Have you wondered why you didn’t get called in for an interview when the job was a perfect fit? Maybe it was because when they contacted your references, something went wrong. Good references are one of your biggest assets in a job search because they are independent witnesses who testify that your skills and work habits are suitable — that you will be a good fit for that job. But since references are real people, things change.
Choose Your References Carefully
The buddy that you party with every weekend is probably not going to be a good reference about your professionalism, right? Think about who will be an authority in your career search; someone who understands the work involved and who has seen how you work. This means supervisors, professors, and those you have served with as a volunteer.
Look at the reference the way an employer would and think about the type of questions that will be asked:
How long have they known you?
How have they worked with you?
What problems have you had in the workplace?
Check With Your References Regularly
Ask your reference first, before you put their name down, as a professional courtesy to them. But even if someone has told you it’s okay to use them as a reference, you need to ask if they will be available when you expect a potential employer to contact them. The professor you worked with as an intern may be out of the country for a few months and unavailable, for instance.
It’s also a good idea to make sure the contact information you list for your references is accurate and current. Queries sent to an unused email address will not help your job prospects, will they? Neither will phone calls that are never answered or wrong numbers. It’s always a good idea to check your references before the employer does so you can verify that they will be available and able to provide the positive reference you need to get that job.
Why does career derailment happen? Most of the time, it’s the same sort of thing that derails an executive job search; something you thought was unimportant trips you up and leaves you behind in the race. Some of the problem is in the details of what you did, and some of it is your attitude.
Little Details Can Be Big Mistakes
Being disorganized can result in missing something important, and we all do it to some extent. But when the important thing you missed costs you an interview or a promotion, it hurts. Here are a few places where this happens:
Application mistakes can get your submission rejected by a computer before a person sees it.
Resume mistakes give the impression that you are careless.
References can get you the job or get you out of the running if your references aren’t appropriate.
Disheveled, dirty clothing makes you look like you can’t even do laundry right.
Online behavior lives forever and can return to haunt you.
Attitudes Can Be Hinderances
When you look at a news story about someone’s career derailment, pay attention to how attitude factored into their fall. Attitudes change your workplace and have a direct relationship to the way you get along with co-workers. When you make mistakes — and we all will make mistakes sometimes — the relationships you have with the people you work with often change the consequences of those mistakes.
In an executive job search, the way you relate to people is incredibly important because an executive position requires the ability to collaborate and build a team. People who are insensitive, manipulative, and easily angered don’t make good leaders. People who are considerate, encouraging, and stay focused on the mission instead of the problems do. The way you work with people now is seen as an indicator of the way you will work with people in the new position.
Hope Is Not Lost
One last point that can be made about avoiding a career derailment: learn from your mistakes and do what you can to fix them. This gives you an answer when it comes up in an interview and shows you have one of the most important assets for being a successful executive: the ability to turn a negative into a positive. Overlooking details and ignoring bad attitudes can keep you out of an executive position, but fixing the problems can boost your chances of getting there.
Searching for executive jobs in today’s world can be tougher than ever. It’s imperative that executive-level job seekers stand out from their competition and prove to their potential employer that they offer a high return on investment. To do this, job seekers need certain tools, including the essential job-search documents needed to effectively market oneself in the job hunt: executive resume, cover letter, career biography, reference dossier, etc.
If you are a part of the executive job hunt remember that personal branding is important to strategically position you ahead of the crowd. It links your key personal attributes, passions and strengths with your value proposition. Does your resume brand you? What about your LinkedIn profile? Does that let the reader know that you are the leader their company needs? If done right this will translate into a crystal clear message that differentiates your unique promise of value that will resonate with your target audience. By showcasing your expertise and unique personal brand in the best possible light, you’ll open doors that others can’t and be in charge or your career destiny.
Make sure you do your research! Tap into the hidden job market by taking advantage of all that’s available online in the way of targeted industry and company research. Check out websites of companies that interest you and start by identifying the challenges they’re facing, learning about the company culture and attempt to track down warm leads at those companies. It’s important to pinpoint how you can have a positive impact and help those companies reach their goals. Save time by identifying and connecting directly with top decision makers at companies through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or other online social networks when possible. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people you’ve never met. LinkedIn is known for its members welcoming connections from unknown contacts. The point is to expand your network and make new connections.
A good executive resume will be the backbone of your job search. It’s important to identify exactly what you want your resume to convey before you get started. Remember, every resume is a one-of-a-kind marketing communication that should tell your story. In order to do that it’s imperative that you make sure your executive resume is well designed and executed. There are a lot of DIY resources and resume writing tips available on the internet that you should take time to review, but in the end it may be better to hire a professional to convey your personal brand. Either way, with a good executive resume in hand that translates your unique attributes you are sure to be on your way to the executive job of your dreams!
There’s something that can cut deep into the benefit of changing jobs.
Before you actually look for new employment, make sure you understand the benefits you currently have, like health insurance, and how those will be affected. Health insurance is a complicated thing so you have to be aware of how a job change changes your status. In a recent survey, almost a quarter of the respondents said that their insurance benefits and out-of-pocket expenses worsened their financial situation more than anticipated.
That survey is cited in an article at the NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) consumer site, Insure U. Job Seekers Beware: Prospective employer’s financial offer is about more than salary is part of some very helpful resources on Job Change that would be good to keep in mind.
NAIC Recommendations For Job Changers
To avoid surprises, consider the following before saying goodbye to a current employer:
See if your current group life insurance plan has a conversion privilege. If so, you may have up to 31 days after leaving your job to apply for coverage.
Find out if you can convert current group disability coverage into a portable disability plan that stays with you from job to job.
If your job change includes a move, check your homeowners’ policy to make sure personal possessions are covered in-transit. If not, consider a trip transit or floater policy.
Insurance rates and coverage vary greatly from state to state. Before a move across state lines, contact your state insurance department so you know what to expect.
Before accepting a new job, compare your current health plan with plans offered to assure the available mix of deductibles, co-pays and coinsurance will cost-effectively meet your needs.
Find out if your new employer has a mandatory waiting period before health insurance coverage takes effect. If so, consider a short-term plan through new health insurance exchanges to cover the gap. More than 10% of NAIC survey respondents said their overall financial situation was worsened by issues related to “the effective date of new health insurance coverage.”
If you have children and anticipate a coverage gap, you may also look into government-sponsored programs such as Children’s Health Insurance Plans (CHIP). These plans may provide coverage at low or no cost.
Finally, if you’re thinking of starting your own business and plan to use your personal car to make deliveries or visit clients, consider business auto coverage. If you’re involved in an accident while conducting these tasks, most personal auto policies won’t cover the losses.
One More Thing To Think About
Before you decide to search for a different job, get acquainted with all the job search resources on our site. You don’t have to explore each one, but the more you know about what you are getting into, the better prepared you will be for making that switch. Something as elementary as health insurance gets missed by many in the promise of a bigger paycheck, so plan carefully.
If you have had an email account for a while, it probably has a lot of stuff in it that you think will be opened someday. Most of us do this and realize one day we have thousands of unopened emails that might have something important to say. Yikes! How is this helping?
The quick answer is that it is not helping. Email is an important part of your professional life and the way you handle it directly affects your job search. Here are three quick ways to get your email inbox ready for action:
Have A Professional Email Account
If your current email address is pretty casual, that email address could be preventing you from getting a job. Start over with another professional email account that is only used for career purposes. In most cases, your first and middle initial with your last name @ gmail.com, or another e-mail provider, is good. If you have a common last name, you may want to use first name, initial, last name. Do a search on the variables and see what an employer will see when they search your name and choose your email address carefully.
This account is only for your job search and things related to that. This is your brand, the label of your digital presence. Don’t sign up for newsletters, use it for family or friends, or anything but business. If your email address is good and it’s just overwhelmed, put everything in a folder “to be sorted” and start over with the next step.
Set Your Inbox To Sort Automatically
Take the time to set up your professional inbox to sort into appropriate folders automatically and you can see at a glance what has come in. Every time you apply to a company, set up a folder with the rule that new mail from that company goes here. Keep an eye on your folders and know you will not miss anything important.
Whatever your account uses, rules and filters and labels can be set up to make your life efficient. Maximize all the tech you can and you will be ahead of the game, both in the job search and in any job you hold. It’s like having an electronic secretary.
Delete, Delete, Delete
I know a manager who deletes everything but never empties the trash folder so she can search for something “just in case.” This drives the tech support staff nuts, but she thinks she needs that security blanket. How about a folder that has the things you truly may need someday (contact information, for instance) and only keep that?
If you are not curating your inbox ruthlessly, there’s a good chance that you will miss an important email someday soon. Learn how to delete the extraneous stuff so you can focus on your future by having an efficient email inbox during your job search.
Do you use Google Alerts? It’s a great way to keep on top of the things you are interested in, and it can be very helpful when you are juggling all the details of a job search. It’s simple to set up notifications for your email or feed for whenever you want to be alerted to mentions of a subject.
Set Google Alerts For Career Leads & More
If you are interested in a particular company, you can ask to be alerted to any mention of that company online and get notified as it happens — once a day or once a week. Other possible subjects include:
industries in the location where you are moving to
breaking news about leaders and industry developments
monitor your online profile so you see what they see when you are researched
research your field for possible authoritative posts about current issues
prepare for interviews by having intelligent things to say
Depending on how you set it up, your job search strategies can get a daily dose of helpful information to act upon without having to remember to do repeated research. It all gets sent to your feed or inbox and a quick skim down the list lets you know if anything is worth reading further.
As you do this every day, a gradual building of perspective occurs because you are seeing the big, online picture of the subjects you are interested in. The longer you do it, the more ideas you’ll have for adjusting your particular settings to fit what you are interested in. Automating part of your job search strategies gives you the freedom to focus on what you will do with the things you find.
If you would do a search online for “successful job seeking skills” a long list of opinions would come up. Some of the same skills will be on everybody’s list, but at the same time there’d be some differences. It gets overwhelming, doesn’t it? I think that if you look at the combined lists of skills as a description of your inadequacies and stop there, you’re in trouble.
Probably the worst thing to do when you have been searching for a job unsuccessfully is looking at yourself as a failure and giving up. Probably the best thing to do when you have been searching for a job unsuccessfully is look at yourself as ready to take steps to improve and taking one step.
Do you see what’s different here? It’s not in having all the skills the market is looking for; it’s how you look at yourself honestly, acknowledge your inadequacies, and take action to improve yourself. Those are the skills that successful job seekers have because they have kept working at the various things on their plate and not given up.
Here’s a good first step: start reading the posts on this blog under job search. Here’s a good next step: do something you realize you need to do after reading one of them. And all the steps after that are variations of the same idea: research for solutions and pick one to do. What do you want to/need to change? I know this isn’t easy but with each step you accomplish, you get some confidence. You will develop a skill set that works in any part of life, including the job search and ultimate employment.
By now, I hope you have heard of Heartbleed, that notorious bug that has been infiltrating “secure” sites for the last two years and quietly stealing information without a trace. It’s ugly, but it also is a good reminder that there will always be some hacker out there trying to get past everyone’s guard. Neil Rubenking at SecurityWatch says the fallout of Heartbleed is the need for everyone to change every one of their passwords.
“Your secure sites fall in to three categories, those that are still vulnerable, those that were vulnerable in the past, and those that were never vulnerable. It’s absolutely essential to change your password on those that were vulnerable in the past. It couldn’t hurt to change those that seem like they were never vulnerable, especially because you can’t be sure. As for those that remain vulnerable, you’re going to have to change those again, but by making a clean sweep now and ensuring you have no duplicate passwords, you’ll make that second round of password updates easier.”
I recommend you read the article and do what this security expert suggests, go back to all sites you have joined and change your passwords or close your account there. I did this myself last night. Most security experts change their own passwords regularly anyhow, and if the security guy does it, the rest of us should think about doing it. Better safe than sorry.
If you’ve been searching for a job or have done so online in the past (think: job boards, online career centers, professional development sites, etc.), there may be some sites you joined in hopes of a job lead. It’s a good idea to have a unique password for each site anyway, but depending on how much information you gave on the site, that might be a place to critically examine for security risk. We need to be careful of online resume submissions because identity theft is growing, partly due to sophisticated bugs like Heartbleed that siphon off encrypted data like login credentials and security keys.
