Why People Buy Things (And Why They Might Buy (Hire) You)

Why People Buy Things (And Why They Might Buy (Hire) You) Saturday morning I was a guinea pig for Jeroen Latour in the Netherlands, as he practiced a presentation for his job.   The presentation focused on why people share things with others (specifically through Last.fm), and touched on why music becomes successful. There were two things Jeroen talked about regarding music taking off: Social Appeal. Everyone else is listening to it, so it must be good.   Or, someone I trust listened to it, or likes it, so it must be good.   Or a major influencer listened to it and recommends it.   This is a word-of-mouth recommendation. Substance/Quality. The band really is *that* good.   Other examples: What kind of car is the best car to buy (the one that wont be in the shop every other month)?   What is the best computer, pen (I know people who are pen connoisseurs, and have a favorite pen that is the bomb), hamburger, french fries, tshirt, socks, shoes, etc.?   I hate shopping at the dollar store because the crap they sell is usually broken before we get home. Im not an expert in the psychology of why people buy things, nor am I an expert in why people hire, but it really made me think about what we can do, as job seekers (interviewers, candidates, etc.) to increase our chance of getting hired.   Lets take these two points and relate them to YOU, as the product, making yourself more appealing. Change Social Appeal to Emotions or feelings. Im hungry, Im bored, sad, lonely, happy, ecstatic, proud, satisfied, hot, cold, etc.   I remember hearing that if we are trying to memorize something, and we can tie emotions into the memorization process, well have a much better chance of memorizing it, because those emotional ties are so strong.   Who hasnt made an emotional purchasing decision (or bought on a whim)? I think the most important thing here is sharing stories.   Stories make your numbers, and your experience, and your skillz come to life.   When I was in marathon interviews (as an interviewer), all of the resumes seemed to look the same, and all the lame answers to my questions were the same.   It was all cliche, and I was dying for something to jump off the page to be different. If you tell me stories, I will be able to get out of my gray boring funk of listening to blah blah blah and hopefully become enthralled by your story. (did I just use a story to illustrate the power of stories??) Later, when I mentally sift through all the interviews, youll probably stick out because of the stories you told.   Others gave facts, with no emotion, but YOU gave stories.   And thank goodness there are mini-stories on your resume, to help me remember you even more. Substance. Ive been wondering how to write about this for a long time.   Many job seekers want that next great gig, but they arent good enough for it.   They dont have the skills, abilities, experience or education they really need to be successful.   For example, I cant be a doctor right now.   I cant apply to be a staff accountant, a chip designer at a semiconductor plant get the point?   I dont have the substance, or quality, to be that right hire. I wonder how many of us are applying for jobs that really are beyond our reach.   Just because we read Good to Great does not mean we can be the next great CEO.   Just because we read Jack (about Jack Welsh) does not mean we are ready to lead a team at GE, or any other company.   Just because we read an article on project management (or take a MBA-level project management class) does not mean we are ready to be a project manager. Do you have substance?   Do you have the professional depth to make you the right candidate?   If not, I can only suggest two things:   Either you are shooting too high, and are not realistic, so you need to manage your expectations better, OR you need to build substance.   Get what you need to have the deep substance that will make you the right hire. What can you do to make yourself more hireable? Why People Buy Things (And Why They Might Buy (Hire) You) Saturday morning I was a guinea pig for Jeroen Latour in the Netherlands, as he practiced a presentation for his job.   The presentation focused on why people share things with others (specifically through Last.fm), and touched on why music becomes successful. There were two things Jeroen talked about regarding music taking off: Social Appeal. Everyone else is listening to it, so it must be good.   Or, someone I trust listened to it, or likes it, so it must be good.   Or a major influencer listened to it and recommends it.   This is a word-of-mouth recommendation. Substance/Quality. The band really is *that* good.   Other examples: What kind of car is the best car to buy (the one that wont be in the shop every other month)?   What is the best computer, pen (I know people who are pen connoisseurs, and have a favorite pen that is the bomb), hamburger, french fries, tshirt, socks, shoes, etc.?   I hate shopping at the dollar store because the crap they sell is usually broken before we get home. Im not an expert in the psychology of why people buy things, nor am I an expert in why people hire, but it really made me think about what we can do, as job seekers (interviewers, candidates, etc.) to increase our chance of getting hired.   Lets take these two points and relate them to YOU, as the product, making yourself more appealing. Change Social Appeal to Emotions or feelings. Im hungry, Im bored, sad, lonely, happy, ecstatic, proud, satisfied, hot, cold, etc.   I remember hearing that if we are trying to memorize something, and we can tie emotions into the memorization process, well have a much better chance of memorizing it, because those emotional ties are so strong.   Who hasnt made an emotional purchasing decision (or bought on a whim)? I think the most important thing here is sharing stories.   Stories make your numbers, and your experience, and your skillz come to life.   When I was in marathon interviews (as an interviewer), all of the resumes seemed to look the same, and all the lame answers to my questions were the same.   It was all cliche, and I was dying for something to jump off the page to be different. If you tell me stories, I will be able to get out of my gray boring funk of listening to blah blah blah and hopefully become enthralled by your story. (did I just use a story to illustrate the power of stories??) Later, when I mentally sift through all the interviews, youll probably stick out because of the stories you told.   Others gave facts, with no emotion, but YOU gave stories.   And thank goodness there are mini-stories on your resume, to help me remember you even more. Substance. Ive been wondering how to write about this for a long time.   Many job seekers want that next great gig, but they arent good enough for it.   They dont have the skills, abilities, experience or education they really need to be successful.   For example, I cant be a doctor right now.   I cant apply to be a staff accountant, a chip designer at a semiconductor plant get the point?   I dont have the substance, or quality, to be that right hire. I wonder how many of us are applying for jobs that really are beyond our reach.   Just because we read Good to Great does not mean we can be the next great CEO.   Just because we read Jack (about Jack Welsh) does not mean we are ready to lead a team at GE, or any other company.   Just because we read an article on project management (or take a MBA-level project management class) does not mean we are ready to be a project manager. Do you have substance?   Do you have the professional depth to make you the right candidate?   If not, I can only suggest two things:   Either you are shooting too high, and are not realistic, so you need to manage your expectations better, OR you need to build substance.   Get what you need to have the deep substance that will make you the right hire. What can you do to make yourself more hireable?