I write about sales, leadership & productivity to help you become a top sales performer. RSM at Lonestar Forklift | AIB MBA

I’m Chris Crane, and my mission is simple:

Transforming industrial sales reps & teams into formidable professionals.

Over my 15-year sales career, I’ve closed over $100 million in industrial equipment deals, trained more than 150 reps, and led industrial sales teams across Canada and the U.S.

I built the Scaling Success System™ to give industrial sales teams what no one else offers: a sales operating system specifically engineered for industrial sales.

This system has taught over 150+ industrial sales reps & teams to operate as formidable professionals, and it can do the same for your team.

DM "sales" to learn more.

Chris Crane

I empower millennial & gen X job seekers in tech to interview with confidence

Do you feel frustrated with the current job market?
Do you struggle to communicate in interviews?
Do you get rejected often? 
Do you get ghosted?

It usually takes a handful of interviews to warm up. 
But those handful of interviews are jobs. 
Jobs you might really want. 

For the last 20 years, I’ve been studying interviews. 
First as a candidate, then as a hiring manager. 
I’ve been in hundreds of interviews. 

I interviewed countless candidates and interviewers. 
I worked with interviewers to make hiring decisions. 
I learned what worked and didn’t work. 

And I learned that interviews aren’t about trivia. 
They’re about human connection. 
They’re about story telling. 

Interviewers want to experience working with you. 
Interviewers want to see if you’re like them. 
People want to work with people they like. 

I know what rejection feels like. I’ve been there. 
And I know what it’s like to crave feedback.
I know what it feels like to be ghosted. 

And I know what it feels like to get the offer. 
What it feels like to crush an interview. 

Today, I help people make a lasting impression. 
I help them show, not tell, how they work. 
I coach them on how to tell their story. 

I give them the feedback they crave. 
So they don’t have to warm on when it counts. 

Dozens have worked with me so far. 
And they’ve seen results in as little as 7-8 weeks. 

So what are you waiting for? I’m here to help you.

Jonathan Corrales

"I messaged the CEO of the company to tell him what I can do. He told me to go through the proper channels"

I know a lot of career coaches suggest messaging recruiters and hiring managers to get attention.

But some job seekers take that to mean messaging anyone at a company, including CEOs.

That could work. Anything is possible. But the most likely scenario will be that they want you to apply first.

Employers have a hiring process for a reason. Not everyone one is open to making exceptions.

Someone I know reached out to the CEO of a company to get a faster decision because of her needs.

The CEO encouraged her to use the proper channels first. Message him only after trying that a few times.  He went on to say that it gave him a bad impression of her. Oof.

Don't try to circumvent the process at a company. Apply first. Then reach out.

Also, remember people in the company will talk. If you message a lot of people at a company, they'll talk about it.

They might block your email address/LinkedIn account. Then you'll make zero progress.

--
#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

I empower millennial & gen X job seekers in tech to land and pass interviews with confidence

When you're in school, people are paid to read your writing. Afterwards, people will read it when there's something in it for them.

That's especially true for your cover letter, resume, profiles (CRPs), and direct messages (DMs). You only have a few seconds to capture attention.

So put yourself in your audience's shoes. If you have hundreds of CRPs and DMs, how would you go through them?

Would you read them word for word? Would you skim them? Would you skim the top? Would you reach the bottom? How much time will you spend (hint: less than 10 secs).

Where would you expect certain pieces of information? Contact information? Education for new grads? Education for experienced workers?

If you start to see it that way, you'll start to notice where your CRPs or DMs are missing the mark—or hitting their target.

Borrowing from two disciplines that figured out how to write for busy readers long ago: (copywriting and journalism):
- don't bury the lead, put it first
- 80% of people stop at the headline
- 20% of people stop at the first paragraph
- a clear call to action goes at the end of the piece

Application:
- open with who you are
- follow with your interest
- tell em why you
- tell em why now
- tell em why this job
- use the same lingo your audience uses
- use simple words, short sentences
- use numbers over words

--
👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.
I help people in software ace their job interviews. 

#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

80% of job seekers are struggling to get interviews in today's market.

Here's a checklist to make sure you're not one of them.

Keywords
❌ Common keywords
✅ Keywords from the job req

Bullets
❌ Responsibility focused
✅ Achievement focused

Metrics
❌ Not having them
✅ Having them

Summary
❌ 5+ lines
✅ 1 to 2 lines

Pages
❌ 3+
✅ 1 to 2

Pictures
❌ yours or company logos
✅ none

Links
❌ links to websites
✅ unlinked urls

Portfolio
❌ all your work
✅ 3 key pieces

Phone screens
❌ winging it
✅ study company, competitors, customers

Follow ups
❌ none
✅ once a week until rejection

Networking
❌ pitchslap for referrals
✅ build genuine relationships

Open to work
❌ turn it off
✅ turn it on

--
#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

If you lost your tech job or graduated in December or fear losing your job in Q1, this one is for you.

Everyone in tech is anticipating more layoffs in Q1. Tech companies have now primed us to feel that way. It's stressful. It's frustrating. It's anxiety inducing.

Plus, many job seekers are still looking for work from last year. So you'll face more than enough competition.

It's not your fault. You did everything you were supposed to do. You can and will get a job. It's not matter of if. It's a matter of when.

But there's plenty you can do right now to prepare yourself for your job search.

So, let's get this job search started right. Let's get this job search started quickly.

Primer
- Make a list of target companies
- Tap old coworkers about openings at their place
- Give referrals and references to build social equity

Network
- Get referrals/references, if possible
- Attend meetups in your area
- Join someone's side project

LinkedIn profile - phase 1
- Focus on your banner, headline, and about
- Make sure your skills are up-to-date
- Add a picture

LinkedIn profile - phase 2
- Update your work experience
- Add a blurb about each company
- Add 3 impact statements/accomplishments

Resume
- Update it with the latest and greatest
- Make sure dates are updated
- Make sure it's skimmable

Cover letter
- Who are you?
- Why this company?
- Why you? Why now?

LinkedIn profile - phase 3
- Add featured links for portfolio/project
- Create a custom open to work message
- Set yourself open to work, whichever option

--
👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.
I help people in software ace their job interviews. 
#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

"Getting rejected for everything. Don't know what to do anymore."

When I get this one (or some variation of it), it's usually accompanied by a resume.

But a resume by itself doesn't give me everything I need to know to empower them. I have to see a job description and a resume, together. That's how I'll know if there's an issue.

Recently a frustrated job seeker told me they tried everything and nothing worked. I saw their resume in a vacuum. The resume looked generic to me. Maybe it wasn't.

I'd start with tailoring.

Although, nothing is 100%. Not networking. Not rewriting the resume—not at first. Not sending messages to recruiters and hiring managers. Not even signing an offer: many offers were rescinded since the end of 2022. I'm still seeing it today.

Still, there are many ways of improving the odds that anything you try will work.

It starts with understanding what a company is looking for and positioning yourself as the solution. It works in sales, marketing, and job seeking.


Here's a mini guide for parsing a job description:
- the most important info is at the top of each section
- pay attention to the order of the items each section
- note how many times a term is repeated
- preferences are bonus points

Tailor your resume based on what you find when you parse the job req.


Lastly, order matters.
If you're a fresh grad or a student, go with:
- education
- tech skills
- projects
- work experience

If you have any work experience, go with:
- technical skills
- work experience
- projects
- education

--
👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan.
I help people in software ace their job interviews. 

#techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips

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Chris Crane

Jonathan Corrales

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