Most businesses review their progress on a yearly basis and publish or print an annual report – the status of the business – for the past year. They also go through a formal planning process and create formal plans for the future. You need to treat your career as a business: with annual reviews and formal planning. Once a year you can evaluate your career progress using the following criteria. Evaluate each area on a scale of 1 (awful) to 5 (fantastic). Assess the weak spots (scored 3 or less) in your career and plan a course of action for growth management and improvement and where you need to develop action plans to improve your career and its future potential.
_____ MY INDUSTRY: Is this a growth industry or is it a shrinking industry? Do some homework on the company, competitors and industry. Know where your company ranks in the marketplace. Also, is this an industry you want to be in?
_____ MY COMPANY: Is this a company doing well and is it a stable long-term player? Is this a company going through some challenging times and you are learning something new every day at work? It is important to feel good about the company you work for – you should feel proud to say you work for them – whether it is a stable environment or a challenging one is OK as long as you are learning and feeling good about working there. Is the company liable to be acquired or split up in the short-term? Do you hear and read good things about the company?
_____ MY CURRENT POSITION: Is it challenging and forcing you to develop new skills? Do you get to step out of my comfort zone? Is your boss someone you can learn from? Could s/he be a mentor? Will this position help you r career marketability?
_____ JOB ENJOYMENT: Is it fun to come to work every day? Do you really enjoy the work you are doing? Do you dread the beginning of each day and/or week?
_____ GROWTH POTENTIAL: Specifically what position do you think you can be promoted to, in how many months, etc? Where are you going and do you want to go there? What is the record of accomplishment of the previous people in your position? Does that meet your own growth expectations?
_____ CHEMISTRY: Do you really enjoy this environment? Do you ‘fit’ in well with the group of, people you work with? Do you have a mentor who is assisting you with your career (can be inside or outside your company)? What is the Method of Operation (MO) of Senior Management? Do you agree with their MO?
_____ GEOGRAPHIC IMPACT: As you predict your growth with your company, what will be the relocation requirements for you and your family in the future? Does this fit with your career plans and your family plans? (It is helpful to be flexible to relocate; especially early in your career) In today’s global environment, career growth may depend on relocation for a period of time.
_____ SPOUSE’S CAREER: Does your career and your spouse’s complement each other, or will one of you have to make a sacrifice for the other? If considering relocation, can my spouse find a comparable position?
_____ COMPENSATION: Will your compensation growth enable you to enjoy the lifestyle you are looking for? Will you be losing ground in the future? (This should be a lower priority, especially earlier in your career)

Your career is your “business”. Manage your business well, provide proper growth management and make improvements when necessary. Review your progress at least annually and plan for the future – your future.

Sounds simple doesn’t it? Well, let me give you two real examples of what doesn’t make your company look good to potential candidates:

1. An approved recruiting vendor for your company (a large manufacturing firm) has a contract person in place while trying to fill an international tax position. The approved vendor doesn’t want to work on it (making more money with the contract person in place) so they share it with another recruiting firm to work on it with the stipulation that the 2nd recruiting firm (2nd firm) will present all resumes to the approved vendor (1st firm) for presentation to the client. The second firm which is known for their medical recruiting, knows nothing about your company or the position, but has the job description, so they share the description with a third recruiting firm known for accounting, financial and tax recruiting. The third firm cannot get any information regarding the company, the department or the people in the department as the 2nd firm doesn’t want the 1st firm to know that they also “farmed” the search out to another recruiting firm. Who is representing your company to the marketplace and what are they communicating in this example? Better yet, will your position ever get filled?

2. Your company is in need of a ______ (fill in the blank) so you ask five (5) recruiters to find someone to fill the position. The position is important and very specialized and the demand for this type of person is high in the market. Plus you need them quickly – thus the 5 recruiters. Your parameters are so specific that there are only about a hundred people in the country that can fill your position and these 100 people get contacted by all of the recruiters you asked to help you. The prospects get email blasts, telephone calls, ads in their LinkedIn Groups everyday regarding your position from 5 different recruiters. The job description is posted everywhere by 5 different recruiters. You have looked at several resumes that are not even close to being qualified for the position, interviewed some close potentials and even made an offer, but that fell through because the recruiter failed to tell you (or didn’t know) that the candidate could not relocate. Six months go by and you still have not hired anyone. How does your company look in the eyes of the potential candidates for this position? Will your position be filled with the best candidate or one that is just good enough? How does this look for future open positions?

This sounds pretty harsh doesn’t it? These things really go on – I know from personal experience. As a company you are responsible for who represents you and how you are represented. Don’t screw up your reputation by using the wrong recruiters. Don’t let your in-house recruiters hurt your reputation by posting the job description all over the internet. Have some class – look like a winner – be particular – be special.

Pay attention to which recruiters you use – meet them first and be sure they are going to do what they promise they will do and that they can accomplish what they promise. Ask for a weekly up-date on how many people they contacted and an overview of what the responses were. These may help you re-define your parameters when and if necessary. You will also know the recruiter is actually doing their job.

Recruiter fees should never be a consideration – in the first example above the 1st firm quoted 20% on a position with a salary of $140,000, but the recruiting firm didn’t care because they had no intention of working on the search as they made more money on the contract person in place. What does it matter what fee they quoted – they never planned to do anything.

What does matter is who is going to get the job done. Use one recruiter that will get the job done. Paying a recruiter 1/3 of the annual salary is far cheaper than having the position go unfilled for over six months or if the approved vendor makes sure that no qualified resumes get to the company and the position is never filled.

Reblogged from Cora Mae Lengeman:

The last time we got together I asked him: “What three questions can I answer for you that will most help you in gaining the knowledge you need to take your practice to the next level or higher”.

Here are his three questions:
1. How do you go about prospecting for candidates?
2. What is your best approach to contact candidates and start the foundation for a strong relationship?
3. How can I map out my practice to candidates I’ve never met to show them I am different from other recruiters?

These would not be my three questions, but to him they seemed very important. I found it interesting that all his questions were concerning relationships with candidates. My initial reaction to his questions was one of surprise, as I see candidates as just one of the core parts of any recruiting business and would have asked about engaging potential clients also.

My answer to each question:

How do you go about prospecting for candidates?
1. I pick up the telephone and start talking to people. I start with my contacts in that field and move closer to the actual people who have the qualifications necessary.
What is your best approach to contact candidates and start the foundation for a strong relationship?
1. Every person you talk with or meet as a potential candidate is a potential client. Everyone. Maybe not today, but at some time in the future. You treat every person you talk with or meet as if they are going to be your client. You find out as much as you can about them as a candidate to see if they are a fit for your current client, always remembering that they could be a client in the future. I try to never burn bridges. If I am referred to someone who is not a fit for my search assignment – or someone who is – I circle back to the referer, thank them and let them know my thoughts regarding the fit with my current client. I always keep the person I am talking to in the front of my mind because talking to them is the most important action I am doing at that time. I also write short handwritten thank you notes to everyone that has referred someone to me, whether they worked out for any client or not.
2. The reverse of this is that every potential client you talk with could be a potential candidate some day. So all of the above would hold true when approaching potential clients.
How can I map out my practice to candidates I’ve never met to show them I am different from other recruiters?
1. Truly, this question blows my mind. If you have to take time to explain that you or your firm is different from the 100+ others firms/recruiters that called that day you have already lost. You show that you are different by being different – consistently. By asking intelligent, business related questions, by not asking “recruiter” questions. By asking questions about their goals, their plans, their desires, their life plans. By being courteous. By showing an interest in them instead of showing an interest in you. I let people I talk with know that I am interested in them and what interests them. I am an afterthought; they are the main reason I am talking with them and I let them know the conversation is about them, not me. If they have questions about me and my practice I answer them, but I keep the conversation revolving around them.

They use all the hiring strategies available, formal and informal, to increase their chances for hiring the best workers, while reducing the risk of committing to inferior workers. They use the hiring process itself to begin the integration process. And when they bring the best workers on board, they listen and respond to their needs and offer them opportunities to share in the growth and success of the business.

Smart employers realize that employees are their most valuable asset – human capital that will sustain businesses for years to come. The key to hiring and keeping the best workers is to begin with an honest assessment of the situation: the business environment, your company’s place in it, and the real needs of your company, now and in the future. A thorough assessment will help ensure an effective search.

With all that in mind, keep these ten things in mind during the hiring process:

1. Begin with an honest assessment of the company’s real needs – now and in the future.

2. Use the actual process of writing a job description that is not just a grocery list – really clarify the talent your company needs.

3. Use all appropriate channels to find the best candidates. Don’t forget to ask those already working in your company – especially if they are doing well.

4. Carefully match company criteria with the candidate’s characteristics. Make sure the candidates have a high level of skills, high personal standards and are compatible with the company culture.

5. It’s generally better to promote from within the company. The benefits of gaining loyalty and boosting morale are significant, while the disadvantages can be managed.

6. Watch how candidates present themselves. Resumes should be neat and well-organized and candidates should communicate well during the interview.

7. For a company seeking new employees, the short-term technical requirements and the longer-term leadership/managerial skills called for, determine the best candidate for a given position.

8. An employee who communicates well in other languages and cultures is a vital asset, a global ambassador for any global company.

9. Pay attention to Equal Employment opportunity laws. Ask candidates only appropriate questions and do not discriminate illegally.

10. Some positions can benefit from permanently hiring an effective temporary. Make sure you cooperate with the agency’s hiring policy or the company’s relationship with the agency could be damaged.

Many companies are being extra careful in hiring new direct staff. The emphasis is on quality. But that also means competition for the best people will get increasingly stiff. Companies that take too long in their hiring process will be left without the best employees.

Just my random thoughts.

Enticement

First decide how to attract the right person. Where do we look? Do we use ads on our website, on the internet, or word of mouth? Host a career day? Offer a bounty to fellow staffers? Word of mouth to our bankers, auditors and attorneys? Use an outside head hunter/recruiter? Are we using our network within our company? Do other departments receive resumes that are not of interest to them but might not be shared with us? We want to make sure that the story is the same wherever it is told. Each and every ad writer, recruiter, employee, banker, etc. should know how we want ourselves positioned in the employment marketplace and should tell a consistent story about our company, our department, the position, the future opportunities, etc. The same story should be told each and every time. We want to be in control of what our reputation or brand is in the employment marketplace.

Mutual Attraction

They share their resume with us and we see something of interest. Often the resume can make or break the relationship before it gets started. We need to look for more than just the grocery list of qualifications. How are their writing skills? Are they able to articulate their accomplishments? (Remember, the best “story” they’ll ever write is their own) also check out their presentation skills – how does their resume physically look? Now, what do we do when there is a mutual attraction?

Dating

We meet – often more than once! We put on our best show to get them to like us and (hopefully) they are doing the same. We have our best interview people in the dating game. The best interviewers are those who can tell our story with enthusiasm and show the success of others in our organization. They are our cheerleaders and can sell the great opportunity of coming to work with us. They can make the candidate think, “Yes, hire me, and hire me now!” Our interviewers must be enthused when they meet our candidates – no one wants to date a “sour puss”.

We are prepared for every meeting with our candidates. We want to show our desire for them to come here and work. Is the interview area (your desk or conference room) clean, tidy and comfortable? Are there enough chairs in the room ahead of time so we are not fumbling at the last-minute (worse; in front of the candidate – making it appear as if we were not expecting them or that something else is more important than they are)? Do we have a copy of their resume handy and have we reviewed it ahead of time? Do we have questions ready – that are not duplicated by everyone else on the interview team? Are we all telling the same story about our potential future together? Do we have information material ready to give the candidate to take with them after the meeting? This should include a short description of benefits, some kind of brochure describing our products – new and upcoming – and additional information about our company, people, locations and products offered around the world.

Meeting the Parents

We check them out. We like what we see and hear but are they for real? In dating we introduce them to our friends, family and co-workers and get (even if we don’t want them) comments and opinions. As we spend more time with them we learn more about their personality, their likes and dislikes. We can’t always do that in the interview process so we check their references. We talk to people they suggest we talk to and we talk to people we know who may know them (casual references) and can share insight into their strengths and weaknesses. Casual references are often the best references because they are from someone we already trust and are usually more candid. We want to reach the conclusion that “we want to share our life with you”.

We meet their parents and they should be meeting ours. They should also be checking us out. Talking with people in our company that they know – talking with people who used to work at our company that they know. Asking more questions – asking questions is a way of saying ‘I am interested, but need more in formation’. They should be checking our website, reading our information material and getting very comfortable with us as a match. They need to reach the conclusion that “till death do us part”.

Marriage Proposal

If we like everything we now know about the candidate we extend an offer of employment. How we handle this is as important as how we handle the interview process. This part of the process needs to be orchestrated. Think of your own marriage proposal. The setting has to be right. The candidate has to be ready for the offer. If we extend it too soon it could scare them off – if we wait too long we could lose them. If we are using an outside recruiter they should be able to tell us when and who should make the offer. Sometimes it is best for the recruiter to extend the offer. Sometimes it is best for the hiring manager to extend the offer.

An offer of employment should be something the candidate will be excited about. Never try to undervalue or low-ball the compensation package to the candidate. It leaves a bad taste that can not always be fixed and usually will end up costing much more than we planned.

Honeymoon

We’re now together. For a few weeks (honeymoon period) everyone is excited at the newness of our “marriage”. How do we keep that sense of excitement in our new person? Do we have an orientation program? Not just the company plan but our own department or section plan? Is someone assigned to buddy with the new person for the first few days to acclimate them to our routine? Is there someone to give them a tour of our building, our floor, our parking area? Have we planned for someone to have lunch with them for the first few days to check on how they are adjusting to our world and family? The first few days and weeks are crucial for setting the foundation of our “marriage”. This is also the best time to ask for referrals. For other possible new employees.

The Honeymoon Is over

The honeymoon is over and now we’re doing the day-to-day work. The newness has worn off. Now how do we keep them challenged and motivated? Send flowers/candy on their anniversary? Is a raise every year enough? What do we offer for career development for our high potential people? What do we offer our “steady eddies”? They also need career development. Have we talked with them regarding their goals? Their goals may have changed since joining us and learning about all our opportunities – have we checked with them about any changes in their career goals? Do we offer a mentoring program for the first couple of years? What kind of outside networking and/or development opportunities do we participate in? What kind of communication vehicle does our company use to keep everyone in the loop regarding new products, open positions, staff changes, etc? Is it company wide or just department wide?

The End

Even though we make fun of the enticement, attraction, dating, meeting the parents, the marriage proposal and the honeymoon period, the hiring process is more important now than ever. The company that plays the Dating Game best will win the best candidates – the best employees. And live happily ever after; or should we say they will have the best people in place to make their future growth a reality.

If you take the extra time now, before you begin the search, to do a thorough assessment, it will help orchestrate an effective search process. It may even point you in the right direction to find the candidate quickly. The following thoughts are to assist you in formulating the desired candidate profile.

BUSINESS CLIMATE AND EXTERNAL CONDITIONS

What is the business climate now? Is the job market picking up? Is your area starting to boom a bit, with new construction all around? Are residential subdivisions being built to support industrial growth? Alternatively, are there several empty facilities? Are people moving out of the area? Are there half- finished residential developments? How about the retail climate? New restaurants and store openings within a short distance; or are they closing up shop and taking loses? Take a drive around the community (if in a smaller community), talk with people who know what is going on (real estate brokers, township and city managers, local newspaper reporters) and see what the climate is for business in your specific area.

Are other companies looking to hire at all levels? Are companies continuing to downsize? Is there a shortage of quality candidates? Where are the candidates that are being hired coming from? Are local people looking for positions? Why? What kind of resumes are you receiving? Are you receiving un-solicited resumes every week of candidates that are unemployed?

The answers to these questions will tell you the difficulty you may have in finding the desired candidate or attracting a candidate to relocate for your position.

INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL CONSIDERATIONS

What is going on in your company? Are you steadily growing or maintaining at the same level of revenue? Are you a leader in your industry? Have you been in second place and about to make a push for number one? Do you have new and innovative products and services that are about to go on the market? Will you benefit from taking someone from one of your competitors?

Are you looking to build overseas? Which countries? Will you need foreign language skills? Will you need experience living and working in a foreign country? Are you currently a private company considering going public in the future? Would it be a plus to hire someone now with some SEC accounting experience? How about a candidate that has taken a company through a public offering? Do you need experience from a larger company; because you are growing at a fast pace? Are you positioning the company for a merger or sale; and do you need someone to see you through that process?

Do you need someone with firsthand experience with a specific software package that is not widely used? What are the special needs or problems within the company that this new position will be fixing – or could fix? What projects need to be done? Do you need someone to integrate the systems of the companies you are buying or have bought? Do you need a troubleshooter that can go to a problem and fix it before it becomes a disaster? Even more direct, do you need someone who can tell there is a problem before it becomes a problem?

What role will the new person take? Are you ready to allow someone else to take over the position’s responsibilities? Do you want a business advisor or someone to just do their work and keep quiet? Are the entire senior management team (or family members) in full agreement and ready to accept the ‘outside’ person as part of the decision-making team? Does everyone believe this is a necessary position? Has everyone agreed on the authority, responsibilities and level of involvement for the position? Is this a temporary position until a family member (or another person) can grow into the slot? Are you ready to offer a compensation package necessary to interest outside candidates to consider your position and company?

MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISORY SKILLS

Do you need someone who had a staff of 50+ and mostly managed the department; or do you need someone who had a much smaller staff and was hands on. Is your support staff at the clerical level or professional level or a mixture of both – so you are dealing with many personality and career levels? Do you need someone who is comfortable in a factory setting? Will they need to travel to your other facilities and interface with the personnel there? Will they have a working relationship with you facility management?

Do you want and need a superstar? Do you need a candidate that wants to move up quickly and needs to be constantly challenged? Do you need an “octopus” that can juggle several projects at the same time with ease? Are you ready to give the new hire the authority to go with the responsibility? Are you looking for someone who will share opinions and comments about the workflow? Do you want a “yes” woman/man? Are you looking for someone to just sit at their desk and crank out work papers? Are you looking for you replacement? Do you know where the most likely next career move would be in your company?

Do you need someone who can communicate – with senior management, peers, and staff? Do you need someone who is comfortable giving presentations to others – whether a group of over 200 or their immediate staff? Do they need to be able to present to the Board of Directors or outside analysts? Consider these issues as you interview a candidate.

COMPANY CULTURE

What is your company culture? Are you formal in your business structure? Do you shoot from the hip and make decisions on the fly or do you submit proposals and make several presentations to address an issue? Is the work style of your company fast paced with long hours and lots of weekends? Do you work pretty much a forty hour week with an occasional Saturday morning? Do you have a true open door policy or does everything follow a set chain-of-command? Do you have informal meeting around the coffee station or preset daily, weekly staff meetings with graphs, slides and presentation?

Is your dress code business attire, business casual or casual? Do you socialize with your co-workers or are most friendships outside of the workplace? Is your firm civic-minded – do you participate in food drives, blood drives and clothes drives? Is it fun to work at your company?

Company culture and department culture are very important factors to consider for your candidate profile.

TECHNICAL EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE

What exactly will they be responsible for day-to-day? Do they need some hands on experience with certain tasks/duties that are specific to your industry? What about college degrees? Do you need for them to have an MBA and/or be a CPA? Will they need foreign language skills? Special training in specific areas such as crisis management, turn around and restructuring skills, valuation experience, due diligence, acquisition and divestiture strategy or IPO experience? Do you need a candidate that has both public accounting and industry experience? Will they need excellent (write code) or very good computer skills? Do you need someone who has supervised a system conversion? Think about your background, would that work for this position or do you need different skills to complement your skill set? Think about what you want this position to accomplish.

WRAP UP

Remember that no two companies are alike and no two positions are the same – even when they have the same title. Each company has specific needs that are dictated by the confines of their location, their culture, their industry, their future plans, the internal skill set already in place and the senior management team. When you tailor your candidate profiles for the specific needs of your company and you make an effort to set this groundwork before you begin to hire, you increase the success of finding the perfect and best candidate that will have a positive impact on your company’s future.

This is the process and questions I use each time I conduct a search for candidates for my clients. We discuss the external and internal factors, the management style and lastly the technical skills. Every company is different and has different needs so there is not a single profile that fits every situation. It depends on the company, industry, the “wounds” within the company and the future plans of the company – acquisitions, divestitures, sale, IPO, turn around situation, and the list goes on. No two company profiles should be close; similarities maybe, but very different profiles for each company and each search.

_____ MY INDUSTRY: Is this a growth industry or is it a shrinking industry? Do some homework on the company, competitors and industry. Know where your company ranks in the marketplace. Also, is this an industry you want to be in?
_____ MY COMPANY: Is this a company doing well and is it a stable long-term player? Is this a company going through some challenging times and you are learning something new every day at work? It is important to feel good about the company you work for – you should feel proud to say you work for them – whether it is a stable environment or a challenging one is OK as long as you are learning and feeling good about working there. Is the company liable to be acquired or split up in the short-term? Do you hear and read good things about the company?
_____ MY CURRENT POSITION: Is it challenging and forcing you to develop new skills? Do you get to step out of my comfort zone? Is your boss someone you can learn from? Could s/he be a mentor? Will this position help you r career marketability?
_____ JOB ENJOYMENT: Is it fun to come to work every day? Do you really enjoy the work you are doing? Do you dread the beginning of each day and/or week?
_____ GROWTH POTENTIAL: Specifically what position do you think you can be promoted to, in how many months, etc? Where are you going and do you want to go there? What is the record of accomplishment of the previous people in your position? Does that meet your own growth expectations?
_____ CHEMISTRY: Do you really enjoy this environment? Do you ‘fit’ in well with the group of, people you work with? Do you have a mentor who is assisting you with your career (can be inside or outside your company)? What is the Method of Operation (MO) of Senior Management? Do you agree with their MO?
_____ GEOGRAPHIC IMPACT: As you predict your growth with your company, what will be the relocation requirements for you and your family in the future? Does this fit with your career plans and your family plans? (It is helpful to be flexible to relocate; especially early in your career) In today’s global environment, career growth may depend on relocation for a period of time.
_____ SPOUSE’S CAREER: Does your career and your spouse’s complement each other, or will one of you have to make a sacrifice for the other? If considering relocation, can my spouse find a comparable position?
_____ COMPENSATION: Will your compensation growth enable you to enjoy the lifestyle you are looking for? Will you be losing ground in the future? (This should be a lower priority, especially earlier in your career)

Your career is your “business”. Manage your business well, provide proper growth management and make improvements when necessary. Review your progress at least annually and plan for the future – your future.

“Yes, it is a great opportunity with a lot of growth potential.”

Would you believe the words or the vocal message sent by that voice?

In contrast, the same words spoken in a vibrant, clear, enthusiastic manner will be enhanced by the sound of your voice. The sound of the voice – the music behind the words – frequently conveys the meaning. Our voices provide additional meaning to the words we speak. We add a vocal message to the verbal message.

There are five vocal aspects which accompany the verbal message and affect how the words you say with your voice are perceived. These are:
1. Pitch
2. Rate
3. Volume (or Intensity)
4. Quality
5. Enunciation.

Together they affect your voice and your verbal message.

1. Pitch is the highness or lowness of the sound of the voice. People tend to respond favorably to relaxed, controlled, well-pitched (neither too high nor too low) voices. Tension and stress affects your pitch – the more stress and tension the higher your voice. So relax! But don’t stay at one pitch – monotone is boring – let your voice rise and fall in varied patterns of pitch like it does in normal conversation; when you show some excitement or happiness and even concern. If you are reading from a script often your voice will flatten out and become monotonous in pitch. The secret for improvement is to make reading sound like conversation – create the music behind the words!

2. Rate is the speed and timing in which the words and sounds are spoken. Each person has a normal rate of speaking which is adjusted to various situations. Some people think and speak slowly. Others use a rapid overall rate. It is important that the timing of spoken words are consistent with the message delivered and with the listeners for whom the message is designed. Remember, words are not encoded one by one; but spoken in phrases – groups of sounds – separated by pauses of different lengths. Some phrases spill out rapidly, others move crisply. Some sounds are drawn out and the whole group of sounds is delivered slowly. This variety is easy to listen to and variation in rate and timing helps you express meaning. You do this naturally and beautifully in ordinary conversation. You can carry this over to recruiting with some practice.

3. Volume or intensity is the loudness and softness with which words are spoken. It is annoying to be unable to hear a speaker through the telephone or across a table. An effective voice should be as loud as the occasion demands. Not all phrases are delivered with the same intensity because they would tend to sound the same. Some words or ideas are spoken with greater force or intensity; some with less. This contrast keeps the listener’s attention. Variety in volume is very desirable in recruiting. Dropping to a quieter tone, building to an intense climax, or emphasizing important ideas (by saying them louder or pausing before or after them) creates listener interest.

4. Quality is those characteristics of a voice which make it unique to the individual. Can you answer a telephone and identify a client or candidate by voice alone? Can you even identify the mood of the person by the sound of the voice? The same is true for you. Your physical condition, your vocal mechanism, your feelings and emotions and the way your voice resonates give you a unique vocal quality. If you are careful to use your resonators (throat, nose, and mouth) openly and let your tones be relaxed and pleasing, your voice will add positive dividends to your marketing and recruiting calls.

5. Enunciation is the clarity which the sounds are produced – how clearly you pronounce or articulate the words. Pronunciation is the acceptable sound of the words and Articulation is using the intricate adjustments of organs in the mouth that changes the voice sounds into intelligible sounds. The primary organs used are: lips, tongue, jaw, teeth, hard palate (hard roof of the mouth) and soft palate (soft, back roof of the mouth). When vocal sounds are slurred or faulty it is difficult to understand the message. Consonants that supply crispness and punch are lost. Vowels that add richness and melody are distorted.

Try listening to your voice recorded. Do you like the way you sound? Does the resonance seem balanced and rich? Or does it sound thin and flat? With practice you can improve your voice quality and become a great speaker.