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.
Simply having a LinkedIn profile is better than not having one at all. However, you’re missing out on great opportunities if you don’t take advantage of everything the platform has to offer. Whether you’re unemployed and searching for a job or if you’re ready to move on from your current employer, prioritizing LinkedIn profile development can be a great first step in getting into the position you want. Here are a few effective ways to make the most out of your LinkedIn profile during an executive job search.
Find Networking Opportunities
Any good professional LinkedIn profile writer will suggest using the platform as a way to reach out to people and discover networking opportunities. One of the worst things you can do is find people who work at the company you’re interested in and messaging them to let them know you’re searching for a job. The better approach would be to do your research and find mutual connections so you have a way to connect with the person. Invite them to a networking event you will be attending in the near future, or maybe even invite them to coffee or lunch just to discuss career opportunities.
Complete Your Profile With Relevant Keywords
Your LinkedIn executive profile won’t help your job search if you don’t have the right amount of relevant keywords. Employers have a specific set of search terms they likely use to find qualified candidates, so working with a professional LinkedIn profile writer to ensure they are incorporated properly is very valuable. The keywords themselves are important, but the location of the keywords is also an overlooked factor. SEO is a big part of LinkedIn, so focusing on it as part of your LinkedIn profile development is critical.
Inform Your Connections of Your Job Search
There’s usually no harm in letting your connections know you’re actively looking for a job. Of course, the only problem this could cause is if you’re still employed and your current employer somehow finds out about your messages. But if you’re unemployed, a professional LinkedIn profile writer may suggest putting a message in your contact section indicating you’re open to opportunities. Sometimes recruiters will only reach out to people if they know for sure they are looking for a new job.
Professional Resume Services is here to help you utilize the most important aspects of LinkedIn to boost your job search efforts. While the platform is an important one to be on and be active with during your job search, there are plenty of wrong ways to use it as well. If you haven’t had to go through a job search in a while, it’s understandably difficult to know exactly what you need to do. When you find yourself in this situation, feel free to reach out to us at any time and we will guide you along the way.
One of the best resources anyone can use today for a job search is LinkedIn. Even the people who understand the reasons why LinkedIn profile development is so important often don’t even utilize it to its greatest capabilities, though. Unless you work in an industry where SEO is important, then you may not know exactly how to incorporate keywords throughout your profile. This is when working with a professional LinkedIn profile writer can be extremely beneficial. Here are some of the most powerful impacts you can experience when using SEO to your advantage with LinkedIn.
Soar To The Top of Search Rankings
Recruiters and hiring managers have a certain list of words and phrases they use when searching online to find the right job candidates. If your LinkedIn profile doesn’t have the words to match their criteria, then there’s a very small chance you’ll be discovered. A LinkedIn profile service can help you strategically incorporate keywords in the right places on your profile, while still making it flow naturally. The result will be your name showing up higher in the search results, so you’ll have a much higher likelihood of getting discovered.
Incorporate Keywords In The Right Sections
LinkedIn can be tricky if you don’t know the ins-and-outs of it. You can put relevant keywords all over your profile, but if they aren’t in the right sections, you may not reap the rewards. The sections of your profile closest to the top of the page rank higher for SEO purposes, so be sure to prioritize those. The name section, job titles, professional headline and summary sections are the most important ones a professional LinkedIn profile writer will suggest incorporating the strongest possible keywords in.
Research Employers To Discover Relevant Keywords
So how do you know exactly which relevant keywords to put on your profile? An experienced LinkedIn profile service can be valuable to lean on, but you can also do some research on potential employers to see which terms they use. Incorporating a good mix of keywords is always good. However, you also need to make sure you’re using the ones the potential employer believes are most important as well.
Professional Resume Services is more than just a service that helps people write their own resumes. We like to be involved with different steps of a job search, which includes LinkedIn profile development. We understand a well-written resume is only one of many components of a job search today. In this regard, we take the extra steps to ensure all bases are covered and you’re ready to be discovered as a quality job candidate. Never hesitate to reach out to us for assistance in any area of your job search.
Writing the perfect resume may seem difficult to accomplish with all of the tips and tricks you have heard about. The top resume writing services can point out mistakes on your resume that you may not even believe is an issue. For example, we’ve all heard about the value of using bullet points in a resume, but did you know using too many bullet points is a sign of desperation in the eyes of an employer? Identifying mistakes like this can be tough, so here are five of the biggest errors the top resume writing services can help you discover and prevent.
Not Including Your LinkedIn Profile
Nowadays employers are going to look for social proof rather than simply relying on your resume to tell them what they need to know. Not including your LinkedIn profile link at the top or bottom of your resume may indicate you’re hiding something or you don’t want them to search for you online. Employers will try to find your LinkedIn profile anyway, so make it easier on them by providing the link.
Too Many Bullet Points
While it’s tempting to list out every achievement, skill and accomplishment you’ve earned over the years, try not to put them in the form of too many bullet points. Having more than about five bullet points may indicate you’re trying too hard to appear qualified for the job. It’s best to narrow down your most relevant attributes to the job you’re applying for and only include those.
Not Enough White Space
You never want your resume to be more than two pages, but you also shouldn’t stuff as much text as possible into those two pages. The best executive resume format will leave a good amount of white space around the perimeter of the document and between each section of the resume. This makes the entire document look cleaner and it’s much easier for the hiring manager to read.
Listing Political Affiliations
You may feel strongly about your political affiliation, but your resume is not the place to list it. One of the only times the top resume writing services will recommend listing your political affiliation is if it’s relevant to the job you’re applying for. Otherwise, it’s generally a big risk to include it.
Inconsistencies or Typographical Errors
Proofreading your resume thoroughly for typographical errors or inconsistencies is essential. Don’t rely on spell check offered by your software program, since it doesn’t always catch everything. Once you believe you have everything in order, allow a friend or a resume expert to proofread and critique it as well so you don’t miss anything.
Professional Resume Services can easily identify potential errors in a resume that aren’t necessarily evident to the average person. We know what hiring managers and recruiters are looking for and what the major pitfalls of any given resume are. If you’re unsure about any aspect of your resume, feel free to reach out to us at any time for helpful tips and hints to consider.
If job-seeking executives only knew exactly what recruiters were looking for in candidates, their efforts would be made much easier. While you may not know a lot of the specific characteristics or qualities recruiters are looking for, you can get a general idea of what you need to include on your LinkedIn profile. A common misconception among executives is they should only write in a professional tone and talk about their achievements. This is only one aspect of what recruiters usually look for, though. Here are some of the other components that are always taken into consideration.
Positivity
Everything you put online either helps or hurts your c-level personal branding. Even if you left a previous employer on bad terms, don’t say anything negative about them on your LinkedIn profile or anywhere else. When you bad mouth them, a recruiter can’t help but think you’ll do the same to them if things don’t go your way, so it may not even be worth the risk of talking to you. Recruiters want to hire positive people to join their team, so always keep this in mind.
Social Proof Backing Up Your Claims
You should expect a recruiter to do a significant amount of research on you. Help them out by giving as much information as you think they will need on your LinkedIn profile. If you claim to be an expert at something, back it up with proof. Provide a link to your blog or website, if applicable, point to an article where you were recognized. Recruiters are always going to look for social proof to back up every claim you make, so be proactive and give it to them upfront.
Understanding Your Personality
An executive resume writer will always suggest inserting some of your personality into your resume or LinkedIn profile. Companies today are placing a higher emphasis on hiring people who fit their culture from a personality perspective. They want to hire people who will be there for the long haul, fit in with other employees, work as a team and provide unique value. You can easily demonstrate your personality without getting too personal, and an executive resume writer can help you if needed.
Professional Resume Services helps job candidates optimize their resumes and LinkedIn profiles so they are in a prime position to be recognized by recruiters. There are a lot of moving parts in a job search, so we are here to help make sure all of your bases are covered. The main thing is to be conscious of what you put online since it will always be taken into consideration by a recruiter. No matter where you’re at in your searching efforts, feel free to reach out to us for assistance every step of the way.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is widely used in many different industries, and it’s only expected to continue to be utilized even more. It has particularly become more useful in making a recruiter’s job more efficient. Artificial intelligence can handle certain tedious tasks automatically when it comes to sorting through resumes, so a recruiter or hiring manager can actually focus on the human element of developing relationships. Combine this with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which helps recruiters narrow down resumes based on keywords and other criteria, and it’s easy to see what the future may hold for executive job seekers. Here’s what you need to know about these aspects when it comes to writing a professional resume.
Hiring Professionals Are Using AI And ATS More
The combination of AI and ATS can save hiring managers a significant amount of time during the recruitment process and even onboarding candidates. By the time a resume actually gets to a hiring manager’s desk for a final review, it has already gone through many virtual checks to ensure the proper criteria was met. The top resume writing services can help you determine which keywords are most appropriate for passing through these initial automated checks. If you don’t have the right amount of keywords or phrases, you could just be spinning your wheels during your job search.
AI May Even Be Involved In The Interview Room
Once the best executive resume writers help you pass through ATS and lead you to get a job interview, you still may have to go through some AI tests. Some companies even incorporate artificial intelligence during an interview to detect a candidate’s body language, eye movements, facial expressions and more. These are often characteristics that are difficult for humans to detect but are important to do so when determining the honesty and personality of a candidate.
Don’t Spend Too Much Time Optimizing For AI and ATS
While AI and ATS are critical components to consider in your job search, the top resume writing services will still tell you to not let them consume a lot of your time. The best executive resume writers can help you pass these tests on paper, but you still need to focus on the human element of a job search, including networking and developing relationships. Basically, you should keep AI and ATS in the back of your mind, but don’t let those aspects take up a significant portion of your job search.
Professional Resume Services is one of the top resume writing services for many reasons. We help job seekers be more rounded in their efforts to increase their chances of being recognized, landing an interview and ultimately getting into the job they desire. In a world where artificial intelligence and ATS are starting to take over, don’t let them consume you. Be sure to contact us for assistance at any stage of your job search.
A resume today is perceived differently than it was several years ago. Your resume should not only highlight your past achievements. It should also clearly demonstrate why you are equipped to handle the particular job you’re applying for. This means the days of writing one general resume and sending it out to multiple employers are over. The best professional resume writers can help you target your resume for the short-term, while also setting a solid foundation for the long-term. Here are some of the main reasons why working with executive resume writer services is worth the investment.
Answer A Recruiter’s Questions On Paper
The best professional resume writers can anticipate questions a recruiter will have about your expertise and will work the answers directly into the resume. Not only could this potentially shorten your job search, but it may also help you prepare for an interview since you can get your mind thinking about the questions you may hear. Recruiters will always have questions for job candidates, but the more you can answer on paper, the fewer you will have to address verbally.
Highlight Achievements Without Bragging
It’s easy to write about your achievements when writing resumes and cover letters. However, you don’t want to come across as boasting. Sometimes you may not be intentionally bragging, so it’s always good to have another set of eyes look at your resume to make sure it doesn’t come across that way. Employers like confident employees, but tend to shy away from over-confident candidates.
Save Time
Writing resumes and cover letters on your own can take a significant amount of time. When you leave that task in the hands of professionals, you can spend your time on tasks like networking, boosting your online brand, preparing for potential interviews and actually applying for jobs. No one wants a job search to last longer than it has to, so save yourself valuable time by working with executive resume writer services.
Polish Your Resume For Your Lifetime
When you have a solid foundation for your resume, it’s possible only minor tweaks and updates will be needed for the duration of your career. However, developing the foundation can be challenging to do on your own without an expert to at least proofread it and make adjustments. Setting a foundation one time can set you up with a quality resume for the rest of your career.
Professional Resume Services hires only the best professional resume writers to serve you in the most effective manner. Our goal is to minimize your time spent on a job search by helping you be efficient with your strategies and taking some stress off of your plate. We strive every day to be perceived as a worthy investment for our clients. Feel free to contact us at any time if you’re in need of a solid foundation for your executive resume.
Not too many people truly enjoy the time they spend searching for a new job. While working with an executive resume writer can be an enjoyable and pleasant experience, it’s not the first place executives want to be at any given day. Sometimes you can’t control how long it takes an employer to hire a candidate, but you can take some steps to use your time more wisely and shorten the search process. Here are a few effective time management tips to consider when job searching.
Know Exactly What You Want
Think about your past experience, what value you bring to the table and what you actually want to do. There may be some aspects that are non-negotiable, so be sure to identify those in your thought process. Just remember to be realistic in this regard so you don’t eliminate yourself from too many potential jobs. Once you know exactly what you want out of a job, you can start writing an effective resume geared toward it.
Be Realistic When Setting Goals
If you’re unemployed and looking for a job, it’s usually unrealistic to think you can spend eight hours per day on a job search. Burnout is just as real with a job search as it is with jobs themselves, so consider designating a couple of hours each day to work hard at it. This can involve visiting a professional resume writing service, attending a networking event, tweaking your social media profiles and more. Setting realistic goals will help you prevent burnout and keep you motivated.
Network
Many job openings are filled through networking rather than through traditional channels. Your time can be spent wisely by attending and actively participating in networking events. You never know whom you might meet at these events, so always be sure to bring your best. And it’s wise to also ask an executive resume writer to take a look at your resume to ensure it’s polished enough to bring to these important events.
Get Professional Advice With Your Resume
You don’t want to waste any time sending out resumes with mistakes on them. You could essentially be spinning your wheels with your job search and not even know it. Get ahead of any potential issues by working with a professional resume writing service upfront. They can help identify and fix any problems on your resume and modernize it for today’s job searching landscape to make your time be spent more efficiently.
Professional Resume Services is known as a professional resume writing service, but we are much more than just that. We enjoy the opportunity to be involved in an executive’s job searching efforts and help them find the job they desire. The landscape of job searching has changed drastically over the years, and we are here to help guide you in the right direction. Never hesitate to contact us if you need any guidance along your journey.
