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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 1-Page Job Proposal?

The 1-Page Job Proposal is a document that in 1-page:

a) succinctly expresses all the facts, reasoning and conditions surrounding an idea you are able to perform for your targeted employer,
b) persuades by its language that you have the necessary experience and desire to execute your idea, and
c) proposes a specific course of action he or she can take with you.

Its objective is to encourage a specific person, whose time is precious, to hire you or take a course of action, while expressing your initiative. Each paragraph of the 1-Page Job Proposal serves to support and promote the desired decision and course of action to accomplish your aim.

The resume is dead!

The premise is: In the new millennium (The Digital Revolution), a resume is not enough anymore. Resumes lack connection. Electronic resumes are flooding employers because one person of no distinction can send out a resume to 5,000 companies tying up substantial resources and slowing the process of finding the right candidate. You have to deliver your message in a form that presents your individual proposition for working for the targeted company and presents your credentials in 1-Page. Resumes are being drowned-out by a hiring climate flooded by tons of meaningless resumes distributed to faceless companies through the Internet, thus creating a need for a new tool to get a job.

Reaching the movers and shakers with a resume to get a job fails because it lacks connection, engagement, commitment to an employer's interests and appreciation for the circumstances and market factors in his or her world.

Why should I use the 1-Page Job Proposal Toollication?

Simply it is a matter of time.

Too many resumes are being submitted, employers can't read them all, much less figure out from it how an individual is going to fill a specific need in their company with confidence.

Men and women of power are instinctive businesspeople, relying on their impressions, feelings, knowledge, and extensive experience to guide their decisions. They also know that surrounding themselves with good people is a key factor in their own success and that is where you and you 1-Page Job Proposal come in.

It says a lot about you.

Don Straits, CEO of Corporate Warriors and a recognized authority on job search strategies, identified the following ten traits that all employers look for in two of his writings, "Focus on the Needs of the Decision Maker" and "Burn your resume":

• Ability to do the Job
• Initiative
• Job Growth (going beyond "the job description")
• Self-Confidence
• Leadership
• Compatibility
• Attitude
• Social Skills/Interests/Involvement
• Integrity
• Communication Skills

By giving your target employer a well thought-out 1-Page Job Proposal, you are not only persuading, but immediately demonstrating six of the 10, namely: Initiative, Job Growth, Self-Confidence, Leadership, Attitude and Communication Skills. To your perspective employer it shows YOUR Ability, Compatibility, Social Skills and Integrity.

How do I use the 1-Page Job Proposal to get noticed?

Decisions in this environment tend to come quickly; few decision-makers have time to mull things over for a long time. They hire people for specific tasks. They use "the law of the easier decision": No matter how qualified a person may be, resumes unattached to a goal fall to the bottom of the pile. Worldwide competition for jobs has mushroomed incredibly in the last 20 years. Getting the smartest, most capable people on Earth to drive enterprising initiatives is a challenge all leaders face. Armed with a 1-Page Proposal, you are showing both initiative and smarts. People and companies with superior communications tools like the 1-Page Job Proposal are cutting through the glut and getting hired.

Why won't one and a half work?

The first rule is absolute: The final result must be exactly one page and no more than that. Some might ask, "Why not 1.5 pages? Why not two?" A two-page proposal is still pretty short, and it offers a little more flexibility and writing room. Besides, what are we talking about-a few minutes of reading time?" Unfortunately, it should be one-page or nothing. Once the proposal extends past the first page, the battle is lost. Chances are, if it's more than one page, even the first page will not be read. All the elegance and confidence that comes from having all the salient points of a proposal in one page are lost when the format is violated. Why disqualify yourself before you've even had a chance?

What's wrong with the resume?

It is not working anymore to get you in past the thousands of others being sent.

• Resumes lack connection.
• Resumes had become extraneous bits of information in a world drowning in bits of information.
• Resumes had increasing lost value as a tool for getting a job in the new "crowded" economy.
• Resumes contained no new ideas for success for the enterprise in question!
• Resumes lack engagement and commitment to an employer's' interests, an appreciation for the circumstances and market factors in their world, and the appreciation of their time.

When do I use the 1-Page Job Proposal?

Inertia is the most powerful force in the universe. Things stay just as they are unless and until something; brute force, reason, fear, enlightened self-interest, the survival instinct-effects movement.

If it is your First Job:
If you are a new graduate or just entering the workforce: The 1-Page Job Proposal helps you properly structure and prove a case to show you are more capable than others that might have more experience.

When no one responds to your resume or you are hearing No's: The 1-Page approach guarantees you are ALWAYS on target by demonstrating the real value that you provide...and real value gets real interviews.

If you are over 50:
1-Page Job Proposal helps you structure just the right balance of fresh thinking, proven value and experience to get you in the door.

How will the 1-Page Job Proposal improve my odds of success?

Our brand promise at The One-Page Company is "Ideas Simply Delivered". And at the heart of your getting a job is YOUR GOOD IDEA simply delivered by you to a real person in a real company who would benefit from that idea. One person armed with personal power and a good idea on a 1-Page Job Proposal will succeed over thousands of resumes that lack connection.

A couple of years ago, I got a call from a marvelous woman in a big midwestern city in the United States. When she called me, she said:
"Mr. Riley I read your book in a library. I need your help. I am jobless. In fact if the truth be told, I am homeless. I sleep around with friends but occasionally I am forced to sleep on the streets. The idea I want your help with occurred to me last night when I was forced to sleep in the alcove of an ATM machine. I noticed while sleeping in the ATM alcove that the ATM machine was filthy and that it was a bad reflection on the bank. I was wondering if you could help me write a 1-Page JOB Proposal to the person at the bank who is responsible with an idea to clean their ATM machine clean every day."

She wrote the 1-Page.

She got a job not just cleaning that ATM machine but others around her city. Now that is job creation. And she did it for herself. She had a good idea, made it into a 1-Page Job Proposal, delivered to the right person, and got the job.

You can too.

Can the 1-Page Job Proposal save a bad idea?

The process of creating a concise job proposal involves looking at your experience with an objective eye. Upon completion, you must step back and evaluate your proposition as if you yourself were on the receiving end. How do you feel? Does the job of executing the idea fit your experience and expectations? Is the proposal you are making a good idea? This is very important: The 1-Page Job Proposal won't save a bad idea. It is not designed to sell inflated skills to unwitting employers. It won't make something worthless appear to be valuable. It won't make last year's idea into the "Next Big Thing." Lastly, it won't make something bad sound good just because you said it quickly.

What is the structure of the 1-Page Job Proposal?

As you can see, the major parts of the 1-Page Job Proposal tend to be organized top to bottom on a very full page.

This sequence is inviolable.

The length of each part may vary in accordance with many factors-relative importance within a project, how informed the target reader is, the project's current status-but the sequence should stay the same.

Title
Subtitle
Target
Secondary Targets
Rationale (Your bio)
Financial
Status
Action

The Title and Subtitle labels and defines the entire proposal; the Target and Secondary Target sections identify the goals of the proposal; the Rationale section lays out the basic reasons why the action is necessary; the Financial section puts dollars and cents to the deal; Status states how things stand at the moment; and Action indicates exactly what the proposer wants the recipient to do. These are the eight ingredients of the 1-Page Job Proposal. Like a culinary masterpiece, its greatness comes from the dynamic interplay of all its parts.

Is the sequence sacrosanct? Yes...

It follows the basic tenets of the single-sheet proposal idea that Khashoggi shared with Riley long ago, but reflects the addition of a few wrinkles and improvements that developed over many years of experience and usage. The sections carry your target reader from point A (no knowledge and no interest) to point B (full knowledge and full interest). To be MOST effective, the steps must be added in sequence in the proper proportions, each complementing the others and none left out.

Can I use the 1-Page Job Proposal to get promoted? - Within my own organization?

If you are an employee of a company that has not adopted the 1-Page Job Proposal as a standard means of communicating innovation, adopt it for yourself and use it freely within the company. Trust us, your superiors will catch on, and you and your ideas will get noticed. If you're a leader of such a company, consider making the 1-Page Job Proposal standard operating procedure, and contact us as we can work directly to help you do this. You'll be amazed at the innovative ideas locked inside your own people - the very ideas that will drive your profitability in the years ahead. We live during a time of terrific innovation, not just in the creation of new companies, but within the walls of our existing companies as well. In the 21st century world, new products and services that grow market share are driving companies' revenues and profits. The success of great companies depends on innovation from within.

Ideas power innovation.
People power ideas.
The 1-Page Job Proposal powers people.

The best companies (big or small) know this, and more and more of them are building their businesses on this principle.