Recently in the LinkedIn Group that I founded and manage – LinkedCincinnati – a member posted an interesting Discussion topic that sparked over 175 comments – by far the most active Discussion in our Group since it’s inception in October 2007.
It was a simple request:
Describe what you do in exactly 7 words.
It was interesting to see all of the responses to the question over a few weeks and through them I learned about/became interested in several people I wasn’t familiar with who conveyed their personal or business brand in a concise and meaningful way. Others paid no attention to the 7 word limit and rambled on as they likely would in person (rule-breakers). A few used less that 7 words (show offs/rule-breakers) and at least one person answered the question several times with a different 7 word response each time (confused?).
Whether you’re a seasoned/employed professional, a business owner, a person in career
transition or a recent college grad, it’s important to have a descriptive and succinct response to the inevitable question you’ll encounter when meeting someone for the first time – “What do you do?”.
And while it’s not typically required to limit yourself to 7 words, I think this is a good exercise that I’ve been giving some thought to myself – but it’s not easy, so I’m still working on it.
*
So – can you describe what you do in exactly 7 words?
Give it a shot in the comments and from those who participate, I’ll pick a winner of a $25 Starbucks gift card using Random.org.
And if you win and you’re like me and don’t drink coffee, you can spend your winnings on their lovely selection of bottled water. Which leads me to the perfect 7 word description for myself…
World’s only human who doesn’t drink coffee.
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Hi Jason,
Thanks for taking the time to comment on my recent blog post at Cincy Recruiter's World: Can Your Awesomeness Be Contained To 7 Words!
So far, over 40 people have accepted the challenge and some great examples have been shared. I even added a few of the early submissions as good examples of Personal Branding Statements to a presentation I did for a women's leadership group last week! (http://www.cincyrecruiter.com/cincy_recruiter/2010/02/personal-branding-and-women-leaders.html)
And now for the "winner" of the $25 Starbucks Gift Card as chosen via http://www.random.org (drumroll please)… Tim Sackett! Tim's "Recruit talented professionals so fast you'll freak" is both descriptive and matches Tim's personality – which can be found on display regularly at Fistful of Talent – http://www.fistfuloftalent.com/meet-tim-sackett-covering-talent-and-technical-recruiting-for-fistful-of-talent.html.
I hope you'll continue to check out Cincy Recruiter's World and help me/other readers to get smarter by sharing more of your comments in the future!
Jennifer McClure
Cell: 513-907-6461
Email: cincyrecruiter@gmail.com
Blog: http://www.cincyrecruiter.com
Connect With Me
Thanks for taking the time to comment on my recent blog post at Cincy Recruiter's World: Can Your Awesomeness Be Contained To 7 Words!
So far, over 40 people have accepted the challenge and some great examples have been shared. I even added a few of the early submissions as good examples of Personal Branding Statements to a presentation I did for a women's leadership group last week! (http://www.cincyrecruiter.com/cincy_recruiter/2010/02/personal-branding-and-women-leaders.html)
And now for the "winner" of the $25 Starbucks Gift Card as chosen via http://www.random.org (drumroll please)… Tim Sackett! Tim's "Recruit talented professionals so fast you'll freak" is both descriptive and matches Tim's personality – which can be found on display regularly at Fistful of Talent – http://www.fistfuloftalent.com/meet-tim-sackett-covering-talent-and-technical-recruiting-for-fistful-of-talent.html.
I hope you'll continue to check out Cincy Recruiter's World and help me/other readers to get smarter by sharing more of your comments in the future!
Jennifer McClure
Cell: 513-907-6461
Email: cincyrecruiter@gmail.com
Blog: http://www.cincyrecruiter.com
Connect With Me
Thanks for taking the time to comment on my recent blog post at Cincy Recruiter's World: Can Your Awesomeness Be Contained To 7 Words!
So far, over 40 people have accepted the challenge and some great examples have been shared. I even added a few of the early submissions as good examples of Personal Branding Statements to a presentation I did for a women's leadership group last week! (http://www.cincyrecruiter.com/cincy_recruiter/2010/02/personal-branding-and-women-leaders.html)
And now for the "winner" of the $25 Starbucks Gift Card as chosen via http://www.random.org (drumroll please)… Tim Sackett! Tim's "Recruit talented professionals so fast you'll freak" is both descriptive and matches Tim's personality – which can be found on display regularly at Fistful of Talent – http://www.fistfuloftalent.com/meet-tim-sackett-covering-talent-and-technical-recruiting-for-fistful-of-talent.html.
I hope you'll continue to check out Cincy Recruiter's World and help me/other readers to get smarter by sharing more of your comments in the future!
Jennifer McClure
Cell: 513-907-6461
Email: cincyrecruiter@gmail.com
Blog: http://www.cincyrecruiter.com
Connect With Me
Hi Rob,
Thanks for taking the time to comment on my recent blog post at Cincy Recruiter's World: Can Your Awesomeness Be Contained To 7 Words!
So far, over 40 people have accepted the challenge and some great examples have been shared. I even added a few of the early submissions as good examples of Personal Branding Statements to a presentation I did for a women's leadership group last week! (http://www.cincyrecruiter.com/cincy_recruiter/2010/02/personal-branding-and-women-leaders.html)
And now for the "winner" of the $25 Starbucks Gift Card as chosen via http://www.random.org (drumroll please)… Tim Sackett! Tim's "Recruit talented professionals so fast you'll freak" is both descriptive and matches Tim's personality – which can be found on display regularly at Fistful of Talent – http://www.fistfuloftalent.com/meet-tim-sackett-covering-talent-and-technical-recruiting-for-fistful-of-talent.html.
I hope you'll continue to check out Cincy Recruiter's World and help me/other readers to get smarter by sharing more of your comments in the future!
Jennifer McClure
Cell: 513-907-6461
Email: cincyrecruiter@gmail.com
Blog: http://www.cincyrecruiter.com
Connect With Me
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to comment! There are some really good responses among these, but now it’s time to pick the winner of the $25 Starbucks Gift Card.
Random.org picked number 4 – and the 4th person to comment was Tim Sackett of Fistful of Talent fame: http://www.fistfuloftalent.com/meet-tim-sackett-covering-talent-and-technical-recruiting-for-fistful-of-talent.html
I love Tim’s statement – Recruit talented professionals so fast you’ll freak. Perfect!
Congrats Tim!
is awesomeness even a word?
@Monique – In Cincy Recruiter’s World, awesomeness is indeed a word – and one to be used frequently. Cause it’s awesome!
I make success-enabling risks less scary.