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Know Your PVP (Professional Value Proposition)

The four steps of a professional value proposition is, and you'll find that on page number 16. There really are four elements that go into it, and the first one is... This is now about how we're communicating to people our super skill. I believe that whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back at us. Oftentimes it does not come back from the same spot, but it comes back from a different perspective. A super skill turned into a professional value proposition means that once we are sitting in a meeting, and now the opportunity comes up, the hot job opportunity comes up. And you are, and somebody says, Jenine, why should I give that job to you? And now you say, well, following this formula, number one, I should get this opportunity because number one, this is what I'm really good at, my super skill. Number two, this is generally speaking what I do with these kinds of opportunities. Number three, the reason this matters is because it solves the problem for the company or ...

my client. And number four, a typical end result of the stuff that I do creates this. Tangible end result. Numbers going up, higher sales, people feeling good, photos taken that get people better jobs, for dating that they get the best, that they'll find that person that's perfect for them because they're finally showcasing their inner beauty, not, you know, adequately. So whatever that sorta fits. So, now I'm going to do this with the fabulous Jenine. Come on up. We're going to do the professional value proposition. Alright. I'll try. There's no trying. We're doing it. (Beate laughing) We're doing it. OK, we're gonna do it. Alright, so when you think about a previous project, right? So what was an outcome? What was said about your contribution? How did they describe your talents? Did your company, are you employed, or are you running your own business? I am currently unemployed and looking for work, so I really like this section because that's one of the things I'm going to need to be doing in interviews is-- Fantastic! Selling what I do. So let's look back at some of the projects or jobs that you have done. So what are people saying about you? I think pretty consistently people say that I am very detail-oriented. I's dotted, T's crossed. I approach, my previous work, I was in marketing, and I had been before that in sales, and so I knew a lot about the company and was able to present that global perspective of this is what we do, this is, and so I had that perspective of our company and what we offered, and I was able to bring that into our marketing pieces. Okay, so this is what I'm hearing. You said, so you said global. Do you think global is an advantage? Global is definitely an advantage, right? So I would say that you have a global understanding of what exactly? It was our industry, so what we do, what we offer, how we help the customer. Is that different from country to country, culture to culture? Um... Are there nuances? Probably. Okay, so two good words, global and nuances, are really good words, and then how would you put the detail-orientedness and the sales and the marketing into sort of the same thing? So I did the design of the pieces that we would work on, and so my being able to translate what we're doing into something that's cohesive that doesn't have, that is visually, I don't know, flows visually, doesn't have mistakes and like, my eyes can't figure out what you're trying to say, you know, that sort of thing, so I was pretty good at making sure that there weren't those silly errors like why is this text over here or, ya know, that's just something I key in on. Okay so there's clarity, there's clarity in your approach. Simplicity, the sort of less is more principle what I'm hearing from you, and so I would definitely put in, let's take some notes here for you, so what you're really good at is to sort of simplify a concept, which I think is a good strength. I've yet to find a boss who wants somebody to complicate something. (both laughing) I like the idea of having a global understanding, because global sensibilities and sensitivities all over the world are very different. What works in one country is an insult in another. So I believe that that is definitely a strength. I believe that the detail-orientedness and bringing that detail-orientedness to actually execution is probably also a really powerful tool for you. Mhm. Does that sound like you? Yeah. Okay. Then let's talk about how you do that. So this is a really interesting portion of things because your super skill is so innate that, doesn't everybody know how to do that? So when I say, well, what is that, you go like, well I can't figure this out because if it's so easy for me, it's so easy for you that you don't ever even have to think about it. So usually, but there is a process involved, which is why I've implemented this growth architecture system because at one point I had to sit down and think about, how do I really do it? So it could be that you sit down, you do the research first. You do a color study, you do something, maybe you read history books, maybe, whatever is sort of that process is. So what is that process or the concrete steps that you do to break down when somebody gives you a project? Any guesses? I don't know, let me think. Okay, and again for everybody watching, the idea really is to think about if, when it's not your super skill, you have to really spend some time to put it together. But when it's your super skill, it is so easy, that what you just said, Jeff, well in my head already I'm into Excel spreadsheets. Do you think there's a super skill in there somewhere? So yes, it's like the ability to immediately translate something. So that's what we're looking for here, is to, like when somebody gives you a project, until you execute it, what is that? And we may not be able to do this in the few minutes we have here. I'm an introvert, so I'd be back in a couple hours. (Beate and audience laughing) Nothing like putting you on the spot and like, do this now! Okay, so what first came to my mind is that I think I approach from a, what's our end result? So what is the message that we're trying to give? And then work back from that. What is, what are we trying to get from our customers? What are we trying to express to them? And then work back from that to, how are we going to accomplish that? Okay, it's called reverse engineering. Okay, so I think that's a really good one for you to say that you use a reverse engineering process to map out the plan and whatever sort of that plan in your specific area is, right? Mhm. And that could be whatever the colors and the forms and all the different things that go into your design or the meetings with the international people. Because when you go into your next job interview, that's kind of when people say, well describe what you've done. Right. So you don't want to say, I did graphic design. Yeah. Right? Yeah. But you say, well I did, my specialty was to work in a global company and to, I've designed this reverse engineer process to take what the outcome was that we wanted to achieve, internationally, to appeal to a global audience, and then reverse engineering it, including the sensibilities and colors and sort of what all these other things are. Doesn't that sound a lot better? Yes. Oh, yeah. (Jenine laughing) So that's what we want to arrive at. Now, on number three, this is like so easy for you that you don't even ever have to think about that. And I think you already hinted onto that with this reverse engineer process. Can you describe that a little bit more? Let's see. Do you do research? Oh, yeah. Do you talk to people? Yeah, I like to research. I love what Jeff was saying earlier about learning. I love to learn other people's perspectives and try to kind of incorporate that into what we're doing, or, I don't know, if ever there's an opportunity where we need to learn this thing, I'm like all in on that. And is that like a collaborative, is that a collaborative effect? Do you do that by yourself or do you include other team members? I think that's why it didn't really work very well for me because I was pretty much by myself. I mean, I'm a good thinker on my own, but I like being able to bounce ideas off of people, and I was pretty much working on my own. So we'd have this kind of, this big idea in execution. I think that I worked well with having, hey, what about this direction, what about that direction? I was pretty much on my own. Okay good, so then going back to SWOT analysis, I probably would put some of that as a weakness, or as a threat even, there for you, that you may have a tendency to be, to internalize it too much and not get enough output, because in an organization when you work for somebody, being an island on your own is not necessarily a good thing. They need to be part of the process because that's how they know that you're doing a good job. Right. Absolutely. So just because you disappear and then you give them something great doesn't give them, necessarily, the trust in you. So that would be something I would encourage you to perhaps work on. And you can say that this is so easy for me, you can say, I can go both ways. I either can just take the project and run with it and then present sort of, some final solutions and opportunities for the client, or I can participate with the team and then make these suggestions. And now, if I was a potential employer, I'm talking to you, and you say, well, you tell me if time is of an essence, I can go and I can run with this by myself, it's an advantage, or you can say, but if we have the time and if it's part of how you operate, then of course we can open it up for everybody in input because I'm a great listener. Does this help you? Yeah, absolutely. Very good, alright. And then let's go to number four: what others are saying about you and how you work. Quick, detail-oriented, team player. So we have already identified that you may not be perceived as a team player, that that might be something that we want to work on. So just give, list some of these attributes now that people would normally say about you, and this is just really about attributes. Definitely detail-oriented. Very good. And I would say reliable. If given a project, I don't think anyone has ever, like, she will get this done. I get that a lot, we know this is a good project to get to you because we know it'll get completed. So you're the no excuses person on the team. (both laughing) That sounds amazing. No excuses, the project will get done no matter what. Especially 'cause I was doing journal work on my own so... Yes. (Jenine speaking quietly) So you had to have the, and that's exactly what you will say, where you will say that you are self-guided and that you have no problem to execute entirely on your own. And in an interview, you would then say what's the percentage or can you guess what the percentage is of self-guided projects and projects that involve the team. And then you can respond to that based upon what we just talked about. You can say, oh, that's great that you said that because on the self-guided my previous team members have given me a solid 99%, and on the team stuff I'm right there if the opportunity arises, but most projects are so pressured that they're really, in all reality that we want to do that, but it doesn't always occur, so I'm the person who gets it done no matter what, no excuses. Good, does this help you? Yeah! OK, excellent. Thank you. So now on the next page, on page number 19, let's talk about a typical end result. What is a typical outcome of some of these amazing projects that you're doing? So how they brought value to the company or...? Yes, on how they're bringing value to the company. Typical...I would say I worked on projects that brought in more awareness. One project in particular, we had never done sales before or really product, you know like, hey we offer these products, and we saw on this specific product, increases up to 300% to 1,000%. Do you think 300% to 1,000% increase in sales is a good thing? You may want to mention that. Yes, so that's exactly the specificity that we want to add. You say, like for example, one of the projects that we've worked on, once I finished the design, we saw an increase of 300%, (Jenine speaking quietly) for this, over a duration of two years, and on the other project it was 1,000%. Now that will make any potential employer go like, wow I gotta have her on my team! (Jenine laughing) Okay, so these are the specific things that you are looking to solve. Thank you so much. Thank you. Are you ready for your next interview? I'm getting there. Yeah, well, she's an introvert, in an hour. (Beate laughing) Yeah I know, right? Thank you so much, Jenine, I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you.