Be in it to win it. Fortune favours the brave. You definitely won’t get any job you don’t apply for. I’m not saying apply for everything going (please don’t), but have the confidence to go for it even if you think other people (people you’ve never met!) might be better suited. You know nothing about them!
I work with my clients to nail all three of the above. Whether in a CV, through interview coaching, or addressing their LinkedIn profile and approach to getting their message across.
We deeply consult to understand what makes them different, carve out a narrative, and present themselves in a way that will stand out to the right people.
If you stand out to the wrong people, you may get a job but eventually you’ll hate either it, the business or the people around you.
So be more you, because you’re great.
You’ve got your own versions of the kevlar suit and a flowing cape, fedora and whip, and PKE detector and ghost traps, you just need to know how to use them.
Like this story? Do me and your friends a favour and share it with them!
Feedback is a gift…
Here’s something one of my clients sent to me this week after reading the first draft of his new CV.
He didn’t like it…. he LOVED it.
Did he think spending a few hundred pounds with me to firmly put him back in the game was worth it?
I reckon.
And he’ll carry that confidence into his applications, his conversations with recruiters and interviews with hiring managers. Because it’s more HIM, and not a vanilla CV that’s just like all the others out there.
So if you’re wondering what it's like to work with me, drop me an email at phil@philsterne.com, and we’ll get you and your target audience as excited as Meg Ryan in a delicatessen.
I’ve been busy on t’socials of late. Here’s a selection from the smorgasbord that’ll get banging your fists on a table.
Here’s one with some tips to deal with occasional ghosting from recruiters.
Here’s another on how to deal with an often-feared interview question.
And here’s one more on rapport building with interviewers to make everyone more comfortable.
You’re still here…. thanks
And finally, like Batman ridding Gotham of crime for free, I send these illuminating emails out for free too. They take several hours to write. To get to a first draft, this took me about 3 hours and 14 minutes.
And like my CVs, I’ve been over and over it to tighten it up, make it more informative and with any luck, enjoyable.
I earn my crust by helping you and your friends improve their lot - whether through helping them find a new employer, get a promotion, or just find the thing that’s right for them - with confidence.
So if you like what you’ve read, please share this email about a bit. They’ll thank you for it. Look, I’ve even put a button right here:
If you’ve been lucky enough to have this sent to you, throw your Batarang and at the subscribe button and sign up to receive these every other Wednesday.
Remember, the true crimefighter always carries everything he needs in his utility belt.
Phil