The road to controlling your career
The question is not are there jobs available? The question is, are you prepared to get the available jobs?
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Elevator Speech/Commercial
An elevator speech (also referred to as your commercial) simply means being able to give a brief oral
presentation or description of you and what you do. Th is speech is about two minutes on average,
(About the time it takes to go from the bottom fl oor to the top fl oor in an elevator in the average
offi ce building) and must touch on your work history, skills, accomplishments and your objective.
Your speech must be intense enough to pull the person you are speaking with into the moment where
he or she is able to quickly process and appreciate what you are saying. When your speech is over, you
want them eager to hear more about you. Here are some challenges to this process.
How do you convey in some cases, years of accomplishments in mere seconds?
Answer: Pull all the information about yourself and your accomplishments together, and put all of
the talking points into an outline. Use that outline as a study guide. Go over it several times and chip
away at un-needed information, points and words that do not add value or impact to you telling a
short memorable story about yourself. Cutting non- essential verbiage, practicing and timing yourself
are the keys to success for this process. Another good way of staying focused on what information
you need to give as well as how much time you have, is to think about calling a major corporation
wanting to speak with a very busy Vice President that you may not have an appointment with. Th e
receptionist that answers the phone is going to ask two question before he or she makes a decision
about putting your call through or not. A- Who is calling? B- What is the nature of your call?
Th e thought process you would use to make sure the receptionist puts your call though to the Vice
President is the same thought process you need to develop a great elevator speech.
How do you do this without sounding as if you are bragging and tooting your own horn?
Answer: Th row those thoughts out of you mind. If you do not brag and toot your own horn in an
interview, who will? If you do not believe you are the best candidate for the position, why should the
interviewer?
What information should go into your speech and where will you get it?
Building Your Resume
There are important documents you need to build before you go to any interview. I use the term
“build” because this procedure requires a lot of research, critical thinking and condensing all of your
experiences and skills into a few pages. It starts with building an impressive resume that grabs the
attention of potential employers.
It is my intention to off er enough help through this guide for anyone to build a strong resume and give
a command performance in any interview. It is imperative that you have a well-constructed resume
ready before you start interviewing.
Here are the generic or basic components you will need for any interview.
Resume
Core Competencies
Objective Statement
Cover letter / Application letter
Elevator speech/commercial
Th ank you letter
I am a fi rm believer that all your focus should be on completing one segment at a time. You will
fi nd each completed segment will help you construct the next part of your interview package.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
The Road to Controlling Your Career is a user-friendly, comprehensive guide that will help baby boomers better understand and
appreciate the wealth of experience and wisdom their years of service brings to the table. This book will help job seekers reach
three specifi c goals. Determine what type of job or career they would like to have, properly prepared to interview for that
position, and have the best possible chance of getting that position.
This book will help job seekers of all ages understand the question is not “Are there jobs available?”
The real question is, “Are you prepared to get the jobs that are available?”
What is different about this book?
There has been a veritable explosion of articles and books written to help job seekers. I acknowledge and applaud all the
individual authors and organizations that have published articles with great information on parts of the job-seeking process. This
book is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide that covers the nine critical elements of a complete job-seeking package that will
help baby boomers identify and organize their vast experience, which will help any corporation see you as a valuable commodity.
Finally, here is a verifi able fact, for the price of this book, you are receiving information and guidance that many companies
charge hundreds if not thousands of dollars for programs that covers much of what you will read in this book.
Have you ever asked yourself these questions?
•How did I get stuck in a job I really do not like?
•Why did I not get that interview?
•Why did I not get the job?
The Road to Controlling Your Career will answer all these questions and much more. This book is packed full of information ,
explanations, and examples. After reading this book, I am confi dent baby boomers will fi nd it memorable, and it will be the
blueprint to help you get on the road in controlling your career and a driving force in getting your dream job.
This book covers these nine critical elements that you need to prepare before going to any interview:
• Building your résumé
• The body of the résumé
• Core competencies
• Objective statement
• The identifi cation and education sections
• The cover letter
• The elevator speech
• Different types of interviews
• Preparing for the interview
Thank you for allowing me to be a small part of your success.
About the Author
Ty Ferrell Sr. has over 30 years of management and leadership experience and is now President of The Arc of Success. An organization dedicated to helping people with an emphasis on baby boomers, to reach their goals. Over the years, I have learned powerful lessons on the ins and outs of job seeking from my partners and constituents. I am also very indebted to the many hours I spent conducting interviews, not just focused on the typical interview process but also taking note of the difference between candidates that did very well and those that did not. Now I have poured that wealth of knowledge and my heart, into this book. Doris and I have been married for 37 years and raised a wonderful family. We have both lived most of our life's in the state of Pennsylvania and now reside in the city of York.