You landed an introduction to a hiring decision-maker through a mutual connection. Now the person across the table is being perfectly pleasant—and barely paying attention. There’s no open role; they’re doing someone a favor. This nice conversation is going nowhere, and a job offer is out of reach.
A client of mine sat in exactly that chair. He was in a C-suite search, and a connection had opened the door to a meeting with the CEO of a middle-market company. With no posting and no mandate, my client could tell right away that the CEO’s attention was somewhere else.
So he took control of the situation. “Why don’t I take a moment to share my background,” he said, “and then I’d welcome your take on where I might be able to help your organization—now or down the road.” Then he delivered a powerful, well-rehearsed 90-second pitch.
As he was delivering the pitch, he noticed the CEO start to lean forward and make eye contact. For the first time, she was listening intently. When my client finished, she said, “Wow, you’re the real deal,” and started asking him questions. The courtesy meeting transformed into an interview for a role he didn’t know existed—which led to more interviews and ultimately an offer.
That shift wasn’t luck, and it wasn’t charisma. It was careful planning, including a well-honed pitch that led with a value proposition. Bring this approach into your own job search, and turn disinterest into an offer, by incorporating these five tactics.
1. Lead with a value proposition, not a career history
Most senior candidates answer, “Tell me about yourself/your experience/your background” with a forgettable chronology or list of experiences. What earns attention is a crisp statement of the problem you solve better than the people you’re competing against. For example, one CFO client started her pitch with: “I’ve been effective in capital raising because I speak the language of investors; I can take their perspective.” Then back it up with examples and deliver this pitch in a resonant, conversational way.
Evaluate your pitch by asking yourself: Can the listener explain to a colleague what my value proposition is or why I would be better than the competition? If not, your pitch needs more work. If done right, it will instantly elevate interest and improve your odds of getting a job offer. Then repurpose your pitch across all your job search marketing channels, including your résumé, LinkedIn profile, emails, cover letters, networking, meetings, and interviews.
2. Ask questions that give you an opening
Your questions are crucial in turning disinterest into interest. You can’t make a case for yourself if you don’t know what the hiring decision-maker actually needs.
A good question surfaces what they’re trying to achieve and where the gaps are. A great question does this and creates a natural opening for you to say, “That’s the kind of problem I’ve solved and can help you with.” Think about which questions could set up this response.
Also ask a question in an interview that can feel uncomfortable: “Just so I’m clear about what you’re looking for, I’m curious about how I compare with the other candidates you’re considering.” Surfacing issues with your candidacy gives you an opening to address their concerns before it’s too late. Many job seekers have turned a “no” into a “yes” by addressing objections surfaced this way.
3. Use Success Stories to answer their questions
In mock interviewing a client, I asked her a typical interview question: “What’s your greatest strength?” She told me her greatest strength was the ability to influence at the C-level and win buy-in on strategic initiatives.
Perfectly fine answer. And, forgettable—interchangeable with every other finalist’s answer.
I asked her to add these words to the end: “Let me give you an example,” and then share a resonant, two-minute problem–action–result story that showed the strength in action.
Storytelling is the single most important thing you can do in an interview to stand out from other candidates and land a job offer. As humans, we’re wired to remember imagery in stories—it’s why we remember great books or movies. Bring that imagery into your meetings via concise, resonant, well-rehearsed storytelling.
4. Speak their language, not yours
Use the words they use, especially when changing industries or roles. You must translate your relevant experience into the words they want to hear.
A senior VP of data science sought to move from financial services into higher education; she kept getting polite passes. Her accomplishments were strong, but her vocabulary wasn’t resonating. “Led a doubling of credit card balances” meant nothing to a university leadership team. Reframed as “doubled marketing’s ROI,” the same achievement suddenly landed.
Do this in the small ways too. If you built “leadership development” programs and the organization you want to work for calls it “talent development,” then call what you did talent development. You’re not changing anything meaningful about your experience. You’re just removing the translation step you’d otherwise be asking a busy person to perform on your behalf.
5. Connect your experience to their needs
Don’t assume the relevance of your experience is obvious. Spell it out, in writing or out loud. That same senior VP client moving from financial services to higher education learned to frame her stories: “I’m sharing this because it’s the same approach I’d use to identify likely donors for your capital campaign.” Adding this one sentence turned her financial services background into a higher-education asset. Use words like “you” and “your” in your pitch, your stories, and your follow-up emails. Connect the dots for them.
