Top Legal Employment Websites

Top Legal Employment WebsitesTop Legal Employment WebsitesOnline employment boards andjob listingsare one of the easiest ways to locate current job openings, including those in the legal field. Some cater specifically to law job openings, while other more general sites, such as Indeed, Glassdoor, and ZipRecruiter, include legal postings along with other industry-specific jobs. These are ranked from the best legal sites down to general sites. LawCrossing LawCrossing maintains a collection of over 70,000 active legal jobs throughout the world, claiming that the site continuously monitors the hiring needs of more than 250,000 legal employers, including virtually every law firm, corporation, government office, and public interest organization in the United States. Boasting of identifying more than 500 new available legal jobs every hour, LawCrossing sits atop our list. Legal Staff This is one of the better sites. Legal Staff posts featured jobs right on its homepage. The site als o provides a free resume service so that youll be ready to act when you find the job you want. This site is dedicated to the legal industry. FindLaw.com A highly trafficked legal website, FindLaw provides job listings for a wide sortiment of legal professionals through its Law Career Center. It also maintains a comprehensive set of legal resources on the internet for law students and professionals, including case law and legal news. U.S. Courts For individuals who seek jobs within the government, U.S. Courts maintain a list of employment opportunities in the federal judiciary. TheU.S. Department of Justice(DOJ) website also offers a list of DOJ job vacancies. National Association for Law Placement The National Association for Law Placement (NALP) hosts a job board thats mostly geared toward employers. It offerstips and assists them in posting job listings to attract applicants. Would-be applicants can also conduct searches and save the jobs theyre interested in pursuing. Job seekers can also filter their searches according to their preferred criteria. LawJobs.com LawJobs.com lists legal job openings, classifieds, and nationwide ads for lawyers, paralegals,and legal support staff. It also includes a career center with career profiles, salary information, and career advice. BCG Attorney Search BCG Attorney Search is dedicated exclusively to attorney listingsand isone of the largest U.S. legal recruiting firms. It maintains a job database that matches current openings with your skills and career objectives. ABA Law Student Division Career Information Center Legal Career Central is an American Bar Association site. It offers job boards, information on networking opportunities, internships, and other resources. Itslimitation is that it focuses on attorneys, not necessarily support personnel. Lawmatch Lawmatch offers free and fee-based services that match your employment profile to online classified ads for attorneys, law students, parale gals, and other legal professionals. It includes full-time, part-time, and contract opportunities. Simplylawjobs.com Simplylawjobs.com maintains an employment database of over 10,000 legal jobs, although theyre mostlyin the United Kingdom. It serves law firms as well as those looking for jobs with those firms. Mylawjob.com Mylawjob.com offers a job database of several thousand legal jobs. It doesnt have the visual appeal of some of ansicht other sites, but its comprehensive and you can sort the listings by state. Its generally free to use, but with a caveat You might be charged a fee if youre a heavy user. Proven Proven offers more than 100 job boards. Its something of a hybrid, also posting jobs in other sectors, but the legal boards are top notch. However, its not free, at least not for employers. Asingle job listing costs an employer $99 as of 2018, although the site does offer free trials. An employer that spends this amount of money is likely serious about hiring. Above the Law Above the Law is mostly legal news so that you stay current on pertinent events as you plan your job search. But it also posts available jobs right on its homepage. Employers also pay for their posts at this site, so you know theyre actively looking to hire sooner rather than later. The sites search capabilities are superior to those of a lot of other sites, offering numerous filters. Monster.com Another hugely popular job-hunting website, Monster.com is generic and not specifically geared to the legal profession. But you can search hundreds of thousands of jobs nonetheless and build and post your resume. You canaccess thousands of pages of career info and advice. Monster.com also offers company research information, career advice, scholarship searches, international jobs, and information on online degrees. CareerBuilder.com Like Monster.com, this site isnt specifically geared toward legal jobs, but its one of the most popular job-hunting websites on the net . CareerBuilder lets you search by keyword, industry, salary, location, job category, employment, degree, and other criteria. Whether you are a job-seeker or an employer, these sites can be very useful in helping to locate a suitable position or employee. Many provide resume assistance, interview advice, and career guidance to help match the right employee with the right job.

8 Great Phone Sales Tips for Productive Cold Calls

8 Great Phone Sales Tips for Productive Cold Calls8 Great Phone Sales Tips for Productive Cold CallsSales is a numbers game. The more potential clients you reach, the more sales youre likely to make, but this doesnt mean you can ignore quality in favor of quantity. As you get better at cold calling, you may find that you have to make fewer calls to get enough appointments to meet your sales quota or even to exceed it. Here are some phone sales tips to help you refine the art. 01Get Their Attention in 15 Seconds or LessJustin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty ImagesFifteen seconds thats how long you have before your prospect realizes that this is just another lousy sales call. If they dont actually hang up on you, this is where they stop listening. Maybe theyve still got the phone to their ear, but their dog has just stolen their kids favorite toy and youre the last thing on their mind.Your opening statementshould grab their attention and give them a reason to keep listening. It shou ld make them think, OK, I can buy another toy later. I want to hear this.02Create ExcitementThink yourself into this mindset You have a fantastic product that will greatly improve your customers lives. Youre about to give the person on the other end of the line a huge gift by telling them about this wonderful product. Make sure that energy and enthusiasm come across in your tone of voice, but dont overdo it. Sounding like a carnival hawker can turn them off. Aim for conversational, like youre sharing a great tip with your best friend over coffee.03Mirror the ProspectPeople are fruchtwein comfortable dealing with other people who are just like them. Jot down a few words or phrases that your prospect uses as youre talking. Now work them into your pitch. Yes, this involves a bit of multi-tasking, but it will be worth it. Try to match your potential customers volume, speed, and theirtone of voice as well, but not to the point of caricature. If you cross that line, you become insulting. Sale lost.04Close Every Prospect As a last resort, ask for a better time to call back. Its possible that you really did call at the exact moment that Labrador took off with the persons kids Frisbee. They know theyre in for a miserable night if they dont get it back. This moves you into thelast place on their to-do list. If you dont get the chance to make your phone pitch, try to find out when you can call again, or better yet meet with them in person to make a full presentation.Ending the CallClose every single call, even if the prospect seems completely uninterested. Dont just hang up. Wish the prospect a good day. You really have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. They might be more receptive to your call if you decide to make contact again.

Why an Adult Internship Can Be Good for Your Career

Why an Adult Internship Can Be Good for Your CareerWhy an Adult Internship Can Be Good for Your Career12 really good for your career. Heres why.In a story called Internships Arent Just for College Kids, career coach Nancy Collamer discusses why so many adults are now heading back into the workforce as interns. Affectionately known as returnships, these adult interns are acutely aware that many people view interns as high school or college-aged kids. And while some intern postings will be targeted towards the younger set, theres no reason why an adult cant enjoy the benefits of interning.Adult Internships for Career ChangeUnder the right circumstances, internships can provide a useful bridge to a new field later in life and offer a smart way to take a test-drive before investing a lot of time and money retraining yourself, says Collamer, who runs the site My Lifestyle Career. Interning also provides a panzerschrank way in which people can dip their toes into a new industry without mak ing a big financial commitment, such as shelling out big bucks by going back to school. It provides an outlet for workers who feel bored or stuck in their current positions, and a way to explore other career possibilities so they can eventually become unstuck.Companies Where You Might Find an Adult InternshipWhile there are a number of internships listed on job sites (such as ), some midlife internships are created by the individual herself. There are some companies, however, that have internship programs designed for adults changing careers or returning to the workforce after time away. Sara Lee and Goldman Sachs are just two companies that offer this type of program. Or you can always check with your alumni association to see if there are any interesting internships being offered.How to Make Your Own Adult InternshipIf you find a company that youd love to work for but isnt currently hiring interns, that doesnt mean that you cant work for them. Youll need to sell yourself, your yea rs of work experience, and your dedication and loyalty. Craft a great cover letter that details why youre passionate about working for that company sans pay.Says Collamer To overcome an employers concern that youre unfamiliar with its field, stress that you bring years of transferable skills and experiences you can put to work. And according to Collamer, nonprofits tend to be a bit more welcoming to older interns than for-profit companies. Why? They value skills similar to those of a remote worker, such as the ability to self-manage and work independently.Understand Your Goals with an Adult InternshipBefore you start the first day of your internship, you should know ahead of time what youd like to get out of it. Your expectations and goals should be clearly defined and communicated with your boss ahead of time. After all, you are working for free, so topics such as your hours, responsibilities, learning opportunities, and your boss expectations should be mutually agreed upon by both of you.While the goal of many interns is to turn your internship into a full-time job, there will most likely be no guarantees that will happen. Companies dont want interns or volunteers to come with the agenda of potentially getting hired for a regular job. Rather, they want you to learn, grow, show passion for their mission, and become a part of the team. By doing all those things, youre showing them youd be a worthwhile hire without needing to say it.That said, you should definitely make the most of your internship Your goal should be to learn as much as you possibly can, take advantage of any opportunities given to you, grow your network, and above all, decide if this is a field that you would really love to continue on in.An internship is the opportunity to have a front row seat to the potential next phase in your career. That alone, job seekers, can be priceless.Readers, have you considered, or are you considering, an adult internship or returnship? What industry were you in before, and which one would you like to try now? Let us know in the comments section below

Free Career Aptitude and Career Assessment Tests

Free Career Aptitude and Career Assessment TestsFree Career Aptitude and Career Assessment TestsWhen you are not sure what schriftart of job you want or what you want to do next with your career, an aptitude test can help you narrow down your job choices and help you choose a career path that is compatible with your interests, skills, values, and personality. Taking a career test is a little like playing What do you want to be when you grow up? with a twist. The twist is that career tests can give you concrete ideas about what you may be designed to do rather than just an opportunity to simply ponder what you want to do. It can help you understand the type and environment of work that will help you thrive as a person. How a Career Assessment Can Help There are a variety of free career tests available addressing one or more of these factors, but it is not essential to find a test that captures all of the elements. Do keep in mind that sometests arent scientifically validated. Howe ver, they are quick and easy to take and provide insight into what type of jobs you might want to research. Spend some time taking a few tests and quizzes and see what results you get. Afterwards, compare the job options youre given to decide if any of them are worth exploring further through reading, informational interviews, job shadowing, and internships. Free Career Aptitude Tests The following tests are available for free angeschlossen and can be a good start to identifying your next career. 123 Career Test This aptitude test can help you gain insight into the careers that best fit your personality. It will help you learn what kind of work environments and occupations suit you best. Color Career Quiz Did you know color can be an indicator of what jobs are right for you? Color Career Quiz is a quick and easy five-minute test that analyzes your personality based on the colors you select. Test Color Similar to Color Career Quiz above, a team of psychologists and human resource s experts lead you through a three-parte color selection process to determine your personality and aptitude. While the initial results are free, you can pay extra for a more in-depth analysis. Keirsey Temperament Sorter This test helps you to understand your personality type and discover what type of temperament you have. Test results suggest a predominant personality type including Artisan, Guardian, Rational, or Idealist. Your temperament influences career satisfaction, job search strategies, and job performance. A free description of your profile will be provided with an option to purchase the full report. menschengerecht Metrics Using both Jungs Typology and Myers-Briggs insights (see below), Human Metrics takes you through 64 questions to rate you on both scales. The results explain to you how each piece relates to your personality type. O*NET Interests Profiler My Next Moves O*NET Interest Profiler is administered by the United States Department of Labor. Users take a 60-quest ion interest inventory that yields a profile of interest tendencies including six areas Realistic, Investigative, Social, Enterprising, Conventional, and Artistic. You will see a list of careers related to each cluster, and can then sort those careers into five job zones representing different levels of preparation ranging from little job preparation to extensive preparation. The site also has extensive career information related to a variety of careers. PathSource This is a free career exploration solution that helps students and job seekers make better career choices with its free mobile app. Users can produce lists of careers based on personality characteristics and an interest profile. Lifestyle issues and income expectations are factored into the analysis. An extensive collection of 2600 informational interviews on video provides an insiders view from workers in a broad range of professions. A database of careers related to various academic majors helps students to explore the implications of their academic choices. Users also can search for colleges based on academic offerings, financial aid, average test scores, and other admissions data. 16 Personalities Using the Myers-Briggs Model (hence the name), 16 Personalities is a site designed to help you understand yourself, contribute valuable data to researchers, and take tangible steps in your personal and professional relationships. While the test is completely free, most of the tools require that you join for a fee. Red Bull Wingfinder Take a free 35-minute online personality assessment to identify and leverage your strengths in four different areas of your personality, including connections, creativity, thinking, and drive. Wingfinder test takers immediately receive a free 19-page feedback report containing an analysis of their strengths, along with advice, and coaching from Red Bull athletes who have the same strengths. Skills Matcher The Department of Labor has developed this resource to enable users to assess the skills they want to incorporate into their careers. You will rate basic skills like reading, writing, speaking, scientific reasoning, and critical thinking, as well as more specialized social, technical, analytical, computer, problem-solving, and resource management skills. Sokanu Sokanu is a free platform for users to assess their interests, personality types, abilities, career values, and preferred work and social environments in order to find matches that will lead to satisfying careers. Sokanu suggests careers after users respond to a series of questions. Theres detailed information available on each of the suggested career options. In addition, users can browse occupations by clusters like health and nutrition, law, arts and entertainment, animals, food and drink, politics and law, sports, travel, music, engineering, and science. More Career Assessments and Personality Tests While some career aptitude tests are free, others charge for results. Be sure to check before you start the test to see whether you are interested in paying for the advice. Self-Directed Search (SDS) The Self-Directed Search (SDS) is a standard testing option which revolves around categorizing careers in six areas realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. Answer questions about your goals, dreams, activities, and interests, and youll get a list of the three types of careers that are best matched to you, plus careers that are suited to people with a mix of those characteristics. Keep in mind that you are required to pay a fee for this test. Career Key Another career aptitude test that costs a fee is Career Key. This is an online career assessment tool that determines how similar you are to six different personality types. The results are linked to occupational choices. JobQuiz JobQuiz is a career aptitude test that you can do quickly (it only takes about 12 minutes). It gives you the opportunity to evaluate hundreds of career options to get ideas about what your perfect career would be. The site allows you to take all the tests but will not allow you to access your results until youve paid a fee. To get the results, the fee is $9.99 or $6.99 for students. Personality Tests ansprechbar personality tests measure your intelligence or aptitude, inventory your skills, and assess your ability to succeed in a career. Some are as simple as selecting colors you like and dont like. With others, youll need to answer a number of specific questions. Personality tests can be useful for showing you what kind of career you might want. They also can show you what skills make you a strong candidate for a job. Once you know your skills, you can highlight them on your resume and cover letters. Some tests are free, while others cost money. Be sure to research the cost of a test before doing it. Some can be done online, while others require a career counselor to interpret them. For example, the Typology Central Jung Personality T est is a free personality test that combines two systems for evaluating personality type- Jungian Cognitive Functions and Personality Dichotomies. After you take the test, youll get a report that outlines your temperament. Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is the most well-known, authoritative personality test available in the psychology and human resources community. It assesses your personality type and explores career options. If youre a college graduate, check to see if your career office offers no-cost testing for alumni. Otherwise, review these options for taking the assessment either online or in-person. This test categorizes people into 1 of 16 personality types. With a series of questions, the test determines whether you gravitate toward extroversion or introversion, sense or intuition, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving. Heres a quick guide to understanding the four categories within the Myers-Briggs test Extroversion ( E) or Introversion (I) This is about how you get your energy. Do you turn inward or outward for sources of energy?Sense (S) or Intuition (N) Which one you gravitate toward reveals how you perceive and absorb information. People who get an S result are more likely to use past experience and common sense to evaluate situations, while the intuition-focused readily see the big picture and patterns.Thinking (T) or Feeling (F) With this personality trait, your decision-making style is revealed. Thinkers are guided by logic and common sense, while feelers may rely on values feelings. For feeling types, the decision-making process may be guided by how a decision would affect others. Judging (J) or Perceiving (P) This last piece of the personality type reveals lifestyle preferences, or how you like to live your life. Judging types are organized and comfortable working within rules and framework. You can count on someone of this type having a five-year plan. Perceiving types are more likely t o prefer a flexible environment, adapting plans as needed. Test questions reveal whether you are an ISTP (thats Introversion, Sense, Thinking, Perceiving) an ENFJ (thats Extroversion, Intuition, Feeling, Judging), or one of the 14 other possibilities. Talent Assessment Tests Talent assessments are used to help an employer identify candidates who will be a good fit for jobs. Talent assessments help predict a new hires performance and retention. These tests assess your personality, work style, knowledge, and/or skills. These assessments often are given to job candidates either online or in the company store or office. Large companies like Walmart, Burger King, PetSmart, and others commonly use talent assessment tests. Pre-Employment Tests Talent assessments are only one of many different kinds of pre-employment tests that employers might give job candidates. Employers often use tests as part of a larger selection procedure to screen applicants for hire. Other types of tests th at employers might give candidates include personality tests, cognitive tests, emotional intelligence tests, physical exams, drug tests, credit checks, and background checks. There also are tests for specific industries. For example, restaurants often test job candidates to see what they know about the industry. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is the most common personality test given by employers to job candidates. Pre-employment tests are legal as long as employers do not use the test results to discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability, or age. One exception is a lie detector test, which is unreliable and illegal in most employment situations.

100 Best Keywords for Your Boston Job Posting

100 Best Keywords for Your Boston Job Posting100 Best Keywords for Your Boston Job Posting100 Best Keywords for Your Boston Job PostingYoure looking to attract and hire talent and you need to select the right keyword phrases for your job title and description. Intelligence dug into what job seekers are searching for in Boston. If youre ready to list a job, youll want to know what we found. Over 726,000 Boston job searches are conducted each month on Monster.com.1 That figure doesnt even factor in job-related searches on Google.com and other major search engines. In order for your online job posting to be relevant to search engines, select the right keyword phrases for your job title and description. This process will also help your listing perform better within search engine as well.Administrative Assistantparte TimeSalesAccountingReceptionistCustomer ServiceHuman ResourcesExecutive AssistantAdministrativeMarketingManufacturingMedical AssistantAccountantFinanceManagerOffice ManagerWa rehouseControllerEntry LevelMechanical EngineerRegistered NurseData EntryProject ManagerRetailAccounts PayableLPNMaintenanceParalegalITWork From HomeOfficeConstructionPart-TimeBookkeeperAnalystAttorneySoftware EngineerNurseRNEducationBusiness AnalystSummerPurchasingSecurityAutomotiveDriverReal EstateBankingElectricianPayrollEngineerGraphic DesignerPharmacistSales RepresentativeFull TimeRecruiterCashierBuyerAccounts ReceivableLegalFinancial AnalystInsuranceInternshipNurse PractitionerDirectorOffice AssistantData AnalystOperations ManagerRegistered Nurse (RN)Sales ManagerSecretaryTechnicianCustomer Services RepresentativeSocial WorkerHealthcareAccount ManagerInternInformation TechnologyJavaAccounting ManagerTruck DriverDelivery DriverAssistantWarehouse WorkerCNAElectrical EngineerClericalMedical BillingGraphic DesignNursingInside SalesSupply ChainMechanicProperty ManagementIT ManagerTeacherOperationsEngineeringLogisticsMedical Office ReceptionistData finding are based on analysis of j ob seeking activity from mora than 22 million unique visitors2. Most Non-Human Traffic removed from the results.Note Direct keyword searches on Monster.com account for about of job traffic with increasing traffic coming from 3rd party search (e.g., Google, Banners, TargetMail, Career Ad Network, and other traffic drivers)1Internal Data, Direct Keyword Searches, 6-month average, Jan 2017 Jun 20172comScore Media Metrix, 1Q 2017, 3-month average, (includes all US Mobile + PC traffic)

Heres What I Know About How to Make a Resume for a Job

Heres What I Know About How to Make a Resume for a Job Now you have to prove that on your resume. If you are in need of a quick kick-start on developing a template first, take a look at a resume builder before employing a professional. The Appeal of How to Make a Resume for a Job How to compose a job resume. Get the job that you deserve, leid the one youre stuck in. Each time you submit an application for a new job, check your resume to make koranvers that it isnt only targeted, but in addition current. Get the job which you deserve, not the one that youre stuck in. Your job (while youre attempting to find a job) is to make certain to fit what theyre searching for. Furthermore, you may wind up in a job which you cant do. If a job appears strong, but youre lacking a few abilities, its still true that you will need to use the firm could be prepared to train the most appropriate candidate. Even in the event that youve never held an official job, its still true that you have life experience thats applicable to the work search. How to compose a simple resume. How to make a professional resume. PDF resume downloads are definitely the most common, nowadays. In the USA, resume images and profile photos are ordinarily not advised. You might not have LinkedIn testimonials. A resume, actually, is your own bonafide promoting document. 1 advantage for employers to internet resumes is the considerable cost saving in contrast to traditional hiring methods.Or you havent made an attempt to learn more regarding the organization. You must know the way to create the best how to earn a company resume that it is possible to deliver to the company and give good first impression about your self, learn it here. When sending the how to earn a company resume you will need to deal with the finest individual responsible for the selection. For the business, how to make it resume is going to be used as the initial software when they selected the candidate for further review. How to Make a Resume for a Job Options For instance, if youre an Accounts Assistant, you do not need to say that you clean up the pantry on your spare time. If you really read the admissions guidelines carefully, theres many times a little footnote or addendum that describes what process you should take should you not own a diploma or transcript. An opening statement could be an objective or a concise overview of somebodys skills. Recruiters may have different criteria to the perfect resume, but make the the majority of it and utilize it to your whole advantage in any manner you are able to. A scarcity of job experience doesnt mean a deficiency of work experience. If you dont have a good deal of interview expertise, you must earn a bid to find a lot of practice with family and friends members. With a challenging job market and a great deal of competition on the market you ought to have every advantage possible to acquire a good job. Bear in mind a recruiter doesnt have the time to sift through the upcoming great American novel. You also ought to tailor your resume to demonstrate the way your work experience specifically meets the requirements of the job which youre applying for. Each one takes a different strategy and what works for one wont do the job for one more. Ensuring your categories are well organized is a fast means to help set you in the yes pile and keep you from the trash pile. Since you might not have plenty of experience, its important to include information thats related to your intended job like coursework, projects, extracurricular activities, or volunteer work. The War Against How to Make a Resume for a Job You only have to catch the employers attention to supply you with a shot with an interview. However tempting it may be to stretch the truth, lying on your resume is always a poor idea. Your resume summary statement or resume objective statement will probably have the absolute most eye time as its at the peak of the w ebpage. Well it is all dependent on whether the job posting instructions specify a specific format. How to Make a Resume for a Job Ideas If youre seeking to be a cook, it will surely help. There are steps which you can and ought to take to move on in the event that you hate your work and youre not happy at work. You dont have to remain in a place you merely feel is not a great fit. You dont need to stay in a place you merely feel isnt a fantastic fit.

Useful Office Lessons from Chinese Street-Vendor Sales Persistence

Useful Office Lessons from Chinese Street-Vendor Sales Persistence In pursuit of a deal, how much persistence is too much? Selling and sales resistance are like a river and its bankmora or less inseparable, even though the former is always exerting an eroding force on the latter. Also, like a rushing river, high-pressure selling is persistent, indeed relentless and often suffocating.For a given level of (un)interest in what is being pitched, why will persistence inconsistently pay offsometimes closing the deal, other times closing it off? In answering these questions, it may be very important to note the difference between the duration of persistence and its rules. Often, the rules and factors of persistence determine the outcome mora than the time invested. For schooling in such rules and factors of persistence, a very good place to start is where I traveled in 2012 the streets of China.Souvenirs of SouvenirsOf course, visiting any tourist area anywhere in the world means running gauntlets of vendors and touts. That comes with the holiday territory. zu siche in Yangshuo, a magnificent karst-mountain ringed, Li River-side sleeping beauty that has been awakened by the kiss of tourism, this once sleepy town has been transformed into a national treasure and souvenir of itself.By this, I mean that, at some point, anyone with open eyes and a logical mind should notice the very peculiar paradox of salesmanship here The locals sell souvenirs as souvenirs of the tourists experience of souvenirs. What, before the selling starts, look like charming lanes, peaceful promenades and quaint narrow streets, have been transformed into crowded souvenir shooting galleries, in which the trinket vendors take their best shot at the shuffling tourists foolish enough to slow to a near sitting-duck halt. There are so many stalls, vendors and souvenirs leaching into the streets that the only experien ce to survive as a memory of surviving that gauntlet is that of passing, eyeing, dodging, handling, haggling over and buying or refusing souvenirs.Grandmotherly Lessons in PersistenceGiven that this can be a tough sell, the sales techniques have to be very goodor very desperate. Here in Yangshuo, persistence, and lots of it, is a bit of both. What is interesting from the recruitment standpointsince, after all, selling is a form of recruiting, namely, of customers and clientsis how often it works and how often it fails. Even more interesting is why.You dont have to be selling souvenirs to appreciate how persistence is often necessary and how it can badly backfire or wonderfully succeed. It has worked and failed with me as the target in about equal proportions. Reflecting on why the deal has been sealed in some cases but not others, when my interest level in the souvenir welches equaloften equally negligible, I have speculated that the outcome of sale vs. no sale has been determined b y factors and rules of persistence unrelated to whatever interest I had at the start or end of the pitch.The supply background vs. the demand background Think of supply and demand (in this instance of dealing with a souvenir vendor or, for that matter, with anyone who is persistent) in terms of the supply and demand psychological, social and economic backgrounds. These are like the two appearances of a Necker cubethe cube that appears to be receding to the left or to the right, depending on which orientation seems more obvious at the moment. When I resist the persistence, it often is because I am focusing on my demand-side considerations, e.g., I dont need it, dont want it, could find it more cheaply elsewhere and have no friend who would want it as a gift. Perceived only through this supply-side filter, the persistence quickly becomes annoying.On the other hand, if I shift to supply-side considerations, e.g.,why anyone would persist not only in this particular sales pitch, but also in this jobhow much the little money it costs will viscerally mean to the vendorhow the supply of feasible alternatives may be very limited for the sellerhow many mouths will be fed by the sale of a trinkethow much of a rest the stooped 80-year-old flower vendor could earn for herself with one saleI am more likely to buyespecially since, set against the backdrop of such supply-side constraints and pathos, the greater the persistence, the greater the likelihood of a sale, since the persistence is perceived as a measure of need and desperation, rather than as cause or measure of increasing resistance and annoyance.Back home, the same principle can be applied in the office, as well as the street to make the sale, to snag the client or the candidate, consider whether or not there are some supply-side background factors unrelated to the need for or quality of what you are selling that will seal the deal. Work those into your presentation, or otherwise make them apparent.For example, in pitching a job, it might be useful to insinuate into the presentation the effort it takes to have adequately presented such a huge and diversified company. In attempting to stimulate candidate demand, the presentation actually also smuggles in an indication of the considerable supply-side effort that went into it, to create respect and empathy for the recruiter.2. Persistent effort vs. persistent pitch Persistence in the effort to sell something is one thing persistence in using an unvarying pitch or angle is quite another. Irrespective of whether a supply or demand backdrop perspective is operative, persistence of effort with/without persistence of pitch can be a determining factor in whether or not the vendor can clinch a deal.Apart from the freshness of varying the spiel while persisting, the charm, intelligence and entertainment factors in a varying sales presentation that is no less persistent in duration than a merely repetitive sales chant may be enough to tilt the scales int o the buy zone.Moreover, varying the argument for the pitch may succeed where grinding repetition will fail, much as triole for oil in more than one place usually does. The difference is that between a shift to looking for a soft spot and wearing down a rock of resistance by trying to drill through it.As a bonus, the wit, charm, intelligence, grit or creativity manifested in a medley of sales pitches delivered with the persistence of a mongoose tackling a cobra can come across as proof that financially contributing to the preservation of such an engaging vendors genes is a good investment in the human gene pool.3. Self-satisfaction vs. guilt Reassuring ourselves we are nobodys fool can be an enormously satisfying experience (and, as an emotional objective, one of the driving forces behind haggling and bargain hunting everywhere in the world).For persistence to cause a prospective buyer to give that up and instead buy requires emotionally remotivating him or her, through a motivation al reversal not unlike that described in Michael Apters metamotivational reversal theory (which I have elsewhere cited as a dynamic behavioral model governing the interactions of a stick-fetching dog and its master).In terms of reversal theory, persistence can succeed if it causes a switch from mastery to sympathywhich is equivalent to a shift from being nobodys fool to being sympathetic or compassionate.According to the theory, all of us act, feel and shift along various spectra defined by four polar opposites, viz., serious-playful, masterful-sympathetic, conforming-rebellious and autic-alloic (self-interested vs. altruistic) . To make persistence pay off, talent for inducing such a shift or a spontaneous shift in perception really helps.For example, with consistent indifference to buying passion fruit from a cone hat-festooned womans 120-pound load of various fruit, I was nudged into the guilt zone when I focused on the fact that the weight she was carrying in her basket pole sur passed hers. I bought five. That was a case of a reversal in perception.Another very old woman, obviously well into her late 70s or even maybe her 80s, got me to change my mind and jump from the self-satisfaction pole of the spectrum to the guilt and compassion pole by doing one simple, primal thing softly misting over.Her far-too-tired eyes went bleary, as though on the verge of weeping. It seemed spontaneous to me, but when, in other instances, it isnt, its precisely the kind of deal-making talent that can induce a metamotivational reversal from mastery to sympathy.4. (Un)Skillful use of sub-text In any sales narrative, there is much more going on than pure sales presentation and persuasion. As important as the need or desire for the product or service, the costs and benefits of these, the clarity of the information presented, the convenience of the timing, the reputation of what is being traktement and the vendor, there is the X-factor how we feel about the seller (in addition to or instead of pity for their supply-side circumstances). Most importantly, as everyone knows, but many forget, making the prospective customer or client like you (in the sense of enjoying you, rather than becoming like you) helpsa lot.One especially persistent vendor got me to buy a souvenir photo album of Guilin by, in effect, pretending she was deaf or that I was mute, charmingly ignoring all of my reasons for not buying.She never, unlike almost all stall vendors, attempted to counter my points instead, she merely sidestepped them, gently papering them over with more soft spiel.She got the sale because she sold me on her. Her clever indifference to what I was saying was the sub-text of our narrative, and in the end the message that successfully got across to me.(A few days later, I gave that book to another much older grandmother struggling to sell oranges downriver, encouraging her to resell ita case of what comes around, goes around.)In this respect, itinerant Chinese vendors a re among the best at making me receptive to them. The stall vendors are pretty good too, but are far more scrappy and vociferous, like noisy carnival touts. Bad combination abrasiveness and persistence.Although far from any corporate office, the low-key wandering vendors, on the other hand, mostly follow many rules of executive-level geschftliches miteinander practice, while following some framed for the streetalways be politespeak softly or confidentlysustain eye contactremain physically non-threatening (e.g., by approaching slowly, avoiding overly expansive gestures and maintaining a friendly smile and posturelimiting the gestures to persistent product thrusting and dangling)look long-suffering, but not overly self-pityingdo not employ entrapmentgiving the product and then demanding paymentpersist, but accept no when given either a real reason for it or a cold adamant brush-off.Most of these can be adapted or refined for productive application in urban offices.5. Bait and Switch I n its customary usage, bait and switch means hooking a sales prospect with one thing before switching the pitch to another (usually costlier product or service). However, there is a second sense of bait and switch very germane to the art and rules of successful persistence. It is the idea that, while baitingin the sense of arguing with or relentlessly houndinga prospect, at some point it will be smart to switch from baiting (in this confrontational sense) to something completely different. Specifically, it is a switch to an approach that is less likely to trigger a defensive response, e.g., to a mention of some previously unstated benefits of the product or service not covered in the defensive rationalizations and objections of the prospective buyer.The great danger in trying to overcome the stated objections of prospects is that they are likely to become even more adamant, because of the theirpride (in always being or trying to be right)cognitive dissonance reduction (manifested as a tendency to minimize, ignore or counter the counter-objections to the sale)resentment (of perceived aggressiveness)irritation (in being repeatedly contradicted and/or with the unvarying argumentative sales approach).Although the street vendors of Yangshuo need no encouragement to be persistent or much coaching in how to do it well, many of the rest of us need both, and not only on the supply side of things. In particular, sometimes we have to learn how to (intelligently) persist on the demand side of our livesfor example, to learn how to persist in considering whether or not to make a buy (e.g., of a stock, to ensure weve carefully and thoroughly considered it).The same goes for this analysis of persistence. If youre not sold on it, dont give up just yet. Try a little harder and longer.Your persistence just might pay off.at least for me.___________________Note This is one in a series of articles by Michael Moffa on the scene and on the job in China.Photo The Art of Persistence (M ichael Moffa)