Whether you like your current boss or not, it’s important to understand they can have a major impact on your future career. In a perfect world, we would all have a boss we get along with very well and who understands when we want to advance our career. Unfortunately, that’s not usually the reality, and getting along with the boss is sometimes more difficult than you want it to be. In addition to writing resumes that get you hired, you have to know whether your boss is helping or hurting your future career opportunities. Here are a few aspects to consider in this regard.
Not Giving You The Credit You Deserve
If your boss has a tendency to take credit for the work you’ve done, you may need to step in and take action. Of course, it’s not the best idea to confront them with a negative tone, but there’s usually no harm in having a positive conversation with them about it. Most of the time the rest of your organization will know the work you put into any given project and know you’re the one who should get the most credit. If your boss refuses to give you credit for any projects you do, then you may feel like you’re spinning your wheels with no opportunities for career advancement.
Picking Favorites in The Office
Every boss has their favorites. You would never put that you were your boss’s favorite person in your executive profile, but it definitely helps when it comes to advancing in your career. The best thing to do is go out of your way to get on your boss’s good side, in addition to delivering high quality work. Find out about some of their hobbies or interests and strike up conversations with them. Making this personal connection without overstepping boundaries will keep you at the forefront of their mind when other opportunities arise. Again, this information won’t go on your executive profile, but it’s human nature for your boss to like you more if they feel a connection with you other than working in the same building.
Constantly Providing You With Urgent Projects
Your boss may give you urgent projects from time-to-time, but if every single project is so urgent that you can’t get your own work done, it may be time to address it with them. The best resume writing service always suggests adding achievements and accomplishments on your resume, but an unreasonable boss can prevent this from happening. If you simply can’t get your work done because of these projects, let your boss know what’s on your plate and ask them to help you prioritize projects. You’ll feel less stressed as a result and your boss should be open to helping you out. Professional Resume Services is known as the best resume writing service, but our services go beyond simply writing a resume. We are here to help you with any aspect of your career. Whether you’re searching for a job, looking to advance with your current employer or want to explore a new career, we have some great resources to help you. Never hesitate to reach out to us if you need any assistance with your present or future career.
Feeling Distracted? Follow These Easy Productivity Tips
Distractions are always plentiful, no matter where you work or what you do. Sometimes distractions can get to the point where your work day has ended and you realize you hardly got anything done. This is a real problem today, especially with the technology we have available to us. If your productivity takes a significant dip, then you may have to work with executive resume writing services pretty soon to help you find a new job. But before it gets to that point, here are a few tips to help boost your productivity and eliminate distractions.
Identify Distractions And Eliminate Them
The first step in eliminating distractions is to identify them. You may be surprised at how much time you spend on your smartphone throughout the day. Some apps are available to help you track what you view on your phone and how much time you spend on it. The results can be astonishing sometimes. When you realize how much time you spend on social media, your LinkedIn profile or other apps, you can work to decrease it. If it means leaving your phone with a co-worker so you aren’t tempted to pick it up, then do so.
Become Task-Oriented
Some people work better when they have a list of tasks to get accomplished, and they can’t do anything else until each task is completed. This can help you stay focused on what you need to get done, and the list can be revised if you complete the tasks more quickly than you thought. Becoming task-oriented may take some time and effort if it’s not your current personality, but it can lead to more productive days at work.
Take Occasional Breaks
Sitting at your desk for several consecutive hours at a time isn’t always ideal. You’re bound to find something to distract you as you’re working, and those distractions may take up more time than you think. Instead, take a five or ten minute break every hour to simply walk around and clear your mind. Find someone to talk to in the breakroom or elsewhere to just have a friendly conversation, and maybe even work on your c-level personal branding. Breaks can help the mind refocus on the task you’re working on and be more productive as a result.
Change Up Your Routine
It’s easy to get into a daily routine if you have a 9-5 job. The same distractions could pop up every day, and if they are part of the routine, then they become part of what you expect to happen every day. Changing up your routine can be valuable to eliminate the usual distractions. If your routine is to check your email, social media accounts or other apps at a certain time, try disconnecting for a bit. You may find even subtle changes can help you become more productive overall. Professional Resume Services provides executive resume writing services to help people land the best jobs possible. However, we are more than just that. We also enjoy helping people work on their c-level personal branding, optimize their LinkedIn profile and more. If you’ve been feeling distracted at work lately and don’t know how to become productive again, give us a call and we may be able to help you get motivated and back on track.
Getting a promotion to advance your career doesn’t happen overnight or by accident. After months, or maybe even years, of hard work, you may be considered for advancement. But you can’t just wait around and expect a promotion based on the length of time you’ve been with a certain company. Your executive profile may indicate you’re qualified for a higher-level position, but your work ethic has to back it up. Here are some daily actions to consider doing in order to put your career aspirations on the fast track.
Demonstrate Your Skills And Abilities
As an executive, you are likely involved in many different meetings at your job. If there’s a certain position you are striving to earn, then demonstrate your skills and abilities to handle the position even when you don’t have the position yet. This can include speaking up in meetings to show your competence and become recognized. Acting like you’re in the role you want can eventually lead to it becoming a reality.
Be A Leader
Your executive profile may indicate leadership abilities, but you have to show those abilities on a daily basis. Be a mentor or coach for other employees in your organization. The more you help others, the more rewards and recognition will come your way. And you’ll likely feel more satisfaction since the entire company will benefit from your efforts.
Continue Your Education
The best resume writing service always suggests continuing your education or seeking professional development. Not only will these look great on a resume if you’re looking for a new job, but your current employer will also take notice. Taking different courses demonstrates your commitment and willingness to learn and take on new roles. If you’ve taken numerous courses and still aren’t getting where you want to be with your career, then it may be time to work on new resumes and cover letters for the position you want to apply for within a different company.
Never Only Do The Minimum
Doing only the minimum amount of work to get by every day won’t help advance your career. Going above and beyond the job description is one of the best ways to get noticed. Just be careful to not overstep boundaries with the wrong people. It never hurts to offer assistance or volunteer to take over a project though. Professional Resume Services is known as the best resume writing service, but we believe we are more than that. We enjoy helping people find new jobs, as well as provide helpful tips on advancing their career. Whether you need assistance writing resumes and cover letters, or if you’re stuck in a current position and striving for a promotion, contact us to see how we can help you out.
Essential Elements to Include on Your Career Changing Resume
Going through a career change can be difficult to wrap your mind around. This is especially true if you’ve been in the same industry or worked at the same company for several years. However, ask any professional resume writing services and they will tell you changing careers is becoming more of a norm today. How you present yourself on your resume will make a big difference in how successful you are with your transition. You don’t necessarily have to start from scratch, but you do need to do some tweaking and ensure these essential elements are included in your resume.
Clearly Demonstrate Your Goals
The best executive resume format will be easy to read and display information clearly. However, when you’re changing careers you need to take it a step further. The potential employer needs to know you are seeking a career change and why you think you are qualified for the job with minimal industry experience. You can do this by highlighting relevant achievements, certifications and summarizing your most important responsibilities and how they relate to the new job you’re applying for.
Highlight Applicable Skills and Positives
Some of your skills and achievements from the past may not necessarily apply to your new desired position. Don’t try to force this information into your resume, since it can seem like you’re trying too hard and can hurt your c-level personal branding in the long run. Instead, highlight the most relevant achievements and quantify them. Use numbers and statistics to show how you cut costs or turned a profit for your previous company. Every company can relate to these aspects, so they are the most applicable skills to show on your resume.
Optimize The Resume For ATS
Your professional resume writing services can help you optimize your resume for ATS. You may not have the exact experience required in the job requirement listing, but if your resume has the right keywords, chances are it will get recognized. Not including these keywords may not even get your resume in the hands of a human.
Be Specific With Achievements
As an executive, some achievements are impressive across multiple industries. It’s always better to be specific rather than general. Use dollar amounts, percentages and other numbers as needed to clearly show your success at previous jobs. The more specific you are, the higher likelihood of your resume getting noticed. Professional Resume Services is here to help you with all aspects of your job search. Whether it’s writing a resume from scratch, helping improve your c-level personal branding or providing interview tips, we are here for you every step of the way. A career change can be stressful due to the unknown, but we can help make your path a little clearer. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time for advice on how to put yourself in a position for success in your efforts to change careers.
As important as a well-crafted executive resume is, it’s far from being the one component of your brand that will help you stand out. The times have changed significantly over the last decade or so, and the importance of personal branding for senior level managers has never been higher. This is especially true when it comes to online branding. You may have a LinkedIn profile, a website, blog, social media accounts or a combination of them, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you have a strong online brand. Here are some ways to help you determine whether your online brand is strong enough to compete in the job market today.
Search For Your Name And View The Results
It doesn’t take much effort to search for your name on the Internet, but what you find could prove valuable. If you have to scroll through several pages of results to find anything about yourself, then you need to work on your online brand. The type of information you do see about yourself is what makes up your online brand, whether you like it or not. In order to improve your image, you could start with a LinkedIn profile service to help you at least get your LinkedIn profile stronger. From that point, you can slowly work on reshaping your image.
Create Engaging Content Regularly
One way to start the process of strengthening your online brand is to create engaging content on a regular basis. Post thoughtful and original articles on your social media accounts or website and promote engagement with others. It’s valuable to visit a LinkedIn profile service from this aspect, since the professionals there can help make your content reach as many people as possible. When you are consistent with creating unique content and providing valuable information, people will start recognizing you and your online brand will start taking shape.
Be Consistent Across All Platforms
Consistency is critical when it comes to personal branding for senior level managers. A recruiter or hiring manager wants to look at your LinkedIn profile, your website and social media accounts and see the same overall message. If there are any doubts or concerns about your actual brand, you may be hurting your chances of landing the job you desire or even being recognized by the right people. Professional Resume Services does more than just help you with your executive bio. We want to help you make your name relevant by providing tips and advice on unique content, brushing up your resume, LinkedIn profile and much more. The importance of a strong online brand can never be understated, and we always keep it in mind when working with executives. If you ever need help shaping your online brand, feel free to reach out to us at any time for advice.
The Ultimate LinkedIn Tips to Bring Your Profile Up to Date
Simply having an executive LinkedIn profile won’t do you much good. In fact, having an outdated profile is sometimes worse than not having one at all. If you aren’t sure how to optimize your LinkedIn profile, you aren’t alone. The good news is you can work with a professional LinkedIn profile writer (look no further!) to evaluate your current profile and help you strengthen it so you’re always prepared for the next opportunity that comes your way. Here are some basic tips to bring your profile up-to-date that people sometimes overlook.
Create And Share Unique Content
Creating unique and engaging content is invaluable today. People always look for an expert they can trust, and if you are that person then your personal branding will skyrocket. Brand yourself as an expert in your field and watch your reader engagement climb. Plus, consistently sharing your content on your executive LinkedIn profile shows you’re involved with your career and are a valuable resource for current information. You will also benefit from your profile ranking higher in the search results due to the amount of unique views your content receives.
Build Your Number of Connections
The more content you share, the more connections you will earn. An executive LinkedIn profile that’s up-to-date will always have a significant number of connections with new ones coming in every day. Your network can see when you make a new connection, depending on your privacy settings, so you’ll gain some credibility from that aspect as well. Never hesitate to target other professionals in your industry and reach out to them to connect.
Be Active And Share Updates
Once you’ve worked with a professional LinkedIn profile writer to complete your profile, be sure to stay active as much as you can. This could mean posting a new article every couple of days and sharing updates about your career, or making a new connection. These updates will help you remain on the radar to your connections, so your profile won’t turn stale. You could also consider being active in LinkedIn groups to promote your personal brand. Just be sure not to be overly active to the point where people get tired of seeing you post all the time. As with everything, balance is key. Professional Resume Services is here to help you when you aren’t sure how to optimize your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is such a valuable tool to have, whether you’re actively searching for a new job or not. Just having a profile that’s up-to-date will help you get recognized, and you can continue working on it to build your personal brand. If you need any help with your LinkedIn profile, don’t hesitate to contact us at any time for assistance.
One of the main concerns executives have regarding their network is how to restore it when they’ve neglected it for a while. It’s typical for this to happen when you have a steady job you’re comfortable in. However, not all is lost, you can restore and strengthen your current network at any time. Updating your LinkedIn profile is a good place to start, and then you can go from there. Here are some of the best ways to restore and strengthen your network if it has gone stale.
Begin With Personal Branding
Don’t reach out to people in your network until you’ve solidified your personal branding strategy. This involves targeting and researching other professionals to determine whether what you have to offer will meet their specific needs. And you also have to know what you want in return. People enjoy helping people, so provide value and you will receive the rewards you want in return.
Reach Out To Current Connections
You’ll quickly realize other executives understand when you haven’t reached out to them in a while. A quick apology for not staying connected is sometimes all it takes to rekindle the relationship. Of course, if your intentions are to eventually ask them about possible job or business opportunities, then don’t waste a lot of time with small talk. Finding some balance in your communications is important and can improve your personal branding when you do it the right way.
Build New Relationships
Once you’ve reconnected with several professionals, start expanding your network to include new people. View the LinkedIn profile of different people in your industry and see if you have similar interests. Don’t hesitate to invite them to connect, as other professionals are usually always willing to expand their network as well.
Be Active on LinkedIn
Having a stale LinkedIn profile isn’t a good idea if you want to have a strong network. Being active on LinkedIn simply means talking to people privately, communicating in LinkedIn groups, sharing updates, posting new content and more. You don’t have to spend a significant amount of time on a daily basis with your LinkedIn actions, but when people know you’re engaged, they will more likely connect with you. Professional Resume Services has a team of professional executive resume writers ready to help you with every aspect of your job search. The importance of having a large network today can’t be understated. Sometimes revamping your LinkedIn profile is all you need to get back on the right track of having a strong network. To learn more about how we can help you strengthen your network and boost your personal brand, don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.
Made a Mistake at Work? Repair it in Five Easy Steps
Everyone is going to make mistakes at work. Some mistakes are bigger than others, but most of them are repairable if you handle them in the appropriate manner. Many times if a good result comes out of the mistake, then you could actually enhance your reputation and make the most of it. Here are five steps to take if you’ve made a mistake at work.
Apologize To The Appropriate People
Most of the time you’ll have to apologize to your boss for a mistake you’ve made. Even if what you did or didn’t do was out of your control to some extent, it’s important to make a sincere apology about it. One thing you can’t do is blame others for it. Apologizing immediately will help your reputation and give you the opportunity to make up for it.
Take Full Responsibility
Even if a mistake wasn’t entirely your fault, it’s never good for your c-level personal branding to throw others under the bus. While it’s usually acceptable to acknowledge external circumstances that may have led to a mistake being made, it still makes you look much better if you take complete responsibility and work toward fixing it.
Seek Opportunities To Do Positive Work
If your reputation has taken a hit because of your mistake and you’ve done the first two steps, the next thing to do is seek out opportunities to prove yourself again. One mistake generally will not drastically damage your reputation, and it can sometimes quickly be restored by producing high quality work again. Of course, negatives generally outweigh positives, so the more positive work you do, the quicker the negatives will fade away.
Let it Go
Dwelling on a mistake isn’t good for anyone. When you’ve apologized, taken full responsibility and continue to do great work, you have to let your big mistake go. It’s easy to continue thinking about the mistake and how bad you feel about it, but chances are others have moved on from it, so you should too. It does no good to continue thinking about the mistake, since it could hinder your ability to move on.
Collaborate With A Mentor
If all else fails, talk with your mentor about the mistake you’ve made and how you can successfully alleviate it. Your mentor should be very tied into your c-level personal branding, so getting advice from them should be very beneficial. If nothing else, your mentor can bring you peace of mind knowing you’ve done everything you can to fix your mistake and help you move on from it. Professional Resume Services is one of the top rated resume writing services, but we believe we are more than that. We enjoy helping executives with every aspect of their job search, as well as deal with issues that come up with their current job. Whether you need help writing an executive bio or just need to talk about personal branding, contact us at any time and we will be here to help.
Whether you like your current boss or not, it’s important to understand they can have a major impact on your future career. In a perfect world, we would all have a boss we get along with very well and who understands when we want to advance our career. Unfortunately, that’s not usually the reality, and getting along with the boss is sometimes more difficult than you want it to be. In addition to writing resumes that get you hired, you have to know whether your boss is helping or hurting your future career opportunities. Here are a few aspects to consider in this regard.
Identify Distractions And Eliminate Them
