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.
You can take your job search or career to the next level by using all of the features LinkedIn offers to your advantage. The truth is, though, many executives aren’t proactive enough in this regard. A key aspect of your LinkedIn profile development is joining various groups related to your industry. These groups allow you to network with professionals who aren’t currently a part of your network. Whether you’re actively searching for a job or just looking to build credibility, joining groups with your LinkedIn profile is valuable. Here are a few of the most important aspects of LinkedIn groups.
Build Your Credibility
An executive LinkedIn profile writer can help you build your actual profile, but it’s up to you to continue building your credibility. This means posting original articles, commenting on other original articles, participating in meaningful discussions and more. You can build your credibility by offering expertise and not expecting anything back in return. The more your name shows up in these groups in a positive manner, the better the reputation you’ll have.
Learn From Other Experts
When you’re in a LinkedIn group with other experts in your industry, you will almost definitely learn something new. Use this knowledge to your advantage in your current job or use it as a springboard to land your next job. When you approach LinkedIn groups with an open mind, you may come across great opportunities you never expected going in.
Expand Your Network
When you engage in conversations with other group members, they will surely visit your LinkedIn profile. And more often than not, the visit will turn into a new connection to expand your network. At this point, you will be able to see any updates they post to their profile and vice versa. Keeping in touch with your connections is valuable in many ways, even if you’ve never even met them in person.
Create Networking Opportunities
Sometimes you’ll come across people who are close to your home or office and can easily meet up with them for coffee or lunch. Conversations in LinkedIn groups can lead to direct message conversations from your LinkedIn profile. And if there is mutual interest, you can both attend a formal networking event or simply meet up to exchange ideas. Simply being conversational is the first step to creating valuable networking opportunities that can lead to much greater things.
Professional Resume Services focuses on crafting perfect resumes as well as helping clients with their LinkedIn profile development. Many executives overlook important aspects of LinkedIn and we are here to help them take advantage of them. You don’t have to be actively searching for a job to participate in LinkedIn groups, so contact us at any time to see how valuable they can be for you.
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.
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.
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.
Networking has changed in many different ways over the last several years. Nowadays, many people who attend actual networking events are already familiar with the people in attendance, even though they’ve never actually met before. The power of social networking is phenomenal and plays a significant role in c-level personal branding. Everything you do online is critiqued and criticized, so it can be easy to make mistakes and derail your job search. Here are a few effective ways to make your social networking efforts work in your favor.
Make Engaging And Insightful Posts
Before you even begin reaching out to potential connections, see if a professional LinkedIn profile writer can help you optimize your profile as much as possible. Once you’ve got the basics covered, then put together a string of insightful posts that are attractive for your targeted audience. This should include a mix of original thoughts, ideas or article, as well as articles from other sources. And when you identify people you want to connect with, start sharing their articles and posts as well and they will take notice of you.
Interact With People Appropriately
You definitely don’t want to appear to be a stalker, but you also want to reach out to people appropriately to demonstrate your c-level personal branding. Targeting people on LinkedIn or other social media platforms means identifying people who work for companies you may be interested in working for. It could also mean connecting with people and developing mutually-beneficial professional relationships with them. You can start off by making subtle comments on their social media posts and eventually reaching out to them to introduce yourself.
Build Your Online Brand And Work Towards Meeting In Person
A big part of c-level personal branding online starts with LinkedIn profile development. A solid profile is attractive and can tell anyone who visits it a lot about who you are. Once you’ve interacted with a connection for a while and can see the value of meeting them in person, don’t hesitate to extend an invitation to them to do so. However, without building this social networking relationship upfront, the chances of them accepting your invitation are very low. Developing positive social networking relationships can open up doors to many different opportunities in your future.
At Professional Resume Services, we believe LinkedIn profile development is a critical aspect of your job search efforts. Too many executives make critical mistakes with their social networking and they damage their job search as a result. The main thing to remember is to always be conscious of what you post online and ask yourself if it helps your c-level personal branding or hurts it. To learn more about how social networking works and how you can benefit from it, feel free to contact us at any time.
The vast majority of employers today look on social networks before even considering bringing a candidate in for an interview. Too many executives believe they don’t need an online presence since the experience on their resume speaks for itself. However, sometimes not having an online presence at all is perceived as being just as bad as having a negative presence. At the very least, it’s important to work with a LinkedIn profile service to develop a profile you can point to online for recruiters. Here’s what you need to know about social recruiting today.
Why Employers Look For Social Proof
Any professional LinkedIn profile writer will tell you a resume is great, but you have to back it up with social proof. Employers want to be able to validate who you say you are from your resume and learn more about your life in general. They will look at your LinkedIn profile, Twitter, Facebook and any other profiles you have to gather this information. They aren’t necessarily stalking you, but rather, they just want to be sure you are who you say you are before they make an investment in hiring you.
Social Networking Can Help And Hurt Your Personal Brand
A good rule of thumb before beginning a job search is to clean up your online presence. Start by doing a Google search of your name and see what results show up. A good LinkedIn profile service can help you incorporate the right keywords into your profile to give it a better chance of showing up higher in the results. If all the right things show up with a Google search, then you will likely enhance your c-level personal branding significantly. On the other hand, you can hurt it just as quickly if you have some things about yourself you don’t want others to know on your profiles.
Always Be Consistent Across All Platforms
When it comes to c-level personal branding, recruiters and hiring managers look for consistency across all platforms. A professional LinkedIn profile writer can help you develop your profile based on your resume, and it’s up to you to make sure your other social networks are consistent as well. Nothing will hurt your chances of landing a job more than when a recruiter can’t get a feel of who you are by looking at your resume and online presence.
At Professional Resume Services, we know social recruiting is more of the norm today than it has ever been before. That’s one of the reasons why our LinkedIn profile service is helpful for executives. Details matter when crafting the perfect profile, just like a resume or cover letter. We are always available to help with every aspect of a job search as well as offering helpful advice to boost your c-level personal branding. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time if you need assistance with any stage of your career.
If you’ve gone through a job search recently, or are actively looking for a job, you likely know the importance of having SEO relevant keywords on your LinkedIn profile. One question many professionals have is where exactly to place those keywords. This is a valid question and an important one to understand to make the most of your SEO efforts. Just like writing an effective resume, developing your LinkedIn profile in a way that helps you show up on top of the search results will help you be discovered more easily. Here are three of the most important spots on your LinkedIn profile to focus on SEO relevant keywords.
Your Professional Headline
Many people overlook their professional headline as being a valuable section for SEO purposes, mainly because it has a character limit. The best resume writing service will suggest using specific job titles from previous jobs, as well as other similar job titles. Employers may designate different job titles for essentially the same responsibilities, so you want to make sure you’ve got all of the relevant titles covered. When your LinkedIn profile has the specific keywords a recruiter searches for, your chances of being discovered will increase significantly.
The Summary
This is an area that people don’t often utilize for SEO purposes. Not only do you create an interesting and engaging summary, but you can also keyword load it because really, what you do on a daily basis consists of a lot of keywords. When you talk about your career in summary terms, you’ll be (briefly) talking about what you’ve done, what you are best at, and how you can do this for them. If you are laser-focused on a specific role, use the wording you see in specific job descriptions of roles you are interested in.
Job Titles
You should never be inconsistent with your past or current job titles across your resume and online profiles. The best resume writing service can help you add relevant keywords to your title for SEO purposes, without raising any questions as to the consistency of the information you provide. Again, job titles are different at various companies, so the more relevant ones you can fit in, the better your chances are of being found on LinkedIn.
Professional Resume Services is known as the best resume writing service because we focus on more than simply writing an effective resume. While the best executive resume format is critical, we understand it’s not the only aspect to consider to increase your chances of landing an interview. Your LinkedIn profile requires just as much attention as your formal resume, and we can help you with both. Never hesitate to reach out to us if you need assistance in either of these areas.
