An executive resume service can boost your chances of getting hired.
A new job search can be a major commitment, both in time and money; after all, you start dry cleaning your best interview clothes, driving to interviews and taking time from your current job to meet with prospective employers. An executive resume service can save you some time by helping you dust off your resume while staying well within your budget. Thinking about hiring the best resume writing service for your job hunt? Here’s why you should.
Writing Isn’t Your Thing
Not all of us are Mark Twain. Most executives make their livings focusing on numbers, people or even computer languages. These skills make you highly sought after in the job market but may not make you the best when it comes to writing an effective resume. A great executive resume service is staffed by skilled writers who know how to hone and polish the grammar and language in your resume to help get you hired.
It’s Been a While
Just like music, fashion and lingo, job search trends come and go. If you’ve been in the same position for several years or even decades, you are probably not aware of these current trends. For example, did you know adding keywords to your resume is a new trend? How could this help or hinder your job search? Others applying for the same job, on the other hand, may be aware of these trends, and it could put them at an advantage when it comes to landing the job. Your executive resume service will be able to help you keep up with these trends and stay well ahead of the curve.
The Calls Aren’t Coming
Maybe you’ve already dusted off your resume and started sending it out to prospective employers but aren’t getting any calls. It’s more than likely you just need a second set of eyes to help you identify the weaknesses in your current resume. Finding the best resume writing service could help you increase your call backs and land more first interviews than you’re getting on your own.
Insider Knowledge
Unless you’ve been working as a recruiter or hiring manager, you may not know what hiring departments are looking for in an executive. Resume writers, on the other hand, know first hand how these hiring managers think and what they are looking for. They know what buzzwords to use for your industry, how long your resume should be and they may even personally know the human resources staff at the companies you’re looking to work for. When it comes to searching for a job, who you know is important. An executive resume service can help open plenty of doors for you!
If you’re about to put yourself out there again and search for your next job opportunity, don’t go it alone. An executive writing service can help you by writing an effective resume, helping you keep up with the latest job search trends and opening doors with their insider knowledge. Increase your chances of job search success with the help of a resume writer!
Is Summer the Best Time for Your Executive Job Hunt?
Summer is a great time for executive resume writing.
The dog days of summer are here again, but for many, it’s not quite time to relax. If you’re looking for a new job, you may be wondering if summer is a good time to begin your job search. Of course, the best time to look for a job is when you need it, but can searching in the summer increase your chances or make it easier for you to land a new position? This season certainly has some benefits!
Longer Days
Summer’s long days mean more daylight hours for your job search. Once you’ve finished writing an effective resume, you still have to get out there and submit your resume, travel to job interviews and follow up with job leads. Luckily, the summer months give you plenty of daytime hours to do so, and the longer days allow you to be more productive, giving you more time to hone those resumes that get you hired before you start your summer job search.
Social Hour
Of all the seasons, summer is by far the most social. With pool parties, backyard BBQs and summer happy hours, you have plenty of opportunities to socialize. This is incredibly helpful because as you probably know, c-level job searches aren’t just about executive resume writing. They are about who you know, and the more socializing and networking you can do, the more doors you can open.
Summer Vacations
While you may be hard at work this summer looking for new career opportunities and writing resumes that get you hired, most of your office will probably be on vacation. How does that benefit you? Well, since it’s typical vacation season, it’s easier for you to use your vacation time to go on interviews, take time off to do some executive resume writing or go shopping for the perfect interview outfit. This is a great time to interview because you don’t have to explain your frequent need for time off because it’s a normal part of summertime.
If you’re looking to find an exciting new job opportunity, you may not be able to decide when your job hunt begins; however, if you’re fortunate enough to start your job search during the summer, you have several seasonal advantages working in your favor. The longer days, social events and opportunities to take off for your job search can help you land your new job more easily than those looking for work during the fall or winter.
Professional resume writers can help get you hired.
Searching for a new job doesn’t have to be as difficult as some people make it. Although it may seem like staying at your current job is easier than looking for another one, you owe it to yourself to continue to seek new opportunities and develop throughout your career. When you are ready to make the leap into a new job opportunity, many professional resume writers recommend taking these steps.
Know Yourself
C-level executive jobs are especially competitive. Your prospective employers not only want to know you can do the job well, but also feel you will fit into their company culture. Before you start your search, take an inventory of your skills and unique characteristics. Add these to your resume’s executive biography and be prepared to show off what makes you you!
Narrow Your Focus
One of the main reasons employers hire another candidate is because while you may fit a few of their skill requirements, you may not fit all of them. If you want to write a resume that gets you hired, make sure you thoroughly tailor it to the job description on the employer’s listing.
Proactive vs. Reactive
When it comes to a job search, good things don’t come to those who wait. You cannot simply send out thousands of resumes and wait for a company to bite. Professional resume writers suggest proactively contacting employers and always continuing to develop your skills.
Investigate
Digging up info on each company you apply to can help you write a resume that gets you hired. If you know the company encourages volunteer work, you can add yours to your resume or executive biography and make a great impression. It will also allow you to decide if you’re applying to a company you actually want to work for.
Network
The importance of networking absolutely cannot be understated. In today’s incredibly competitive job market, who you know is much more important than what you know. However, be careful just relying on superficial LinkedIn connections to network. The more hands you shake, the larger your network will grow. Attending conferences, talking to your colleagues and using your college’s alumni network are great ways to meet new friends in high places.
Although many executives may get nervous about leaving their job to take another opportunity, it’s important to keep growing and developing in your career. Who knows what you’re missing out on if you don’t take a chance on a new job. In order to find a great new position for you, make sure you network, tailor your resume to each job and do your research!
Your executive resume should reflect why you’re making a career change.
Switching your career path can be a challenging time. There are a lot of difficult choices to be made, and after you’ve decided to leave your current field, you may be nervous about finding a new career with an executive resume that may not match the jobs you’re looking for. Reflecting your career change on your resume will help your new employers understand your switch and get a better sense of why you’re a good fit for your new career.
Updating Your Resume
When it comes to executive resume writing, it is important to show employers what skills you possess and how those skills would benefit their company. Even though your former career path may be different, it is likely you have many transferable skills that will still be relevant to your new job.
You can use your core qualifications to sell yourself in different ways, depending on the industry you’re trying to enter. The trick is to slant your current skills to be relevant for the job you’re seeking. Using the following steps, you can make your executive resume and cover letter for your resume work for a different industry.
Start Over
It is tempting to use your past resume and make some changes here and there. However, you’ll be much better off if you avoid the urge to take this easy route and start from scratch instead. After all, a new career means a new executive resume! With a new cover letter, as well as a new resume, you will be able to start slanting your skills toward your new field from the start, making it even more effective.
Express Interest
In all likelihood, your interest in your new field didn’t just happen overnight. You’ve probably been interested in the industry for years but were simply working in another. Use your new executive resume to tell your interviewers why you’re interested and what you know. This knowledge will help you seem interested, dedicated and ready for your change.
Highlight Skills
A traditional experience-based resume may not be enough for your career change. Instead of listing all the skills you have and have used in your previous job, you need to put all the focus into your transferable skills.
Stay Confident
Use your cover letter for your resume to really sell yourself. A lot of people become less confident when they change careers because there are plenty of people with more experience looking for the same jobs. Really hone in on your transferable skills, your accomplishments and your love for your new field in both your cover letter and resume.
Changing careers can be challenging, but with enough confidence, you can show potential employers why you deserve the opportunity to use your experience and knowledge to make a difference in your new field.
In a sea of social-networking sites that are primarily useful for, well, socializing, LinkedIn is a breath of fresh air for professionals. When you are active on this social networking site, you’re not just wasting time creating and reading pointless postings. You’re improving your marketability as a job candidate, making valuable job-seeking connections and increasing the odds of discovering or getting your next lucrative job.
Your LinkedIn Profile Is Like Your Personal Brand
If you are looking for an executive level job, it is imperative you optimize LinkedIn profile appeal so you will generate more profile views. The more people who view your profile, the higher the odds the right person will view it. There’s really no point even being on LinkedIn if your profile is incomplete, lacks important keywords and has a paltry network of connections.
Ever Heard of “Social Selling?”
The concept of social selling is relatively new, but it’s important if you’re trying to market yourself. Essentially, social selling involves building up a strong reputation (selling yourself) as an expert in your chosen field by being an active participant in social media (particularly LinkedIn). Every aspect of your LinkedIn profile, including your headline, photo, connections, executive bio and summary, should be crafted with care and to elicit a specific response should a potential employer view it.
How Should You Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile?
Now that you understand the importance of optimizing your LinkedIn profile, you’re probably wondering exactly how to do that. By far, the smartest way to go is to partner with a skilled and experienced LinkedIn profile writing service. When you are looking for an executive position, you can’t afford to take risks with something as critical as your LinkedIn profile. The writers at a LinkedIn profile writing service know how to use keywords effectively, add rich media that will generate attention, strategically organize a skill list to appeal to hiring authorities and more.
It’s always a wise move (and one that will save you time and anxiety) to outsource things not in your wheel house to someone who specializes in them. When your car needs an oil change, you could probably muddle through and do the job yourself, but you likely opt for the smart alternative and take your car to your auto repair shop. The same holds true for writing a resume, cover letter, executive bio and LinkedIn profile. If you have a computer, you could sit down and create these documents yourself, but if you trust a pro to do the job, these important components of your job search will probably be exponentially stronger than what you could create on your own.
Your LinkedIn profile can make or break your chances of getting hired.
When you are a job seeker looking for a C-level executive position, not only must you have a LinkedIn profile, but that profile must be outstanding. Your profile should be succinct and to the point, as well as provide critical information upfront so a recruiter doesn’t have to wade through expendable verbiage to get to the details they’re most interested in.
Some Critical Components to Optimize LinkedIn Profile Benefits
First, you want to include relevant keywords that will help a recruiter find your profile. Review some recent C-level job postings you’re interested in and look for words most frequently used in these postings. Incorporate these words in a natural way in your profile so it will catch recruiters’ attention.
Also, make sure to build up your network of connections, as well as give and request recommendations from past employers, co-workers and those who work under you. Recruiters place significant weight on what third-party sources have to say about you and the words they use to describe you. This is valuable information that paints a picture of your leadership style.
Don’t underestimate the importance of the photo you choose for your profile. You are applying for a high-level managerial position, you’re not trying to get a date or impress your buddies. Keep it professional; your photo should depict you looking like you would sitting in your corner office, not on the golf course.
Finally, while it may be true you are on LinkedIn for the sole purpose of finding your next C-level opportunity, you definitely do not want to broadcast that fact. You lose your intrigue ifyou appear desperate.
What Tone Should You Take When LinkedIn Profile Writing?
Obviously, your verbiage should be professional, but many professionals agree the tone should be relatively informal. It only makes sense to use first person “I” because you are describing yourself. Even if you hire a LinkedIn profile writing service, as many upper-level executives do, the writer should write in first person. Avoid being too wordy, but also being overly dry. Any recruiter who sees your profile will be interested not just in your qualifications, but in your personality.
One Special C-level LinkedIn Consideration
It may seem counterintuitive, but if you are already employed as a CEO, CFO or COO, it’s a good idea to change your privacy settings to ensure your connections aren’t visible to the public. Doing this is simple. On LinkedIn, you will find a setting that allows you to choose who can see your connections. Change the setting to “just you.” This protects you from current competitors mining your connections and gaining insight into professional relationships you’d rather them not know about. Similarly, scroll through your public profile privacy settings and opt out of any that may jeopardize your odds of landing a better position. If, for example, you belong to partisan or controversial groups or organizations, you can opt to keep these off of your public profile.
It’s not good enough to simply have a LinkedIn presence. If you’re a C-level professional, your presence should be complete and well-crafted, not simply an afterthought.
Why Are Cover Letters So Important for Your Resume?
Cover letters for resumes are extremely important.
While most job seekers focus on crafting the perfect resume that includes a long list of accolades, achievements, degrees and awards, many HR professionals agree a resume is not the most important aspect of a potential candidate’s application package.
The Importance of a Grand Entrance
Outstanding cover letters can turn a middle-of-the-road candidate into a top contender. Why? By its very nature, a resume is usually dry and fact based.
By contrast, cover letters for resumes show hiring managers an applicant is vested in the job they have available. Anyone can hit “reply” and attach a one-size-fits-all resume in response to a job posting. A cover letter written to specifically address a particular position shows an applicant has taken the time and effort to make a good impression. It also shows hiring managers a different side of an applicant than his or her resume does. Word choice and attention to detail in cover letters for resumes matter. These nuances can move a “reject” resume into the “must interview” pile.
Consider What to Include in a Cover Letter
Yes, the cover letter is your opportunity to show your personality. To an appropriate degree, that is. Hiring managers looking for candidates for high-level executive positions must cull through hundreds or even thousands of resumes and cover letters. A short, succinct cover letter can be refreshing. One that is too long, too detailed or too informal is a waste of time.
Crafting a winning cover letter that allows your personality to shine through, without being too wordy or including unhelpful details, can be challenging. Unless you are a writer by profession (and a really good one), consider hiring a reputable cover letter writing service to help you. At the very least, a cover letter writing service can help you craft a good “base” letter you can customize for each job you apply for. If you are in the hunt for a high-salary executive position, you’ve probably already hired an executive resume service to perfect your resume. Your cover letter needs at least the same degree of professional attention.
Do Your Research Before You Write
HR professionals, especially those hiring for high-dollar, premium executive positions, have seen it all. They have a knack for knowing which cover letters are form letters sent out to many potential employers and which have been carefully crafted with their company’s job opening in mind. Before you sit down in front of your laptop to create a cover letter, make sure you’ve done the following:
Conduct at least a bit of research into the company so you can tailor your letter to fit in with the company’s corporate culture.
Use active rather than passive words and naturally incorporate keywords into the letter that were noted as “must-possess” skills or attributes in the job listing you are responding to.
Include specific, not-commonly-known facts about the company to show you did your homework.
If you’re launching a new executive-level job search or want to revive a floundering search, crafting a winning cover letter is key.
