An article designed to help you pitch yourself professionally and advance your career, business, and market opportunities.

1. FEBRUARY 2015 • ISSUE 2
Australia
needs
Migrants
WhyWhy
Take control
of your
professional
development
Take control
of your
professional
development
My Dream
Brought me to
Australia
www.smpmagazine.com.au
Narcissism
and
Personal
Wealth
to grow
your small
business
steps
Details Inside
CLAIM
YOUR
FREE DVD!
Rebecca BallRebecca Ball
download SMP mobile
App! For offers,
discounts and more...
SCAN CODE

2. February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au 11
Career
As you can see, these business situations all demand that you can pitch
yourself professionally! The following tips will help you frame effective
pitches:
Assume nothing!
It is rare that you will be pitching yourself to someone with an intimate
knowledge of your background so aim to hit the mark and eliminate tech-
nical jargon and acronyms that can reduce the impact of your message.
Take a top-down approach
Pitching yourself effectively can be considered both a science and an art.
The science involves taking a structured, logical approach. The following
top-down stimulus questions can guide development of a professional pro-
file statement for your résumé:
• Have you worked both in Australia and internationally?
• In which sectors of the economy have you worked (e.g. private, public,
and/or not-for-profit)?
• In which industries have you worked (or consulted to)?
• What types of work settings have you experienced (e.g. corporate, con-
sultancy)?
• Which field(s) are you an expert in?
• Compared with others in your field(s), which areas do you specialise in,
or emphasise?
• With which industry and/or professional associations are you active?
• Which employer/customer brands can you leverage?
• Are there major project or career highlights worthy of brief mention?
• What formal qualifications support your expertise and experience?
• What leadership and/or personal style do you adopt to achieve your re-
sults?
Some of these questions may not be relevant to you or a situation but the
key is the sequence of the questions. They quickly take its recipient (e.g. re-
cruitment consultant, hiring manager) on a logical, top down journey from
the general to the very specific.
Craft cleverly
The art of pitching yourself professionally involves profiling yourself in an en-
ergetic and relatively unique way. By doing so, you are seeking to be distinc-
tive and memorable. Extending the résumé example to the left, the primary
purpose of a profile statement is to secure an interview. To do so, it must:
• Positively and quickly differentiate you from other candidates
• Align with the goals of the hiring organisation
• Introduce ways in which your résumé will provide evidence of your capac-
ity to contribute or add value
A résumé profile statement needs to be crafted with these outcomes in
mind. It should incorporate keywords relevant to the advertised opportunity
and use impactful words.
Be succinct
Space and/or time are often limited, so it is essential that your professional
pitch quickly focuses the listener/reader on how you, your area, or business
can help them. Similarly, when introducing yourself at a business networking
event you need to hit the mark quickly. You should tailor your professional
pitches according to space/time constraints and be appropriately succinct.
Polish and refine
Framing high quality professional pitches is challenging. For example, when
creating a résumé profile statement, initial efforts tend to be mechanical.
Intelligent, strategic decisions may then need to be made to tailor the pro-
file statement so that it is relevant to its audience. So, be prepared to edit,
proofread, and polish until you have created rich and compelling profiles.
BE ONE STEP AHEAD:
pitch yourself professionally
Seeking new career or
business opportunities
• Framing a professional profile
statement for your résumé
• Developing your LinkedIn sum-
mary
• Introducing yourself to a re-
cruitment consultant
• Networking at industry or pro-
fessional events
• Meeting with potential hiring
managers
Advancing within
businesses
• Launching a project or initiative
• Presenting to key decision-makers
• Networking to gain professional
credibility and visibility
Developing Markets
• Developing tender documents
• Networking to meet
prospective clients
• Presenting your credentials,
as part of a wider client
presentation/proposal
by Barry J Horne
Executive leadership
coach, career
management
consultant, trainer,
and speaker
ALL PROFESSIONALS
NEED TO POSITIVELY
INFLUENCE OTHERS’
PERCEPTIONS. This
applies whether you are
looking to secure new
career or business oppor-
tunities, advance within
an organisation, or cap-
ture clients in the market.
Such situations could be: