What NOT to Say In this Job Market--Attention All Job Seekers

This morning, like every morning since our economy has been challenged, I come to my office, diligently retrieve my phone messages and receive a version one like this:

Caller: "Good Morning, Vicki. I was calling to speak with you because I WAS an executive in the heavy duty/commercial truck industry and now I'm out of work and need a new job". Here's my number...".

Every morning I receive 10 or more versions of this call. And I'm glad to help especially for those people referred to me. However, I wonder why everyone who calls is being LITERAL. Meaning, what kind of results are they getting with this type of "I am unemployed" call? And who told them this was the best approach? What happens to the amount of callbacks they receive if they make a minor change in their approach? Such as:

Caller: "Good Morning, Vicki. As an executive in the Heavy Duty/Commercial Truck industry I was calling to tell you a bit about what I've been hearing in the industry and how the economy is affecting that industry since I know you work with many of my business associates. I would like to introduce myself to you as well. Let's connect soon and here's my number".

As a retained search firm and the founder of www.nextjob101.com, my website committed to helping anyone interview better...we are constantly on the pulse of what's going on in the job market. And this approach is considered normal by all levels of candidates. I will always call the creative person back first. I know he is most likely also looking for a new situation but I respect the fact that this person crafted something that makes him stand out and offers me something more than a desperate call for help.

Candidates, employed and unemployed could learn so much from preparing and really thinking about their approach, responses to basic interview questions and even more importantly crafting genuine answers to tough interview questions...for all the stages. NextJob101 is intended to help them do that. They should also measure the amount of responses are they receiving and the types of responses. This will help them make a better approach.

Please take the time to prepare what you say to prospective recruiters and employers and don't say you're unemployed in the first sentence. Offer something positive, be different, be thoughtful and be the change we need to see in this market. So even if this post helps one person stand out amongst the "sea of the unemployed"...it will be a little bright spot in this most challenging of economies.