Many executives sit down to write their resumes and cover letters thinking it will be simple. Resumes are generally about facts and statistics, but the cover letter takes a different approach. You have a little more freedom to show your personality in your executive resume cover letter, which can be good or bad. The important thing to remember is having a cookie cutter cover letter isn’t going to get you recognized. Here are some tips for making yours stand out.
Hook Your Reader
Any cover letter writing service will tell you the opening sentences will make or break your entire cover letter. In fact, if you don’t hook your reader right away, they may not even continue reading after the first few sentences. The most important thing is to stay on topic and explain why you are excited about potentially working for their company and why you believe you are a good fit.
Target The Company
One way to get the reader’s attention is by showing them you’ve done your research on the company. When writing an executive resume cover letter, targeting the company will make yours stand out over someone who just recycled theirs from a previous application. No matter if you give certain statistics or tell a quick story you learned about the company, the reader will be more interested when you talk about something they can relate to.
Demonstrate Confidence
Talk about the things you accomplished in your career with confidence. As an executive, you need to be assertive in your cover letter, even if it’s natural for you to be humble about your accomplishments. Your cover letter writing service will suggest backing up your claims with facts and evidence, though, so your confidence doesn’t appear to be just words on a page.
Always Be Honest
Anything you write in your executive resume cover letter could come up again later in an interview. If you’re honest in your cover letter, then you should have no problem answering those questions. However, any time you’re dishonest, most interviewers can see right through you and you’ll immediately be disqualified as an applicant.
Proofread Closely
Finally, proofreading a cover letter is something many people forget to do. It may take you a while and several visits to your cover letter writing service to make it perfect, but it’s always worth your time to proofread it closely. Many times an employer will seek out typographical or grammatical errors and throw out those resumes and cover letters right away. Professional Resume Services is here to help you craft the perfect cover letter to increase your chances of landing an interview. We will work with you to show just the right amount of confidence, give targeted information and present facts in a way that will hook the reader. If you ever need help with writing your cover letter, or if you just need another set of eyes to look at it, never hesitate to reach out to us at any time.
Is There Such a Thing as Too Many LinkedIn Connections?
When it comes to LinkedIn profile development, sometimes executives have more questions than answers. It’s actually a good thing to have questions, though, because not developing your profile enough won’t benefit you much. One of the most common questions is whether it’s possible to have too many connections. The answer varies depending on who you ask, but the short answer is “no, but it depends.” When you work with a reputable LinkedIn profile writing service, they will help you get the right amount of valuable connections, which is more important than the quantity of connections. Here are some things to consider when it comes to the number of connections you have.
Who To Connect With
When learning how to optimize your LinkedIn profile, you have to keep your connections in mind. You want to provide some sort of value on your page, so people will want to reach out to you. But who exactly should you connect with? These people can include:
Hiring managers at companies you’re interested in working for
Recruiters in your industry
Past and current co-workers
Friends and colleagues with similar interests
Fellow alumni
Business owners, clients or vendors you’ve worked with in the past
These are just a few of the types of people who are considered valuable connections. Simply sending a connection invitation to random people won’t do any good, and no LinkedIn profile writing service will suggest it.
Create A Personalized Message With Each Connection
Making every connection meaningful is easier than it sounds. When you send an invitation to connect, you have the opportunity to send a personalized message to the recipient. Take advantage of this! There’s no need to write an entire story in your message, but a couple of sentences demonstrating your interest in connecting with them will go a long way. If you do this with every person you connect with, then each one will be valuable, no matter how many invitations you send.
Benefits of Having More LinkedIn Connections
The bottom line is, the more connections you have on LinkedIn, the more visible your profile will be. As long as you’ve spent a good amount of time on your LinkedIn profile development, then there will be many more benefits compared to disadvantages from having this high number. When you have more than 500 connections on LinkedIn, your profile will rank higher in search results, so more people will be able to find you. Having this many connections also gives you a platform to be able to spread your value and personal brand to more people. Professional Resume Services is here to help with your LinkedIn profile development. Having a large number of connections is great, but how you treat those connections will make a difference in their value. If you’re ever in need of assistance with your LinkedIn profile, don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.
Mistakes to Avoid When Creating Your Personal Brand
If you’re trying to make a name for yourself in any industry, spending a significant time focusing on your c-level personal branding is critical. It can take years to build your personal brand to the level you want it to be at, but avoiding some common mistakes along the way can help accelerate the process and prevent it from having the opposite impact. You’re going to spend a lot of time shaping your brand anyway, so you might as well do it right the first time. Here are a few of the most common mistakes executives make when creating their personal brand.
Being Fake
People can see right through a person when they aren’t authentic. You can optimize your LinkedIn profile to make yourself sound like an expert at everything, but that will only get you so far. You have to be able to back up everything you say on your profile when you make connections in person. Not only will being fake limit your opportunities, but it could cause permanent damage to your c-level personal branding efforts.
Not Making Your Message Clear
In order to make your message clear, you have to know what you’re trying to say. The presentation of your appearance and overall demeanor either online or in-person must match. So when you optimize your LinkedIn profile, make sure your profile picture is a professional headshot rather than a more casual photo. Complete alignment with your overall message is critical to create the strongest personal brand.
Not Targeting Your Audience
It doesn’t do your brand or company a lot of good if you don’t know whom to market your brand to. When it comes to personal branding for senior level managers, you have to be able to connect with your audience in order to make a name for yourself or your company. When your audience can make a personal connection with you, then you’ll be able to effectively cater your brand toward them.
Only Focusing on Certain Aspects of Your Brand
An overlooked aspect of c-level personal branding is not aligning your business brand with your personal brand. If people don’t agree with your personal brand, then your business brand will take a significant hit. The best way to earn and keep business today is through trust, and if a consumer’s trust wavers, then your brand will not be very strong. Professional Resume Services is here to help executives not only craft the perfect resume, but also develop their c-level personal branding. There are many aspects to creating a personal brand, and we will help you throughout the process to ensure all bases are covered. If you ever need assistance or advice about your personal or business brand, feel free to reach out to us at any time.
In the past, having a strong personal brand was seen as a luxury to put yourself ahead of your competition. However, as technology and the digital world in general has advanced, boosting your c-level personal branding is a necessity to keep up with the competition. And if you aren’t careful, your brand will be shaped for you. Personal branding for senior level managers doesn’t happen overnight, and you can’t stop working on it once you’ve reached a certain point. It’s an ongoing process that needs nurturing and attention at all times. But why is this so important? Here are some things to consider about designing your own personal brand.
Manage Your Reputation
Your online reputation means more than just about anything else today when it comes to c-level personal branding. People can say whatever they want to about you on the Internet. Managing your reputation means seeing what is being said about you and taking the necessary steps to clean up any of the negative comments and build on the positive ones. And any time you are active on social media, make sure every single comment or post reflects your brand in the way you want it to be perceived.
Create Content Based on Your Brand
Many executives write books, articles or blogs to boost their c-level personal branding. It doesn’t necessarily matter which one you choose, but it does matter how the content is presented and perceived. Content creation is a great method for increasing exposure, but using the right means for sharing the content is also important.
Have Instant Credibility For Future Jobs
When you’ve designed your brand effectively and manage it appropriately, you’ll have a ton of credibility for any future job you hold. Combine your c-level personal branding with using the best executive resume writing service and your options will be wide open as far as potential employers. Of course, if you’re currently happy at the job you have now, then you can still continue to boost your credibility to enhance your brand and the company’s brand.
Design Your Brand So Others Don’t
When it comes to personal branding for senior level managers, if you don’t work towards designing your own brand, then other people will do it for you. This is a challenge many executives with high visibility have. With the digital world we live in today, people are more expressive than ever before. Opinions can quickly be perceived as factual, and can quickly damage your reputation if you don’t manage it and constantly work to design it. Professional Resume Services takes pride in being the best executive resume writing service, but we are more than that. We want to help our clients with every aspect of a job search, or simply provide tips on how to boost their brand. Our focus is always on helping you achieve your goals, so feel free to contact us at any time to see how we can do so.
The First Month is Critical for Any New Executive Job
You’ve worked so hard on your job search to find a perfect fit for your career and it’s finally paid off. Now that you’re at your new job, what are you supposed to do? Depending on the nature of the job, you may be thrown right into the fire and be slammed with work right away. However, most employers will ease in a new executive and allow them to get a feel for their new position, their co-workers and the overall culture in general. The first month of your new job is critical for setting the standard of your work and becoming familiar with systems and processes you can’t develop or learn through a LinkedIn profile. Here are some things to do during the first month of your new job.
Fit In With The Culture
You likely did some research about the culture of your new company during the job search. It was important to learn about the culture while writing an executive bio, and the professional resume writing service you used likely took the culture into consideration as they crafted your resume as well. However, there’s nothing like getting first-hand knowledge and experience to learn how people operate on a daily basis. You should have a basic knowledge of the company’s culture before you even begin your first day, but taking further steps to ensure you fit in as much as possible will benefit you as well.
Make Internal Connections
Connect with anyone you can within the office during your first month. You may have seen some of your coworkers’ LinkedIn profiles, but stop by and have a short conversation whenever you have a chance. This goes for anyone outside of your department as well. Connect with them on a work level and a personal level as appropriate so they will get a sense of who you are and you will establish your reputation along the way.
Build Your Credibility To Set The Standard
Your professional resume writing service helped you build credibility in your resume, but now it’s time to show it. Go above and beyond the job duties given to you during the first month. Building this credibility right away will help set the standard and give others the impression they can rely on you to get the job done.
Don’t Be Overly Ambitious
Just be careful about being too ambitious, since you don’t want to show up anyone during your first month. This goes for questioning internal policies and procedures as well. It’s ok to make suggestions at times, but it’s also important to understand every company operates differently and some of these things need to be accepted without rocking the boat. Professional Resume Services is here to help you throughout your job search process and beyond. While we are known as a professional resume writing service, we are well rounded in our experience working with executives throughout their career. To learn more about how we can help you at any stage of your career, feel free to contact us at any time.
How to Balance Your Job Search and Your Current Job
One of the main benefits of looking for a new job while currently employed is you will generally be more attractive to employers. However, one of the risk includes someone finding out that leads to you getting fired or damaging your reputation. Balance is key when going through a situation like this. Even your LinkedIn profile development has to be done with caution so you don’t tip anyone off at your current workplace. Here are some tips to consider for balancing your job search and your current job.
Time Your Job Search Perfectly
Minimizing the amount of competition you have is always beneficial. Try holding off on your job search until the late summer months, since there are typically fewer applicants for jobs during that time frame. You don’t want a job search to drag out very long when you already have a job, so timing is critical to make the process go as quickly as possible.
Keep Your Search Confidential
It’s usually not the best idea to let your boss or anyone else in your organization know you’re searching for a job. However, you also don’t want to lie to your boss. When you work with the best resume writing service, your visits will be confidential and you won’t have to worry about your job search being leaked. Just do whatever you can to keep your search confidential and you won’t have to answer any tough questions.
Network Outside of Work
Attending networking events is a great way to expedite any job search. Having morning coffee meetings or evening social gatherings can go a long way in developing relationships, while not having to worry about someone from your current job seeing you. Throughout your LinkedIn profile development, you may consider joining groups that can lead you to some valuable events to attend.
Be Careful With Social Media
Although you may want to find a new job as quickly as possible, it’s not the best idea to announce it on social media. That is one nearly guaranteed way you can get in trouble with your current job, and potentially damage your job search as well. Keep your actions private throughout your LinkedIn profile development as well, so you won’t inadvertently announce your intentions to your connections who may currently work with you.
Be Selective With Who Receives Your Resume
An executive resume writer will always tell you to be selective with who you give your resume to. Tailoring your resume to a particular employer is a great way to be noticed and will also better ensure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. It’s also important to tell the recipient that your job search is confidential, so they don’t contact your current employer. Professional Resume Services is here to help you with any aspect of your job search. We take pride in being the best resume writing service for executives, but we also enjoy being involved with your searching and networking efforts. If there’s anything we can help you with along the way, don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.
Everyone has heard about the importance of networking, and it’s no secret the most successful executives generally have a large network. The more you network, the more you’ll be able to boost your executive profile and earn yourself a great reputation within your industry and beyond. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be actively looking for a job in order to effectively network. Here are some tips to consider regarding professional networking at any stage of your career.
Start With Your Own Network
People who are uncomfortable networking should start with their own network. When you optimize your LinkedIn profile, you’ll make connections with your current co-workers and other professionals outside of your organization. Find your comfort zone at first by talking to familiar faces and re-establishing relationships.
Your Network Needs Constant Attention
Even if you’re comfortable with your job and have no intention of visiting the top resume writing services any time soon, you still have to give some attention to your network. Maintaining solid relationships with your network will help you stay informed within your industry, have your recruiting list built up at all times and know what’s happening with your competition.
Don’t Prioritize Yourself
Everyone is naturally more comfortable talking about themselves. However, don’t fall into that trap. Instead, ask leading questions to the person you’re talking to and let them do most of the talking. When you let the other person talk about themselves while you listen attentively, you’ll be surprised at how much they will admire you.
Eliminate The Salesman Mentality
Many people make the mistake of thinking a professional networking event is only to sell yourself. That couldn’t be further from the truth. While your executive profile can be promoted at these events, you should also eliminate any trace of a salesman mentality you have. Instead, focus your effort and attention on developing new relationships and learn how you can help them without selling any services. Sharing your experiences genuinely with another professional will go a long way in boosting your reputation.
Reach Out To A Mentor
Most executives have a mentor very close to them within their organization. Finding another mentor outside of your inner circle can be beneficial as well. You may want to learn something new, develop professionally in different ways or even want to start the process of searching for a new job. If that’s the case, then having the help of a mentor combined with utilizing the top resume writing services can help you tremendously. Professional Resume Services wants to help you beyond simply writing your executive profile for you. We enjoy being involved with your career, no matter what stage you are at. For more tips like this, or assistance with writing a resume or cover letter, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time.
Networking is essential in the business world today if you want to land the job of your dreams. But what if you already have a job? There are still plenty of reasons to continue your networking efforts, and doing so within your workplace is beneficial as well. If you work for a large company, chances are you may not know half of the people you work with. Unlike networking to find a new job, you won’t have to visit the top resume writing services to make an impression on a co-worker. All it takes is a friendly conversation to learn more about someone. Here are a few tips for networking within your current workplace.
Strike A Lunchtime Conversation
Your lunch hour is a good time to unwind and take a break. If you’re going to the break room anyway, try striking up a conversation with someone instead of sitting in the corner by yourself. This is a perfect opportunity to discuss matters not related to work and could even lead to a strong personal and business connection. Most people will welcome a lunchtime conversation, but you should also be respectful and notice certain signs if the other person doesn’t want to talk at the moment.
Take Time To Be Friendly
You don’t have to visit an executive resume service to know being friendly will help you make more connections. Simply asking someone how their day is going or just smiling at them in the hallway can create a memorable moment. It also creates somewhat of an icebreaker when you see the same person in the break room, elevator or anywhere else you have a few seconds to strike up a conversation. Friendliness is closely related to familiarity, and the more your face is familiar to others, the easier it will be to connect with them.
Introduce Yourself To New Hires
A newly hired professional in your organization is likely eager to meet as many people as possible. Even if you aren’t comfortable with networking at any capacity, talking to a new hire is easy. If you know their name ahead of time, you can look at their LinkedIn profile to help you with a conversation starter. Give the new hire some useful tips and they’ll remember you and connect with you more often.
Check LinkedIn
The easiest connections to make with your LinkedIn profile are the ones who work with you. In fact, LinkedIn may even recognize the same company name in other profiles and suggest you connect with them. When you make LinkedIn connections with people in your workplace, you’ll build some familiarity and make conversations much easier to get started when you interact in person. Professional Resume Services is more than simply an executive resume service. We help professionals with their networking efforts, LinkedIn profile building and much more. Any time a professional needs us with any aspect of their current job or job search, we are always available. Feel free to contact us at any time if you need assistance with your networking efforts.
In the past, having a strong personal brand was seen as a luxury to put yourself ahead of your competition. However, as technology and the digital world in general has advanced, boosting your c-level personal branding is a necessity to keep up with the competition. And if you aren’t careful, your brand will be shaped for you. 
