The best executive resume format can make your job easier.
It can be difficult to find a new job when you’re involved in an executive field—more so than it seems to be for those in lower positions. If you’ve been out of the job hunting game for a while, going back down that road can seem more intimidating. However, it doesn’t have to be. If you’re having trouble navigating today’s job market, we can help you. In this article, we’ll give you a few helpful tips for job hunting in today’s era so you can land your next career position more easily.
Don’t Forget About Networking!
The connections you have within the industry will be the most valuable resource you have as you search for your new job. Keep in touch with them regularly. You’d be surprised how easily an opportunity could be sent your way based on the people you know! Of course, you should also aim to build new professional networks as well. Visit industry gatherings and put yourself out there. You may run into someone who can put your skills to great use! Another great idea would be to get back in touch with those industry colleagues you haven’t contacted in a while. They may be able to help with leads.
Reach Out to Headhunters and Recruiters
It’s a well-known fact recruiting companies have received a bad rap over the years. Popular opinion dictates recruiting companies often have a low turnout as far as landing jobs for executives. Regardless of the accuracy of this statement, a resource is a resource. All you have to do is learn how to make the most of recruiting services. Work on building up the best executive resume format to show recruiters your skill set as clearly as possible. This will work to your advantage because recruiters with distinct knowledge of your professional skills and needs will more easily be able to match you to a job. Continue to keep in close contact with recruiters so you can help them help you!
Update Your LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn is an incredibly useful resource for networking and discovering new job opportunities. You will be able to get in touch with other industry professionals across the globe, opening up a wider expanse of opportunities, all with a click of your mouse. Brush up on how to write cover letters for resumes and use the information from your resume to augment your LinkedIn profile to its fullest. The site is full of resources to help you with your job search.
Thousands of professionals have a LinkedIn account in this day and age, meaning you may easily run into someone who may be able to open the door to your new career or can put you in touch with someone who can. You never know who is connected to whom. Furthermore, recruiters often browse through LinkedIn to find professionals they can help navigate the job market. Just be sure to keep your profile up-to-date!
If you still need help, you can also turn to other resources! A professional resume service can help you through your job hunt by showing you how to market yourself to employees more efficiently. Our services have earned us our title as the best resume writing service.
The best resume writing service can help you succeed in your job hunt.
Much like the rest of the world, the ways we look for and find jobs is rapidly changing thanks to the advent of technology. In the face of all of these changes, from smartphones to social media, all business people can do is try and keep up with it all. The same goes for anyone on the hunt for a new job position, especially at an executive level. Consulting executive resume writing services to figure out how to approach this new career climate is one way to go about it. We can help you learn how to stay afloat in this new job hunting environment. Here is a guide toward how things have changed and what you can do to adjust your search methods appropriately.
Ditch the Job Board
They aren’t nearly as effective as they used to be! The same goes for recruiting services. While these two methods are the most commonly used by unemployed or transitioning executives, they rarely land you a job in an efficient amount of time. In fact, research states executives find new positions through recruiters and/or job boards at an alarmingly low rate of below 20 percent. You are better off utilizing other methods within your job search to find success, such as networking.
Tweak Your Resume Sooner Rather Than Later
Social media has transformed how resumes are constructed in many ways. You’ll have to learn how resumes have morphed in this decade and change yours to match, especially if it’s been decades since you last looked for a job. If you have the option, team up with the best resume writing service you can find for help with how to edit your resume into something that aligns more closely with what today’s hiring agents are looking for.
Utilize Social Media
Social media is rapidly becoming more important than ever. If you haven’t caught onto it and created a Facebook account, LinkedIn account or anything similar, now is the time! Individuals and businesses alike are beginning to rely heavily on social media to communicate with each other. If nothing else, it will serve as a valuable tool for networking with other people in your industry, which will prove invaluable to your job search! Likewise, those with the heaviest bearing on whether you’ll be able to land the job will use social media and the rest of your online presence to learn more about you and whether you’re suitable for the position.
Keep Your Brand in Mind
If you’re a professional, you will more than likely have a brand that is more than worth maintaining. If you fail to do this, you could be missing out on some great job opportunities and risking prolonging your job search.
Be Honest and Open
Pride and stubbornness will do you no favors when it comes to your job search. Always be 100 percent open about what happened with your last position and your current skill set when you interview. Furthermore, although the job search climate has changed, don’t feel afraid to adapt or believe you’ll never be able to catch up!
The best resume writing service will help you stand out.
Some people might think in a highly digitized world resumes would have become a thing of the past. Even though the resume itself has become more digital in nature, it remains the best way to share your work history, point out your specific skill sets and demonstrate you have what it takes to get hired for a specific job or position. With this understanding comes the responsibility of making sure you create resumes that get you hired. There are many reasons resumes remain significant in the professional arena. Here are the top three reasons.
Reason #1 – Demonstrate Self-Confidence
A resume easily demonstrates your level of confidence in yourself, your training and your skills. It’s the selling point to a company or potential hiring agent. The document must come together in such a way it highlights your abilities and knowledge about the job you are requesting. It shows you have the confidence to apply for the job, as well as perform it. It’s acceptable to write your own resume or to hire a top rated resume writing service to construct it for you. There is absolutely nothing wrong with obtaining help to get it just the way you want it.
Reason #2 – Make a Solid Transition
If you are transitioning from the educational setting into the workforce, you need a good resume to set you apart from other new candidates. You’ve worked hard to get where you are and to obtain the skills needed; now put it on paper to create the kind of resumes that get you hired. This is how you use the experience and knowledge you’ve acquired and showcase your abilities to fill a position. Even if you are transitioning between jobs, a professional resume can help ease the transition. Remember your resume is a continual document, and each job or certification you complete can be used to show your eagerness for professional growth. Your resume will grow with you and help ease these kinds of transitions.
As a related aside, HR departments rely upon having hard copies of your resume within their database so as to help you as thoroughly as possible throughout your job search. This is yet another way a regularly updated resume will help you to ease into a new job.
Reason #3 – Continual Self-Assessment
Keeping your resume up-to-date helps put you in a state of constant self-assessment. You’ll find yourself keeping track of continued education, skills you learn, certifications earned and your overall work history. As you learn new things and grow as a professional, you’re constantly comparing where you are now with where you were the last time you updated your resume. When you hire a top rated resume writing service, they can help you keep these items up-to-date and give you a more objective perspective on how far you’ve come in the workforce.
There are some who are comfortable writing their own resume, but for those who are not, it’s important to hire the best resume writing service to create a professional grade resume. It is an important part of your professional life and will be useful for obtaining employment and recording your road of self-development.
Learn how to find the best professional resume writers.
If you do a quick search on Google, you’re likely to come up with plenty of resume writing companies. However, it’s not as simple as it seems. Your resume is your introduction to a hiring agent and it’s important to hire the best professional resume writers. Anyone can say they write resumes, but if they don’t know what they are doing you can end up with a poor resume you cannot use for obtaining employment. How do you know which professional resume writing service is legitimate and which ones are scams trying to trick you out of your money? Here are a few things to look for when seeking an executive resume writing service.
What Does Their Website Exude?
When you first access a website advertising a professional resume writing service, take a few minutes to look around. Is it organized and professional looking? If they cannot organize a website, do you think they can organize data on a resume? Are there any grammatical errors or poorly structured sentences? This is a glaring red flag warning you they are not qualified to write resumes.
Do They Have Credentials?
An executive resume writing service should have some credentials displayed on their site. The most common test demonstrating a writer has a degree of competency is CPRW, or Certified Professional Resume Writer. In addition, the best professional resume writers have some accomplishments to share. You’ll also want to ask about their former experience in resume writing, education level, business background and any other skills they may have acquired.
Do They Have Sample Resumes?
When considering a resume writer, ask about any samples they may have to share. If you do not like their samples, you aren’t going to be pleased with their work on yours. If you aren’t sure what to look for in a sample, look past the aesthetic qualities and see if they included more than a list of job duties. Do they do anything special to make a resume stand out from all the others? Be wary if they don’t have any samples to share.
Do They Have a Solid Writing Process?
The best professional resume writers will have a clearly defined process for writing resumes. They should offer more than just a questionnaire for you to fill out. You should actually get to speak with a person who will ask you key questions so they can highlight the skills you have that are likely to impress a potential employer.
Do They Have a Guarantee?
A professional writer should be able to quote a price and offer a satisfaction guarantee. They should be willing to stand behind their work and make any revisions necessary.
These are a few of the considerations you should make before hiring an executive resume writing service. They are easy to find, but it can be difficult to find those who are reputable. Take your time and make a careful selection since your resume is how you introduce yourself to the professional world and secure employment.
Professional executive resume writers can help you tweak your resume.
Hidden inside every job listing is key information about the position. There are some useful points in a job posting you can use when writing a professional resume and cover letter. In fact, you can use the information the company provides to make resumes that get you hired by matching it up with precisely what they are looking for. Here are some tips for tweaking your resume to match the position you are trying to obtain.
Match Your Skills to What They Are Looking For
You’ll find most professional job listings to be inclusive of all the skills needed to perform the job properly. First of all, remember you most likely don’t need to have mastered all of the skills they are seeking. Don’t disqualify yourself if you don’t have all of the ones listed. Think about your skills versus the ones they are looking for and ask yourself these questions:
- Do I have most of the hard and soft skills mentioned?
- Do you have the experience or knowledge needed to do the job?
- What is your success rate and experience with the skills in the past?
- What other complementary skills do you possess?
Many skills can fall under broader categories so you can compare your present skills and level of experience to what the company needs. When you are writing a professional resume, include the skills related to what is listed, as well as your skills sets and experiences that are complementary to what they are looking for.
Match Your Characteristics with Their Job Description
Many times a job posting will contain attributes they would like to see in a candidate. They may use words like self-starter, ambitious, team player or organized. As you are reading the job description, think about the characteristics they listed and which ones may be applicable for you. Can you think of examples in your work history that are demonstrations of these specific attributes? The point is to make a connection with the company between what they want and what you have to offer. Use the attributes from the job listing on your cover letter and resume, if applicable.
Match Specific “Buzz” Words with Their Listing
Watch for words you see over and over in the job listing. These might be skills or other keywords they use. For instance, do they consider themselves a business? An organization? A company? Make sure you or your professional executive resume writers use these terms when drawing up a resume and cover letter. Resumes that get you hired will have the same tone and terminology the hiring agent uses in their descriptions of the job and qualifications they provide. You can learn a lot about the company by the tone they use in the description and you’ll get a sense of being a good fit for the position. Using the same language they use will demonstrate to them you are the perfect match.
Whether you are writing your own or hiring professional executive resume writers, it’s beneficial to know how to use your resume to show how well you match the position.
Resumes that get you hired won’t turn off employers.
Even when you hire the best executive writing service to write your resume and cover letter, many hiring agents will only take a second to skim them. It’s important to grab their attention so your resume doesn’t end up filed away with all the rest. What are they looking for? What makes them read on or lay a resume aside? Is it possible to write resumes that get you hired?
There are several things potential employers may find off putting. Here are a few things to avoid so your executive resume bio gets read and considered.
- Over Used Phrases – One of the biggest red flags for an employer is seeing the same phrases or descriptions over and over again. There are some claims virtually any person can make about themselves and their skills. Avoid over used terms like “self-starter,” creative” or “problem solver.” Rather than using cliché phrases, describe your experiences and share your accomplishments.
- Grammatical Mistakes – Resumes that get you hired will be free from grammatical and spelling errors. Today almost everyone uses a word processor that contains a spell checker. There’s no excuse for these kinds of mistakes. Have someone else look over your resume or look for the best executive writing service to help with the writing so you can avoid these costly mistakes. If your resume is riddled with grammatical or spelling errors, you are telling the hiring agent you do not care about your work either.
- Poorly Written Content – Even though you may not need to have strong writing skills for the job you want, it’s important to have well written content in your cover letter and resume. Your writing skills may not be necessary for your position, but it will demonstrate you can communicate effectively. It can also speak of your level of professionalism and education and show how much you care. Take time to write your cover letter and executive resume bio in an educated and professional manner.
- Not Demonstrating Professionalism – Make sure to keep your resume on a professional level. If the hiring agent is reading information about your private life, such as a spouse or how many kids you have, they are likely to ignore your resume or application altogether. Limit your information to areas related to your qualifications and skills.
- Huge Gaps of Time Between Jobs – Fill in open areas of unemployment with explanations. A potential employer who sees a huge gap in your employment history will likely have lots of questions. They may think you are hiding something, such as a position you left without notice or one from which you were fired. They might think you left the hole deliberately and will wonder just what you are hiding.
If you want to write resumes that get you hired, avoid these practices. Keep it professional, error free and focused on what you have to offer the company. You want them to see why you are the best person for the position. Don’t give them a reason to ignore your resume.
The best resume writing service can help you stand out.
The key to making your resume or application stand out from others vying for the position is to share the unique qualities you bring to a job. There are many terms you can use to describe yourself that have become boring and cliché. If you use the same terms as everyone else; your resume will end up at the bottom of the pile with all the rest. Here are a few ways to write your executive bio, resumes and cover letters for resumes in ways to get attention and help you land the job.
Don’t Waste Cover Letters for Resumes
Many people hire the best resume writing service and totally forget about the importance of the cover letter. This is one document you don’t want to waste or overlook because it can provide a potential employer with important information. Reading cover letters for resumes is likely where the hiring agent gets a first impression about candidates. Take the opportunity to communicate your unique skills and talents with the hiring agent. Take two or three of your prominent skills and highlight why it makes you stand out from the crowd.
Use Your Resume as a Platform
It’s a sad fact, but no matter how well written your cover letter is, many potential employers will not take the time to read it. It’s still worth writing because those who do read it will be set up for your executive bio and professional resume. Once you’ve finished your cover letter, focus on your resume. It’s another way to communicate your skills to a hiring agent. It’s important to create bullet points that use descriptive language demonstrating the skills the agent is looking for and then support these skills with facts and numbers. This is not the time to be vague. List the skill and include specific information like how much ROI you affected, growth percentages or reduction in costs. Perhaps you problem solved and coordinated virtual meetings to make your former company more productive. Be as specific as possible.
How to Nail the Interview
In the corporate world, there are good interviewers and there are not-so-good interviewers. One can hope they would all ask open-ended questions; but this is not always the case. Even if you get some of those close-ended questions, you can still answer in a way demonstrating your skill sets. The secret to a successful interview is to work in some examples of your skills and abilities no matter how the question is phrased. If the interviewer asks a vague question, answer in brief and then elaborate. Don’t be afraid to go past your personal philosophy to share your stories and hard facts.
Any of these three should be able to stand alone in demonstrating your specific and unique skill sets. Just remember when writing cover letters for resumes or your executive bio, it’s important to avoid cliché terms and vague phrases. Be specific and get hired!
An executive LinkedIn profile can help you stand out.
When you are looking for employment, there are many tools at your disposal. Some of them are online, and a few of them are off. One of the most powerful online platforms for professionals is LinkedIn. This social platform is different from many other online networks because it caters to the professional. For anyone looking for a job in today’s competitive market, having an executive LinkedIn profile is a must. However, your executive profile on LinkedIn is meant to be much more than a place to post your resume. There are some distinct differences between the two.
Intended Audience
Your resume and your executive LinkedIn profile are written with totally different audiences in mind. Resumes are written with the intent of distributing them to hiring agents or recruiters. They are geared toward trying to obtain a specific position or take advantage of a specific opening or opportunity. Your LinkedIn profile development, on the other hand, is for the purpose of letting everyone in your industry become familiar with your professional work. Instead of being written for a single recruiter like a resume, your LinkedIn profile is written for anyone in your industry to read, from colleagues to supervisors to potential clients.
Search Engine Optimization
When you are writing a professional resume, you have to be succinct and remember space is limited. For most purposes, resumes need to be kept to a page or two max. When you are working on your LinkedIn profile development, there are character limits you should keep in mind. Because you don’t have an unlimited amount of space in your professional LinkedIn profile, you need to both stick to your highlights and try to incorporate as many keywords as possible. This will allow companies to pull you up in a search and see the most important details of your work history and skills.
Use Different Tones
A resume is straightforward when it comes to the tone. It is impersonal and you need to refrain from using “I.” However, in your LinkedIn executive profile, you can use first-person expressions. And you should! It’s important to share your personality and personal story with the audience. Your online profile lets others in your industry become acquainted with who you are as a person, not just a resume trying to get a specific position. Resumes are effective and have their purpose, but your LinkedIn profile needs to be more engaging and personal, while remaining professional.
In conclusion, your resume and LinkedIn profile are essential tools for making contacts within your industry. However, there are some distinct differences between the two. If all you do is post your resume on your LinkedIn profile, you will risk losing your audience altogether. Keeping in mind the intended audiences, tone and purpose will help you get the most out of both mediums and get your name out in the industry.
