From: Francis Cianfrocca Date: 2006-09-18T22:39:55+09:00 Subject: Re: anti-advocacy advocacy On 9/18/06, William Crawford wrote: > I see your point, but I disagree. You are much more likely to get the > job if you 'sell yourself' in the interview, resume, etc... But if you > simply describe yourself with no attempt at spin, you can and will still > get a job. (I did, several times.) > > As before, there's quite a difference between selling a product and > simply explaining what it is. I suck at selling. > William, I cretainly don't mean to beat this to death, especially since you may be one of the many technologists who, with some justification, take a dim view of "sales" because in a lot of companies the sales department can be the opponent of great technology. Every person is different, and there are many ways of persuading (or selling, or advocating). Think about how you yourself react to sales pitches. With a lot of people, especially technically oriented ones, the *best* way to persuade is to present facts in a clear and unbiased way, and to be honest about shortcomings and about the potential advantages of competitors. I'd suggest that, based on your description, that is the sales technique you have used to get your jobs ;-). If you have a job, then you obviously suck less at selling than you think. There are some people who have the weird ability to sell things they don't necessarily believe in (trial lawyers and Bill Clinton come to mind). But *most* people can be very effective advocates for something they *do* believe in.