landing your next opportunity getting a job & thriving in it

Landing Your Next Opportunity

The Art of getting a job, thriving in it & getting to where you want professionally

Naeem Zafar Chairman: OPEN SV Board

VP Oracle

Founder Startup-Advisor.com

University of California Berkeley www.NaeemZafar.com

Twitter: @naeem 1 naeem@startup-advisor.com

Personal Background

• Faculty at Univ of Calif Berkeley • Founder www.Startup-Advisor.com • Co-founder & CEO of Bitzer Mobile, Inc. Sold to Oracle • CEO of three companies (semiconductor & software) • Experience at one large multinational & 6 startups • One IPO (Initial Public Offering) • Wrote six eBooks on entrepreneurship • Raised over $70M in multiple ways (VC, asset sale, debt, angel) • Traveled to 76 countries, lived in 3 • Brown University ‘81, Univ of Minnesota MSEE • Charter member of TiE Silicon Valley & OPEN • Ex-President of OPEN Silicon Valley • Advised or mentors over 700 entrepreneurs

naeem@startup-advisor.com 2

www.FiveMountainPress.com

Landing an Opportunity

• Getting a job

• Thriving at your job

• Curating your career

Lucky?

“The more prepared I am, the luckier I get!”

Getting a Job or an internship

Landing an Opportunity

• Clarity of mind

• Resume

• Approaching a job

• The interview

• Negotiation

• Follow-up

Clarity of Mind

• What job will make you fulfilled?

– Money

– Experience

– Network

– Life outside work

• Where does this job you next?

How do you prepare to be an

astronaut?

The Resume

• 80% of the effort goes into top 4 Inches

– Objective

– Relevant background

– Experience

– Academics

Make it relevant to the job

Match the company culture

The Approach

• Getting F2F

• Understand their needs – do your homework

– Ex-employees

– LinkedIn

• Compelling emails

– Subject line

– First 2 lines

Approaching an Opportunity

• Systematic Approach

• Spreadsheet to contact people who have favorable impression of you

– ~50 names

– 3 week interval to contact

– Change method of approach

• Keep track of each application

– When, who

• Learn the culture of the company first!

The Interview

• Greeting

– Handshake

– Eye contact, smile

• Make it a conversation

• What questions to ask

– How do you make decisions?

– What is company’s strategy?

The Negotiation

• Money is not the only factor

• Culture-match

– Cell phone policy

– Work from home policy

– Having fun at the job

• Your manager

– Is she on a fast track?

Will Your Work Look like This?

Or Like This???

Make People Want to Stay at Work!

Is your Work Fun?

Have-Fun-at-Work Culture

Creative Use of Space

Color Makes a Difference

More Colors at Work

Play Ground for Engineers

The Follow-Up

• Write a compelling follow-up email

– Stand out from others who they met

– Summarize conversation and your ability to contribute

Thriving at Your Job

Relating to Your Manager

• Your only job is to make your boss look good

• Pick a boss with upward momentum

• Ask “what can I do to make your life easier?”

Networking Skills

Why People Network

• People do business with you because they like you

• Find co-founders, advisors, mentors

• Be known

Networking in Real World

• How do you know you are networking at a party or professional gathering

• What is equivalent to hello in US?

Get to Know Others

• Carry your business card

–Have a single tag line that defines your

–Where should people put you in their brain

–Always carry a pen

• Ask people about themselves

–People love to talk about themselves

Focused Networking

• Focus on your audience

–Devote 2-5 minutes just on one person

• Do not look over their shoulder

–They can tell!

What to Do

• Ask them about their work, their interests

• Deliver your 3 key lines

– Positioning tag

– Your “ask”

– Your follow up angle

• Write something on the back of their business card that is not about what is on the front of their card

When Are You Done Networking?

• Collect at least five business cards before you are allowed to leave the party

– This will force you to have a few conversations

What to Do After?

• You have only done 50% of the work of networking

• Send an email to that person within 3 weeks

– The email is NOT about you or any business

• Then send a LinkedIn request within 1 week

Building Networked Relationship

• Networking takes effort

• You have to make several “emotional deposits” into your account before you can make a withdrawal

Curating Your Career

Skills Needed To Accelerate

• Communication skills

• Selling skills

• Political skills

• A mentor

Communications Skills

• Essential to your professional success

–& personal relationship success as well

• Learning to present well will help throughout your career

• Be open! – & true

Forms of Communication

• Presentation

• Emails

• Meetings

• Phone calls

You Are The Message!

• It is not about PowerPoint

• You are the message

• Use aids only as needed

• Have your message ready & crisp

• Clarity must exist in your mind

39 naeem@startup-advisor.com

Say it with Conviction

Most Important Aspect

Clarity • Clarity of thought: you need fewer words to

express it if you are clear yourself!

Favorite Quote

Perfection is not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is

nothing left to take out!

Pitching

• Explain yourself in first minute (slide zero™)

• Explain the relevance of what you do

• Don’t dive into details until you get signal!

• Listen for audience reaction …

Simplify Slides

• Unclutter your slides

• Minimize font, style, emphasis overload

– These detract from your message

• All articles can & should be deleted

• Use “builds” only with busy slides

One Main Point Per Slide

• Do not read your slides

• Supplement wordings on the slides with words coming out of your mouth

• No more than one (or two) messages per slide

Most Important Slide

• What is the most important slide in your presentation?

• Why?

Emotionally Engage!

• Be attentive, energetic, in front!

• Know your message!

– Do not read your own slides

• Engage with audience

• Uses pauses effectively

Emails

• Pay attention to title of email

– Will it grab attention, will they open it

• State purpose

– Need an action, need approval, FYI

• Then provide supporting material

• Salutation sets the right tone

• Pay attention to cc list

– The curse of reply all!

Email Communication

• Use email to deliver good news, ask questions, summarize

• Never deliver bad news on email

• Keep it succinct (1-2 iPhone screens)

• Carefully examine title, recipients on each reply

Selling Skills

• Sales is noble

• Most people hate selling

• Selling is considered “deceitful”

• Good selling never is

You Are Always Selling!

• Selling your idea

• Selling a “job offer”

• Selling an idea for vacation to friends

• Selling a trip to dentist to your parent

Selling is Not What You Think!

• American hate to be sold!

• But Americans love to buy!

Demystify Selling

• Selling is not “tricking” them to buy

• Is not “coercing” them to buy

• Just lay out the facts and educate them

• Let the customer come to conclusion they want to select your option once they feel educated

–Be their advisor- earn their trust!

The B2B Sales Process

1. Create a comfortable environment by asking permission to ask questions

2. Ask questions to understand their pain

3. Shut up and listen to answers, take notes

4. Explain how your product or service fills their needs – but only if it does

Sales Different from Marketing?

• Sales is “listening”

• It is putting your knowledge to solve other’s problem

Sales 101

• Tell prospects about benefits of your offering

• Ask if any of these resonate with them

• If not, then ask what would

• Then listen as they just told you how to sell to them

The Next Chess Move

• Clarity on a career plan

• Seek advisors & mentors

• Always be learning

• Have executive demeanor

• Act like you are in the next job!

Common Mistakes

• Not taking career seriously

• Not managing your career

• Not willing to put in the extra time

• Flying without a map, or any instruments

• Chasing the “titles”

• Not nourishing your mind!

• Not investing in developing new skills

Summary

• Learning how to think clearly & present in a way that people will “get it” is probably THE most important business skill

• Make emotional deposits before attempting withdrawal

• Hearing is voluntary, listening is not!

nzafar@gmail.com

www.FiveMountainPress.com

landing your next opportunity getting a job & thriving in it

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