If it’s been a while since you looked for a new job, you likely haven’t updated your resume during that time. Depending on how long it has been, simply making updates to it won’t be sufficient. When writing an effective resume today, you have to take into consideration how it looks digitally as well as on paper. And a lot of the resume writing strategies that applied a decade ago should be avoided now. Recruiters and hiring managers will be able to easily tell if your resume is dated, so here’s how you can rework yours to catch it up with modern times.
Old Resumes Need To Be Reworked Completely
Any professional resume writing service will suggest rewriting your resume completely if it’s close to a decade old. Sometimes it’s best to start with a blank document so you won’t be tempted to operate under the same framework as your old resume. But when you’ve only written a couple of versions of your resume, and none of them have been recent, how do you know where to start? An executive resume writer is a good resource since they are up-to-date on what should and shouldn’t be included.
Resume Writing Strategies To Consider
Old resumes didn’t typically highlight a job applicant’s personal brand. Today, personal branding is essential to include on resumes, since it’s what sets you apart from the rest. It can be difficult to do this if you’ve never done it before, so there’s no harm in working with an executive resume writer for assistance.
Keywords, formatting, hyperlinks and more should also be modernized in your resume. With more employers using applicant tracking systems to help them filter through resumes, it’s essential to include proper keywords and phrases to ensure your resume gets recognized. Targeting is also highly recommended when writing an effective resume. Employers can spot a general resume quickly, so do your research and demonstrate your knowledge about the company and their needs in yours.
Outdated Details Should Be Removed
Details like where you live, professional references, outdated expertise, an objective statement or other personal information don’t belong on resumes anymore. Of course, if a specific employer asks for this information, then you should have it handy and ready to provide it to them. Nothing demonstrates an outdated resume more than including these types of details, which most employers aren’t interested in.
Professional Resume Services takes pride in being a trusted professional resume writing service for numerous executives. Keeping up with the times is difficult today in the fast-paced world we live in. It’s especially difficult to do so if you have held the same job for many years and need to put together a resume quickly. Whether you’re actively looking for a job or if you just want to give your resume a boost, feel free to contact us for a consultation.
Job searches can be stressful, time-consuming and frustrating, but they don’t have to be. It’s natural to think you’ll get a call for an interview right away when you send in your resume to a company. But even if you worked with the top rated resume writing services, there’s still a chance you won’t get the call as quickly as you had hoped. Instead of dwelling on it and thinking about where you may have gone wrong, use the downtime to your advantage. You never know what may happen, but keep yourself busy by doing these things.
See if Other Companies Match Your Interests
Every executive resume service will tell you to not put all of your eggs into one basket. While you should spend a significant amount of time researching a company before sending in your targeted resume, don’t stop there. Move on to the next company to see if your personality fits with their culture and if you have the skills they are looking for. Most people have a specific list of companies in mind that they want to work for, but may discover other opportunities in the meantime they didn’t expect.
Make A New LinkedIn Connection
You can also use your downtime to update your LinkedIn profile and come up with strategic ways to utilize the platform. Take some time to find executives from other companies of interest and reach out to them. There’s never any harm in introducing yourself and making a new connection. Just don’t go overboard by building your list of connections so large and not knowing half of them. Making connections through your LinkedIn profile can lead to various opportunities later on.
Thank Your Past and Current Mentors
Waiting for a job interview call is a good time to reflect on where you’ve been and look forward to where you want to be. An executive resume service may suggest reaching out to your past and current mentors to simply thank them for how they’ve helped shape your career. They will appreciate the gratitude more than you think, and you never know if they’ll be able to provide you with one last nugget to help you move forward.
Professional Resume Services is more than simply an executive resume service. We work with executives who are at different points in their careers and are pursuing different paths. Some executives we work with don’t have a LinkedIn profile, while others simply need to brush theirs up. No matter where you’re at in your career or what type of career advice you think you need, feel free to contact us at any time to see how we can help.
Executives who spend several hours a day searching job boards for the right position are likely just spinning their wheels. With the thousands of jobs and applicants that apply for those jobs, your chances of being recognized are slim. In fact, many of the top executive positions won’t even get posted on job boards. After you’ve focused on LinkedIn profile development and have visited with an executive resume writing service, your best chance of finding a job is through networking. Here are some of the main issues with job boards and why you should avoid them.
Applicant Tracking Systems
Employers use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) today to sort through resumes automatically. The trick to passing ATS is having the appropriate amount of relevant keywords scattered throughout your resume. An executive resume writing service can help you select those keywords, but there’s no guarantee it will pass since there’s not a standard ATS software to study and learn. Since jobs posted on job boards likely receive hundreds of applicants, hiring managers usually will use ATS to filter out candidates. This means your chances of getting noticed are very low.
Executive Positions Rarely Get Posted To Job Boards
After writing a professional resume, your next step shouldn’t be to scour the job boards. Chances are the high-level positions you’re seeking won’t even be posted on them anyway. If anything, you can look through the different company names in order to spark your own internal research on them. You’ll likely need to look through LinkedIn, attend networking events and do other research to learn what jobs they actually have open.
What Job Search Strategy Should You Use Instead?
Networking is by far the most effective way for executives to find the jobs fitting their skills and expertise. Employers want to take their time to find the right fit, and they usually never find that person from a job board. Focus on LinkedIn profile development first, since you will be doing some networking via that platform. Making connections through LinkedIn gives you a great foundation for developing professional relationships that may eventually evolve into new opportunities.
Professional Resume Services is an executive resume writing service dedicated to helping professionals with every aspect of their job search. Job boards may have been effective a decade ago, but the top executive positions won’t be found there today. You’ll just be wasting your time and energy searching on them, and there are plenty of better ways to focus your resources. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time for some tips on effective job searching strategies today.
There are a lot of discussions nowadays about the importance of personal branding for senior level managers. Some professionals who have established careers with many years of experience believe c-level personal branding is only required for the young up-and-coming executive. The truth is no matter where you are in your career and whether you’re searching for a job or not, your personal brand is critical for your career. There are no age barriers with c-level personal branding and here’s why it’s so important.
Branding Defines Who You Are Now
If you’re actively searching for a job, brushing up your executive LinkedIn profile is a necessity. Recruiters look at LinkedIn to learn about a candidate’s skills and experience, but also to get an idea of who they are. LinkedIn is a perfect platform to demonstrate who you are as a person and as an executive. When a recruiter looks at your profile, they should clearly see what value you could bring to the table and how well you would fit into their organization. This is what c-level personal branding is all about.
How Personal Branding Helps Your Job Search
Your personal brand will stand out to a hiring manager. Whether you met them at a networking event or reached out to them on LinkedIn, the initial conversation is what will be most memorable. But in order for a hiring manager to know what your personal brand is all about, you have to know how to demonstrate it. Otherwise, they may get a wrong impression of you and your job search efforts will suffer as a result. Companies want to know exactly the type of person they are hiring, so make sure you’re clearly demonstrating what you’re all about.
Branding Has No Age Limit
Even established executives with dozens of years of experience have to focus on c-level personal branding. Your personal brand does more than just help with a job search. It builds your credibility with others in your industry even if you have no intentions of searching for a new job. No matter how old or young you are, the best business relationships happen when everyone knows what you stand for, including yourself.
Professional Resume Services works with executives in various aspects of their career. If you have an executive LinkedIn profile, we can help you optimize it to clearly show your personal brand and potentially increase your number of opportunities in your career. There are no age barriers when it comes to c-level personal branding, and every action you take is a reflection of it. To learn more about how we can help you with personal branding, feel free to contact us at any time.
Having positive momentum in anything you do is motivating. The great thing about this is people get motivated in different ways, so there’s no right or wrong way to accomplish it. When it comes to an executive job search, if you aren’t moving in a positive direction every day then you could fall behind and find yourself in a hole. But how do you keep positive momentum without experiencing burnout? Various strategies through LinkedIn profile development, networking, c-level personal branding and more can help keep you engaged and moving in the right direction.
Plant Seeds And Continue Moving Forward
One way to keep momentum going is to not spend too much time on any given action. For example, you may research a company you’re interested in, find out who the hiring manager is and send them your resume. Don’t sit around and wait for a response because you may not get one right away, if at all. Instead, consider that one seed being planted and then move on to the next company you’re interested in. Or better yet, focus on improving your online c-level personal branding in the meantime. The more time you spend being idle, the higher the likelihood of you losing valuable momentum in your job search.
Set Short-Term Goals Along Your Journey
Many people stay motivated by making short-term checklists of tasks they want to accomplish. You should still have an ultimate end goal to strive for, but the short-term goals are designed to keep you engaged and active on your journey. This could mean visiting an executive resume writing service to boost your resume, attending a networking event or working on your LinkedIn profile development. The more short-term goals you can check off your list, the more engaged you’ll be throughout the process.
Never Stop Building Your Brand
Every action you take online or in person is a reflection of your brand. When you’re focused on enhancing your c-level personal branding, you can get creative in the ways you do so. Consider creating original content to post to your blog or LinkedIn profile, engaging with connections, commenting on other original posts and more. You never know who will come across your name online, so making sure your brand appears how you want it to is essential.
At Professional Resume Services, we understand the challenges every executive faces during a job search. Our executive resume writing service helps develop resumes and brainstorms different strategies with job seekers. Momentum is important, but you have to also be careful with burnout. Sometimes taking a day off and clearing your mind can help you refocus your efforts and move forward positively. For more tips like these, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time.
What’s your strategy as an executive job seeker? There’s no right or wrong answer to the question, and sometimes it takes trial and error to truly figure out what the most effective strategy is for you. Even then, adjustments must be made along the way. Simply thinking you can write resumes that get you hired isn’t the best strategy overall today. With the digital age we live in, it requires more work and effort to get recognized. Here are some ongoing strategies you should consider incorporating into your job search regularly.
Always Be Active on LinkedIn
Having a complete LinkedIn profile is great, but being active on the platform is even better. Consider working with a LinkedIn profile writer to get the basics of your profile taken care of. At that point, you can join LinkedIn groups, revisit old connections, post original content, comment on other people’s content and more. The point is the more people who see your name, the more attention you’ll get. Just be sure not to overdo it to the point where people may get tired of hearing from you.
Be Creative And Insightful With Content You Post
Posting original content relevant to your industry is a great strategy for standing out among the competition. While executive resume writer services can help you put together a solid resume, your expertise is required to write original content. You can post these articles on your website or publish them on your LinkedIn profile. The idea is to be creative and insightful with each post so you’ll earn some credibility with each one.
Keep Your Name Relevant With Comments on Posts
Find a good balance between the original articles you post and the comments you make on other posts. When you make engaging comments or ask insightful questions, you could spark a discussion with other readers or the writer themselves. People appreciate comments on their articles and you never know when it could lead to something greater.
Have A Resume Always Prepared
Writing resumes that get you hired today means having various versions of your resume targeted at the companies you’re interested in. Once you’ve researched your targeted companies, consider working with executive resume writer services to have a resume prepared when the opportunity arises. Whether you need to send it to a connection electronically or physically at a networking event, you should always be prepared.
Professional Resume Services enjoys talking with executive job seekers about their strategies. In addition to helping write resumes that get you hired, we can also help you with developing your LinkedIn profile and taking other steps to ensure you’re ready for new opportunities. No matter what stage you’re at in your job search, feel free to contact us at any time for assistance along the way.
The two traditional components needed to apply for a job include a cover letter and a resume. As technology and the job searching process has evolved, though, many people wonder whether it’s still necessary to include a cover letter with their application. If you follow the recommended course of action by attending networking events and making connections with people prior to applying for a job, then cover letters for resumes are still valuable. You want to introduce yourself appropriately and show your personality when applying for a job, and a cover letter is a perfect way to do so. Here are some reasons why an executive resume cover letter still brings value.
Cover Letters Won’t Hurt Your Chances
Most recruiters and hiring managers don’t mind seeing a cover letter sent in with a resume. It doesn’t mean they will read it from start to finish, but including one isn’t going to hurt your chances. On the other hand, some hiring managers actually do read cover letters for resumes thoroughly to get a glimpse of the applicant’s style and brand. So not including one could mean your application gets tossed to the side. The bottom line is there are very few situations where a cover letter will hurt your chances of getting a job, so go ahead and include it.
Things To Keep In Mind When Writing Cover Letters
Any cover letter writing service will tell you to target your cover letter as you would your resume. It starts with addressing the actual person who will read the cover letter. If you aren’t sure who this is, do a Google search and look on LinkedIn for the appropriate person to address it to. Otherwise, it may appear as if you wrote a general cover letter to send to multiple companies, which isn’t attractive for hiring managers. Also, be sure to incorporate some personal branding attributes in your executive resume cover letter so your targeted employer knows who you are as a person and an employee.
Cover Letters Should Add Value To Your Resume
Your cover letter shouldn’t simply be a summary of your resume. It should, however, add value to your resume by going into more detail or highlighting the most important parts of the resume. The language and tone of your executive resume cover letter should be more informal than a resume, while still being professional. Be specific as to why you are a great fit for the targeted company and you can point to your resume for evidence.
At Professional Resume Services, we look for ways to help executives stand out among the talent pool of other individuals. Too many people devalue the cover letter nowadays, which is a huge mistake. A cover letter can be extremely effective when done correctly and our cover letter writing service is here to help. Never hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or need tips for developing yours.
Plenty of myths and misconceptions are out there when it comes to the best methods for conducting a job search today. If it’s been a while since you’ve had to search for a job, you may think the new trend is posting your resume to online job boards rather than visiting companies in person. However, you could be wasting a lot of time by making that your strategy. A professional resume writing service can help you create the best resume possible, but it doesn’t guarantee you’ll get the first job you apply to. Here are some tips and strategies to help you land your dream executive job in today’s digital age.
Why Networking is an Effective Job Search Strategy
Networking has been around since the beginning of time, and it’s still one of the most effective job search methods. However, the landscape has changed slightly and professionals are using their executive LinkedIn profile to lead their efforts. You can build a large list of connections via LinkedIn in many ways, including joining LinkedIn groups. If you have a targeted company you want to work for, you can search the platform to find employees there to connect with. You never know whom you may cross paths with, so networking is always worth the effort.
Clean Up Your Social Media Profiles
You have to expect recruiters and hiring managers to search for your name and check every social media profile you have. Be sure to clean these up so they reflect the personality you want others to see. There could still be some lingering posts from several years ago that aren’t appropriate, and you definitely don’t want a hiring manager to discover them. Once all the negative aspects have been cleaned up, you can optimize your LinkedIn profile and other platforms to enhance your personal brand.
Brush Up Your Resume
A professional resume writing service may need to check your resume for common mistakes. The same resume format you used to get your current job several years ago may not be attractive today. You also want to use more targeted language throughout your resume instead of just creating a general one to apply to multiple jobs with. With Applicant Tracking Systems and other technology employers have available, one minor mistake in your resume can ruin your job search. It’s better to have a professional look it over to be sure you aren’t sabotaging your job search before it even begins.
Professional Resume Services is a professional resume writing service that does much more than simply write and revise resumes. We understand the importance of a quality executive LinkedIn profile and work with our clients to ensure their image is consistent across all platforms. Landing your executive dream job today requires more effort than it did a decade ago, so feel free to reach out to us at any time for more tips to help you out.
