Job Seekers: You Pitch, You Lose (if it sounds like a pitch)

30 Second commercials stink because they sound like a pitch.

I recently got an email from someone in the career space, who has a background in PR.  The email was long enough that I almost had to scroll to read the whole thing.

If you ask a PR professor, I’m guessing they would say it was perfect.  It had everything I would need.

If you ask a human being (like me), I’d say it was a complete failure.

I don’t know what to do with it.  I’m not interested, at all, in the content.  The email should have been personal, and started a relationship with me (since we’re in the same space).  But it was a PITCH.

You know what editors and writers do with pitches? Many times, they delete them.

Even though PR pros are “supposed to” write them “the right way,” I can’t image a cold-call pitch is better than a relationship (or, a warm introduction).

But they still PITCH, before the relationship.

Why do we, as job seekers, PITCH?

Please, reevaluate the language you are using when you reach out to people.  Focus less on your fancy words and slick phrases and think about what they might actually hear.

Better yet, focus on establishing the foundation of a relationship before you get right to business.  And no matter what happens with “this pitch,” don’t let their reaction get in the way of a long-term professional relationship.

This is totally inline with the annual theme: 2012 THEME: Job Search is 99% Communication