David Andrusia - The Perfect Pitch: How to Sell Yourself for Todays Job Market

Copyright 1997 by David Andrusia

All rights reserved.

Warner Books, Inc.

Hachette Book Group

237 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10017

Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com

First eBook Edition: September 2009

ISBN: 978-0-446-56694-0

Whether youre a laborer, foreman, or head of the firm, your lot in life is by no means guaranteed Good enough no longer is, and even if youre great, youre going to have to let other people knownot once in a while but all the time. This book will show you how to do just that: how to pitch to winand get what you want out of your career, your job, your life.

from THE PERFECT PITCH

Youll laugh out loud while you learn the hip, happening steps to pitch your idea and yourself.

D.A. Benton,
author of How to Think Like a CEO

The perfect tool for anyone who needs to market themselves. In addition to his invaluable, step-by-step information, David Andrusias humor and down-to-earth style are delightful. I learned and laughed and cant wait to go pitch myself.

Jill Spiegel,
author of Flirting for Success

A great book, I loved it!

Joe Girard,
author of How to Sell Yourself

More than a job guidemuch, much more. Its a step-by-step program on carving out the career of your dreams.

Erin Mulvey,
director of public relations, Vidal Sassoon Salons

David Andrusia is the job guru for the next millennium. Whether youre the head of the company or just starting out, THE PERFECT PITCH will get you where you want to be.

Greg Ptacek,
coauthor of 150 Best Companies for Liberal Arts Graduates: How to Get a Winning Job in Tough Times

David Andrusia articulates the precise strategies that are essential in this increasingly competitive job market. The techniques that he illustrates in THE PERFECT PITCH are valuable and, more important, effective.

Terrie M. Williams,
author of The Personal Touch

THEYRE SOLD ON THE PERFECT PITCHNOW LET THE PERFECT PITCH SELL YOU!

Been there, done that, seen em all. As a one-time job seeker and all-the-time career consultant, Ive read practically every guide to getting a job thats ever been writ. Some tell you what kind of shoes to wear, others how to shake hands, and some have the audacity to proffer personal points of view on whether or not a nose job will help you get a job.

Most of these books are big on spiritual shriek, tossing around aphorisms, adages, and assorted bon mots like confetti on New Years Eve. One even takes a religious point of view, beseeching readers to put themselves in the hands of God as a means of ensuring career success.

I agree: Faith is important, and studies show that true believers live longer, healthier lives. But its belief in yourself as well as a higher power, not a fatalistic fervor, that will help get the job, project, or consultancy of your dreams.

So get out of the kitchen; youll find no chicken soup for the soul here. And Im afraid youll have to check Bartletts Familiar Quotations for words of wonder and warmth. This is where youll find the real feel-good stuff: the secrets, stripped to their essence, of the Andrusia Techniqueyour road to the Perfect Pitch and the work youve always wanted to have.

My heartfelt thanks to:

Rob McQuilkin, who acquired this book and was the first to share the Perfect Pitch vision

Diane Stockwell, gifted editor, great friend, and ardent supporterheres to the first of many!

Karen Thompson, for doing a magnificent job on the copy editing (Scorpios rule!)

All my friends, family, and clients (you know who you are)

And, most of all, to my dear friend and agent, Katharine Sandsa pitchmistress par excellence who never let me give up the dream that this book was always meant to be.

Several years ago, as head of marketing for a Hollywood film studios home video group, I needed to hire a marketing manager. The company was supertrendy, the salary was great, the offices were smashingly designed, and the work was fulfilling and fun. In sum: It was the job of anyones dreams.

To fill the position, I placed ads in the Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety, the entertainment industrys main trade papers, told everyone I knew to send me great candidates, and conducted a survey of my own to source junior video marketing people who might want to make a move. So I got hundreds of rsums with fabulous cover letters from job seekers telling me why they were the hottest thing since cream cheese and why they wanted the job. Right?

Wrong. What I got was a pile of standard-issue rsums with cover notes as bland as bread: a virtual catalog of phrases from production-line rsum preparers, all lacking in imagination, enthusiasm, and personal flair. And precious few even bothered to tell me what theyd done for their previous employer and what superior creatures they themselves were.

Letters like this one:

Mr. David Andrusia

NEW LINE HOME VIDEO

Los Angeles, CA

Dear Mr. Andrusia:

I am responding to your companys notice for a marketing manager that appeared in the Hollywood Reporter.

I am currently employed as a marketing manager at ABC Advertising on the Honda campaign. In addition to a five-year marketing career, I procured my MBA at Degree Mill University.

I believe I possess all the qualities required for success in the advertised position. Please call me if you would like to discuss this further.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Carla Clueless

Letter, how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways:

1. The overall tone is generic, without any attention paid to the advertisementand positionat hand. (The ad listed a full set of basic qualifications; instead of showing how she had contributed in all these areas, Carla made reference to none.)
2. The writing style is banal and, in several instances, ungrammatical. If the syntactical errors dont cry out to you, chances are you need to brush up on your English skills. (Note: Prostitutes procure customers; one does not procure a degree.)
3. Nearly every sentence begins with I. In addition to being stylistically boring, it represents a rather narcissistic point of view. Prospective employers dont care what you want; they want to know what you can do for them.
4. If your academic qualifications are splendid, mention them in the cover letter. If you attended a school of no particular note, dont.
5. Please call me? I dont think so! Never end with a plea; instead, its incumbent on you to tell your potential boss exactly what you can do for him or her, e.g., I would welcome the opportunity to meet you to discuss how I can help take New Line Home Video to new vistas in market position andmore importantsales. (Now thats a closing that will generate interviews!)

While Carlas letter was certainly among the most egregious I received, it was far from atypical. The lions share of documents I received were cookie-cutter rsums that said absolutely nothing to me.

When I finally selected a set of people to see, I was more than ready to be wowedto have candidates tell me why they could do a bang-up job and why they wanted to work at one of the hottest companies in town. Instead, what I got was a lot of smiling faces and passive points of view.