Most people have heard the phrase, “it’s not where you start, but where you finish.” This is true in many aspects of life, but when it comes to an executive job search, how you start will have a significant impact on your success. Whether you’ve held one job for several years, are looking to change to a different industry or any other situation, the top resume writing services will caution you to take the time to do your homework before diving in. Here are some of the most important facts you need to know before beginning your job search.
Companies Search For Unique Talent
The competition is very high for executives, so employers know they have the opportunity to be selective. Not only will companies look for candidates with the most experience, but they will also consider the specific value every candidate is unique for. This is where your c-level personal branding enters the picture. Companies need to be able to clearly see what you stand for, what hard skills and soft skills you have and what unique value you bring to the table.
Most Job Openings Are Hidden
If the first step in your job search is to scour the online job boards, you’re making a big mistake. While some of these job postings may be legitimate, it’s hard to separate them from the ones that are outdated or not valid. Plus, with companies receiving hundreds of resumes through online job boards every day, your chances of getting noticed are slim. The best professional executive resume writers always suggest tapping into the hidden job market, which typically involves networking. This could mean attending local events, reaching out to connections on LinkedIn, touching base with past co-workers and more. Most of the top jobs today aren’t advertised, so you have to get your name out to companies of interest in other ways.
Hiring Managers Always Check Social Media
If you’re going to work on your c-level personal branding, the first thing to do is clean up your social media profiles. Every hiring manager is going to look at all of your social media accounts for any potential concerns they may have about you. If hired, you are going to be a direct representation of the company, so they will make sure you will represent them well before even considering you as a candidate. Professional Resume Services is known as one of the top resume writing services, but we also enjoy providing tips like these to people beginning their job search. A job search today is much different than it was a few years ago, so it’s important for executives to understand the landscape before proceeding. If you ever have any questions about where to begin or how to continue with your searching efforts, don’t hesitate to contact us for advice.
With the busy lives everyone has, it’s easy to lose touch with people in your network over the course of months or years. Because of this, many people think it’s inappropriate to reach back out to reconnect for various reasons. The truth is your connections are likely just as busy and may even want to reconnect as well. You’ll never know until you try, but there are effective ways to reconnect while avoiding any awkwardness. Working with a LinkedIn profile service may be beneficial before you do so, though. Your connection may not completely remember where you were the last time you spoke, so having an updated profile can give them a refresher and increase the likelihood of them responding.
Reach Out Via LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a valuable platform for many reasons, and reaching out to past connections is one of them. If the connection was a cold contact to begin with, you can simply start out by re-introducing yourself and reminding them of where you met and what you talked about. When you use a professional LinkedIn profile writer, be sure and tell them all of your past experiences so you’ll have a profile that’s as complete as possible. Most of your connections will remember you, depending on how long it’s been, but it never hurts to give them as much information as possible on your profile to help them out.
Be Personal And Honest, As Appropriate
If you had a close relationship with a particular connection, starting out by saying it’s been too long since you last talked can be a good ice breaker. They will likely agree with you and respond back with similar feelings. You could even share a personal moment that recently happened in your life, such as a marriage, birth of a child, change of career or more. Simply sparking a conversation is all it takes, and you don’t need a professional LinkedIn profile writer in order to be genuine with your connections.
Provide Them With Value
When you look on a past connection’s LinkedIn profile, see what they’ve been up to lately and share something of value to them. This could be an interesting article or another resource for their career or personal interests. Any conversation that starts off with you providing value to them, rather than you trying to sell yourself, will usually end with a greater result. A LinkedIn profile service can help you sell yourself on your profile, but it’s not appropriate to do so when reconnecting with people in your network. Professional Resume Services does more than simply help executives with writing a professional resume. Networking is a huge part of any career, and doing so the right way can help you easily reconnect with people in your network. This is often times more effective than finding new connections, so it’s well worth the time and effort. If you’re ever unsure about how to utilize LinkedIn to reach out to your network, give us a call for more helpful tips and advice.
How to Write and Get Great LinkedIn Recommendations
People have different opinions about LinkedIn recommendations. When you work with a LinkedIn profile development expert, they will likely tell you they are important to have from a quality standpoint rather than a quantity standpoint. Your executive LinkedIn profile should support your own personal brand in many different ways, and getting recommendations from your network can help. One tip to get the best recommendations is to write quality recommendations of your own. Here are some tips for doing both.
What to Include When Writing Recommendations
When you’re writing a LinkedIn recommendation for a connection, think about what you would want someone to say about you. Be specific when it comes to your experience with working with them, or how you know what they bring to the table. Grab the reader’s attention with the first sentence and be very clear as to why you think they will succeed in any given endeavor. And never hesitate to ask your connection what information they would like you to include in the recommendation as well, so it’s tailored appropriately.
Best Ways To Get LinkedIn Recommendations
Any LinkedIn profile development expert will say the best way to receive a recommendation is to give one yourself. People are more willing to write one if they receive one first, so go ahead and take the first step. Your executive LinkedIn profile includes a feature that allows you to ask for a recommendation as well. You can send a personalized message to your connection to request a recommendation, so take advantage of this feature. And be sure to send them a sincere thank you message when they give it to you. Or better yet, write one for them as well.
Don’t Just Hand Out or Accept All Recommendations
As we mentioned previously, quality is better than quantity when it comes to LinkedIn recommendations. LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to review your recommendations before they get posted on your profile. Don’t just accept every recommendation without reading them first. You want to make sure it matches your personal brand before accepting. On the other hand, you could harm your own reputation if you give out a recommendation every time you’re asked. Unless you worked closely with the person or know them very well, proceed with caution before writing one. Hiring managers and recruiters can tell a genuine recommendation from a fabricated one, so it’s not worth it just to make someone happy. Professional Resume Services is more than just a team of the best professional resume writers. We focus on many aspects of professional careers, from networking to relationship building to LinkedIn profile development and beyond. Being a well-rounded professional is difficult since there are so many aspects involved, but we are here to help. Feel free to reach out to us at any time if there’s anything we can assist with regarding your career aspirations.
As a job candidate, you have to know what works and what doesn’t work with your job search to ensure you make progress every single day. One of the most effective strategies for any job search is networking. With quality c-level personal branding, networking can lead you to many new connections, as well as the possibility of being referred to a company’s hiring manager. This relationship between networking and referrals is underestimated by many professionals, but the truth is companies would much rather pick from referrals than random job candidates.
Why Companies Prefer Referrals
In most cases, the speed of the hiring process is much faster when working with referrals. From an employer’s standpoint, if one of their employees refers a potential candidate, chances are they will be a high quality candidate, a good fit, have a better chance of hiring them quickly and may even lead to other quality candidates. This is especially true if the employee who made the referral understands the importance of c-level personal branding. A hiring manager is more willing to trust one of their own employees rather than a resume they received from other outlets.
Can Networking Make You A Referral?
So now that you know how important being a referral is to a potential employer, how do you become one? Networking is the easy answer. You can start by working with an executive LinkedIn profile writer to ensure your online brand is represented appropriately. You can then use the LinkedIn platform to re-engage with current connections or make new connections based on your interests. One misconception many people have is that networking is all about asking for a job. The reality is networking is about building relationships and seeing where they lead. It never hurts to let your connections know you’re looking for a job and explain your qualifications, though. While companies tend to hire referrals quicker, from a candidate standpoint, becoming a referral may take a little longer since you have to build a strong relationship with your network.
Remember A Referral Only Gets Your Foot In The Door
When you’ve ultimately been referred to a company for a position of interest, it doesn’t mean you have the job wrapped up. You have to remember there are likely other referrals that are candidates as well. Don’t put off visiting the top resume writing services, since it could be the difference in you getting the job or not. Being a referral definitely gives you a better chance of getting the job, but it’s far from a guarantee. Professional Resume Services is known as one of the top resume writing services, but we also help professionals in many other ways. Building your network and earning referrals can open the door to many opportunities, whether you’re looking for them or not. To learn more about this relationship and how you can use it to enhance your career, feel free to contact us at any time.
3 Strategies for a Successful Executive Job Search
Going through an executive job search today is much different than it was a decade ago. The one thing that hasn’t changed is the need for a quality resume. With the competition and the tools used by companies to filter out resumes, many professionals rely on the best executive resume writers to help them out. In fact, this is one of the first things anyone should do to help get their job search started correctly. Once you have a perfect resume, you can incorporate these three strategies to give your job search efforts a boost.
Avoid Online Job Boards
It’s tempting to jump on online job boards after the best executive resume writers finish up your resume. However, even those resume writers will tell you it’s probably not the best idea. Online job boards often times have old job postings or inaccurate job descriptions, not to mention the hundreds or thousands of applicants they receive every single day. Your chances of even having your resume viewed with human eyes are slim-to-none. There’s nothing wrong with looking at online job boards to get an idea of what openings companies of interest may have, but actually applying for those jobs online isn’t usually the best option.
Incorporate Networking
Find local networking events and attend them regularly if you can. Start by brushing up your LinkedIn profile and connecting with people through it. You can even use your findings from online job boards to search for people who work at the companies that interest you. Many executives aren’t natural networkers, so starting off a conversation through LinkedIn is a great way to break the ice, make the face-to-face interactions much easier and define your c-level personal branding. Always have a business card ready and hand them out to the people you connect with the most.
Target Companies of Interest
Make a list of several companies you’re interested in working for, then do extensive research on them. The best executive resume writers will ask you what companies you believe you are a good fit for, so they can tailor your resume to them. Your list of companies can come from your networking efforts, online research, past co-workers and more. When you hand over a resume to a potential employer, they want to see what value you will bring to them. A general resume won’t give them the information they want to see, so targeting the company in your resume will yield the best results. Professional Resume Services is here to help executives have a seamless job search. We understand going through a job search can be stressful, time consuming and sometimes frustrating. Whether you need tips on improving your c-level personal branding, updating your resume or anything else related to your search, always feel free to contact us at any time and we would be happy to help.
Why You Need Both Personal SEO and Personal Branding During an Executive Job Search
Getting discovered online is a critical component of any job search. In fact, the best executive resume writers will sometimes tailor your resume to incorporate more SEO (search engine optimization) terms to help your name show up more frequently in search results. But what about c-level personal branding? This is also an important piece of a job search that can’t be overlooked. Here are some reasons why you need both personal SEO and personal branding when searching for your next job.
Personal SEO And Personal Branding Go Hand-In-Hand
In order to optimize your personal SEO, you need to incorporate keywords and phrases relevant to the particular job you’re searching for. These keywords typically involve the hard skills and technical expertise required to do the job. From a personal branding perspective, employers want to know about your personal qualities to determine whether you will be a cultural fit within their organization. This could include leadership experience, how well you work with a team and individually and other personality traits. When your online presence includes both personal SEO and c-level personal branding, you’ll have a better chance of being discovered by the top recruiters and employers.
Use Both To Differentiate Yourself
While both are needed to be discovered, you can also use them to differentiate yourself from other job candidates. You may choose to work with a LinkedIn profile development expert to incorporate certain keywords to make yourself stand out, while still using proper SEO terms to be discovered. It’s a fine line between being just like everyone else and differentiating yourself online, but it’s possible to find the perfect balance when you incorporate both aspects.
Never Sacrifice Authenticity
When you think about your LinkedIn profile development and how to incorporate personal SEO and personal branding, it can become easy to fall into the trap of writing content to be discovered rather than being authentic. Sacrificing authenticity is never a good idea for your long-term job prospects, since employers will almost always ask you to validate any of your claims. When you have all the soft skills and hard skills required to land the job you desire, sometimes it just takes working with the best executive resume writers to tweak the wording to help you become discovered more naturally. Professional Resume Services understands the challenges executives face in the digital world we live in today. One minor mistake or omission can derail your executive job search, so we are here to help ensure all of your bases are covered. Whether you need a LinkedIn profile development expert or someone to proofread your resume, we are here for you. Never hesitate to contact us at any time if we can be of any assistance with your job search.
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.
