We all hit points throughout our career where we hit a stall or things become stale. This could be due to getting comfortable with your current position or simply not knowing what direction you want to go. Using your LinkedIn profile for networking purposes can help you find some direction and potentially lead to other opportunities. It’s natural to hit a stall in your career, but it’s also possible to move forward when you’re ready. If you know you’re ready to advance your executive career, but can’t seem to find a spark to get you going, we’ve got some tips to help you out.
Let Career Detours Be Inspirational
If your career path isn’t headed exactly how you planned it to, don’t get discouraged. Everyone will have detours in their career. Instead of looking at those detours negatively, view them as inspirational and work harder to get back on track. Revisit your executive resume biography as a reminder of where you are now and where you want to be in the future. When your path changes, look for ways to grow from it and make any adjustments you deem necessary.
Always Look For Ways To Grow
One of the biggest sparks executives experience in their career is learning a new skill. Being able to add a new skill to your executive resume biography is motivating, so consider taking an advanced course or work on projects of your own in your free time. The top resume writing services encourage people to step out of their comfort zone occasionally because it will lead to growth no matter what. Learning experiences are valuable for career growth, but you won’t experience any of them if you don’t take the first step forward.
Network With Like-Minded Experts
Networking can lead to many different opportunities and can be a big spark for your career. You don’t even have to attend a networking event with the intention of finding a new job. Simply talking with like-minded experts can give you new ideas on how to approach your career or certain projects to help you move forward. Be sure to have your LinkedIn profile updated, though, since you’ll likely want to reconnect with people you’ve met through the platform.
At Professional Resume Services, nothing is more satisfying to us than seeing executives get exactly what they want in their career. We are considered to be one of the top resume writing services because we have a wide range of expertise designed to help people advance in their careers. We understand everyone goes through a stall in their career, and we are here to help you get out of it when you’re ready. Never hesitate to contact us if you’re ready to spark your career and take it to the next level.
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.
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.
When writing an effective resume, demonstrating your personal brand is critical. Most executives have similar skills and achievements, so what can set you apart from the rest is the overall value you bring to the table. While your brand is what it is, you can tailor the message in your resume depending on the company you are targeting. This may mean one of your most important achievements at your current company shouldn’t go on your resume when applying for another company if it’s not relevant. Companies today want to know what value you have to offer them specifically and here are some tips to help you show this clearly.
Utilize Keywords Effectively For SEO Purposes
You’ll have a hard time demonstrating your c-level personal branding if you don’t have a keyword-rich resume. SEO is critical in the landscape of job searching today to give your resume, LinkedIn profile or anything else a chance of being discovered. The good news is an executive resume writer can help you incorporate appropriate keywords while also keeping your brand in mind.
Show Some Personality
A quality aspect of c-level personal branding is showing what you’re most passionate about and what you will bring to the table at your targeted company. You can show some personality in your resume without getting personal. For example, when you write about your leadership style and techniques, the reader can get a good idea of the type of person you are and how you work with others. Without this personality, your resume may look the same as the other hundreds of resumes that come across a recruiter’s desk.
Include Metrics When You Can
Another key to writing an effective resume is incorporating metrics, statistics and numbers when they are appropriate and relate to the job you’re applying for. Don’t be shy about talking about these in your resume. Backing up your claims with actual numbers is powerful and can really hit home for a hiring manager when it relates to their company.
Only Show Relevant Information
The biggest mistake an executive resume writer always sees is when someone includes their past achievements that aren’t relevant to the job they’re applying for. Companies aren’t necessarily as concerned with what you’ve done in the past as they are with what you’ll do for them in the future. Don’t rely on the reader to make connections between the two. Your biggest accomplishment at a previous employer may not be beneficial at all to your future employer, so don’t include it if it’s not relevant.
Professional Resume Services believes c-level personal branding is what sets many executives apart from the rest. Executives often believe branding only happens during networking events. While this is true, your brand has to also be evident in your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile and anywhere else. Once a hiring manager can clearly see what your overall brand is, you’ll have a better chance of landing the job. Feel free to contact us at any time if you need assistance with clearly demonstrating your brand on paper.
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.
A major part of a job search involves making your personal brand appear to be what you want it to be. However, executives often make the mistake of gearing their c-level personal branding more toward what they want others to perceive of them, rather than showing who they really are. The problem with this is recruiters and hiring managers can see right through it. All it takes is a little bit of inconsistency and your job search could be ruined. So when it comes to personal branding for senior level managers, being truthful and honest are the best ways to go.
Why Some People Are Hesitant To Show Their True Brand
Some people resist demonstrating their true brand because they don’t want the world to know what their personality is. If you haven’t conducted a job search in several years, you may remember thinking your resume needs to follow a certain pattern or standard and shouldn’t deviate from the norm. Times have changed now and hiring managers want to know who they are hiring as a person and a professional. While it’s understandable to be uncomfortable showing your brand, it’s important to also know that differentiation is critical when it comes to being recognized.
A Personality Fit is Important To Employers
When you show some of your personality on your LinkedIn profile, recruiters will get a glimpse into who you are as a person. A solid mix of professional achievements and personal experiences will bode well on your LinkedIn profile and will increase the chances of you getting noticed. The more natural the language in your profile sounds, the better your c-level personal branding efforts will be, especially when you back it up in your verbal language and your resume. Companies prioritize hiring people with good personality fits now, so never hesitate to show a little.
Your Personal Brand Presents Unique Value
Without c-level personal branding, executives have no real way of standing out among dozens of other job applicants. You have a great opportunity to distinguish yourself with your personality and tie in how your personality offers value to the company. This could mean working well as a team, the ability to think creatively, be a leader or anything else. Professional achievements for executives often seem similar on paper, so your personal brand could be what sets you apart and gives you a better chance of landing the job you want.
Professional Resume Services is here to help executives make sure all bases are covered when it comes to their job search. Personal branding is a much larger aspect of a job search today than it was several years ago. Sometimes all it takes is optimizing your LinkedIn profile, while other times you may need to work on your entire online presence to show your true brand. Regardless of where you’re at in your searching efforts, feel free to give us a call if you need assistance along the way.
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.
