Things can be going great for you when all of a sudden your company goes through layoffs and you don’t make the cut. Sometimes the best situations can change instantly like this, which is why personal branding for senior level managers is so critical. You’re essentially always supposed to be networking with other professionals to enhance your brand and be better prepared for unemployment, should the situation arise. The good news is your c-level personal branding doesn’t have to suffer if you don’t have a job, and here are some tips for keeping it alive and well.
Fill In Employment Gaps
When you lose a job, it’s usually best to take some time off to reevaluate your goals and find the right fit. The only problem is this can lead to employment gaps of several weeks or months. These gaps don’t look good on a resume, so finding temporary work, freelancing, volunteering, obtaining higher education or certification courses and more can help fill them. If nothing else, filling the employment gaps in these ways will demonstrate you are still serious about your profession and are constantly enhancing your skills before finding the right opportunity.
Reconnect With Your Current Network, Then Expand
You may choose to work with a professional executive LinkedIn profile writer to get your profile up-to-date and ready for a strong networking effort. It’s easy to let your network get stale over time when you are comfortable with your job. However, everyone usually understands this, so there’s no harm in reconnecting with people. By reconnecting with your current network, you may be able to naturally expand it by being introduced to new people. The more people you talk to, the better your chances are of improving your c-level personal branding and finding a job you didn’t even know was out there.
Leverage Social Media
Having an online presence is essential in today’s professional world. While social media can be a complete disaster if you aren’t careful, it’s also one of the most valuable resources you have at your fingertips. Use it to demonstrate your knowledge by commenting on articles, joining LinkedIn groups or promoting your own organic content through a blog or other platform. The more you build a positive online presence, the better your c-level personal branding will be and the quicker you’ll be discovered, most likely. Professional Resume Services believes personal branding for senior level managers is one of the most important characteristics of any job search. Your personal brand shows who you are and why you would be valuable to any given company. Neglecting to enhance your personal brand while unemployed is a major mistake, so contact us at any time if you need assistance or tips on how to continue working on it.
Networking is difficult for people for many different reasons. One of those reasons may be because the person doesn’t want anyone else to go out of their way for their benefit. This is especially true if your main purpose for networking is to makes sales or build your business in different ways. However, one of the major breakthroughs people have when they feel uncomfortable networking is offering something beneficial to others without expecting anything in return. This takes a lot of pressure off of the interaction and will boost your c-level personal branding more than you’d think. Networking while helping others is entirely possible, and here are some ways to do it.
Be A Resource On LinkedIn
You should already have a LinkedIn profile, so utilize the platform to help others when you can. Many times people in your network will ask questions you may know the answer to. Alternatively, you can join LinkedIn groups relevant to your career and participate in discussions. Simply offering your expertise and being a valuable resource to others will increase your c-level personal branding and you never know what it will lead to.
Offer Your Expertise For Free
Not every person you network with will be able to help you. But that doesn’t mean you can’t help them. If you connect with someone who could use your expertise, don’t be afraid to help them out for free a time or two. While you may not get a direct return on it, they will always remember you and you may end up getting some referrals from them down the road.
Pass Along Referrals
Speaking of referrals, if you know of an expert who could solve a problem for someone you’re networking with, feel free to pass along their information. Again, you may never see a direct benefit in your own profession by doing this, but the expert whom you referred will be appreciative and will likely jump at the opportunity to help you out in return when they have the chance. Nothing benefits c-level personal branding more than being selfless, and passing along referrals is one way to do it.
Be Active Online
Finally, you never know what networking opportunities you’ll run into online if you aren’t active. Brush up your LinkedIn profile and start interacting with your connections or members of a group. You could also look for relevant blogs or forums and engage in professional discussions. Your expertise could be invaluable to someone and it won’t even feel like you’re making an effort to network, which makes the process much easier and less stressful. Professional Resume Services is a team of professional executive resume writers who pride themselves on being engaged with their clients’ job search. Networking is a big part of any career, but many people still don’t completely understand the importance of it. We are here to make networking an easy and fun process by providing you tips on how to do so effectively. If there’s any way we can help you advance or take your career to the next level, feel free to reach out to us at any time.
The holiday season is quickly approaching, which means company holiday parties around the country are starting to take place. These parties offer great opportunities to mingle with co-workers you don’t normally have a chance to talk to and socialize in a stress-free environment. So why do you hear about so many holiday parties going wrong? There are plenty of missteps you can take, so preparing in advance can help you avoid those mistakes. Here’s a guide on how to enhance personal branding for senior level managers at the company holiday party, rather than ruin your reputation.
Choose Your Attire Wisely
Your executive resume writing service will suggest dressing for the company holiday party like you would dress for a job interview. This means knowing what attire is appropriate and being careful to not overdress or underdress. There’s no need to wear a full suit at some parties, but it’s also usually not appropriate to wear jeans and a shirt. Most of the time you can’t go wrong with business casual attire.
Be Prepared To Mingle
If you’re nervous about talking to people you don’t necessarily talk to at work, start off by talking to people you are familiar with. Just remember to mingle with others as well throughout the night once you break the ice a bit. Keep conversations short and upbeat and talk to as many people as you can. Some of the best personal branding for senior level managers comes at the holiday party, when other employees can see their superiors in an environment outside of the office.
Know Your Limits
Food and drinks are often plentiful at company holiday parties, but it’s important to limit yourself. This is especially true when it comes to alcohol consumption. A couple of drinks is perfectly acceptable to loosen up a bit. However, you don’t want to be the person everyone is talking about the next day because you had a little too much to drink. Set a limit before you go to the party and stick with it for a better overall experience.
Shake The Right Hands At The End
Never forget to thank the host at the end of the night. And it may also even be valuable to shake the hands of your managers or bosses as you depart as well. If nothing else, they will remember when you left the party, which is more important than you think. Sometimes the best personal branding for senior level managers involves being polite and thankful, so don’t underestimate the importance of it at your holiday party. Professional Resume Services is here whether you need a quality LinkedIn profile service, a top resume writer or even if you aren’t sure what to wear to your company holiday party. We want to help you with every stage of your career, and are always willing to provide our expert advice on a wide range of subjects. When you follow this guide, you’ll have a successful and memorable holiday party experience you won’t regret. Feel free to contact us at any time for other tips or advice.
People have different perspectives on company holiday parties. Some dread going to them every year, while others have waited for this day to come since the last one ended. Regardless of your opinion, company parties are generally seen as a requirement to attend. And since you’re going to attend, you might as well use it as an opportunity to enhance your branding rather than hurt it. Here are the top four company holiday party mistakes employees and executives make that they later regret.
Drinking Too Much
Many holiday parties will have an open bar, which means the possibility of over-drinking is high. Drinking too much can lead to saying things you don’t necessarily mean, acting inappropriately and doing things you’ll later regret. It’s perfectly fine to have a couple of drinks while you’re socializing, but if you continue to drink throughout the night, mix in some water as well–and eat! Not only will you feel better in the morning, you’ll also protect your c-level personal branding reputation. You don’t want to be that person that everyone talks about the following Monday.
Eating Sloppily–or Not Enough
Take advantage of the great food available to you, but don’t go overboard. Be conscious of the people who will come up to greet you and always have a free hand available. And remember your manners, as you don’t want to be the person who spits food out of their mouth while talking to others. As tempting as it is to load up on food, try not to overindulge. Also, you do want to make sure that you eat. You may be the type that maybe in social settings, or out of nervous energy drinks a lot of wine or coffee. Either of those in large quantities aren’t good for your system. Make sure you eat something to soak up the liquids you are consuming.
Complaining & Socializing
You wouldn’t complain during an interview, and the same is true at a holiday party. Whether you’re complaining about work, the food at the party, the environment or anything else, no one wants to hear it. It’s not the time or the place. Turn complaints into compliments and you and the other attendees will have a much better experience. Make a conscious effort to talk to people from different departments, people you know by face, but never had a conversation with them. At a company party I was at (I was in medical sales way back when), I made an effort to talk to the accounting/payroll department and the shipping department. I had heard of the names of these people, but never met them. Yet, the accounting department wrote my checks and the shipping department were the folks who shipped out my supplies and made sure everything got to where it needed to go on time. Meeting them all really solidified the camaraderie you create when you work with a team. It was fantastic. After that, it was much easier to call any of them to inquire about vendor invoices or find out where the product was.
Not Arriving On Time or Staying Long Enough
You can guarantee the top executives, managers and supervisors are taking note of who shows up, when they show up, and how long they stay. The rule of thumb is to arrive within 30 minutes or so of the start time and stay until the party is over, to the extent it’s possible. Showing up an hour late, eating some food, drinking a couple beverages and leaving early isn’t going to look good for you. Make plans ahead of time to block off the appropriate amount of time to stay. Professional Resume Services is more than just one of the top resume writing services. We enjoy and take great pride in helping people with every aspect of their career, even if it’s giving out the best practices for holiday parties. This is the time of year to appreciate your co-workers, bosses and having a job in general, so make the most of it. And never hesitate to contact us if we can help in any way.
Are You Too Concerned with Your Privacy to Use LinkedIn?
It’s only natural to be concerned about your privacy with anything you post online about yourself. In fact, sometimes people will refuse to use social media platforms, including LinkedIn, due to privacy concerns. While everyone has their own views on this subject, it’s also important to know the ramifications of not having an executive LinkedIn profile when conducting a job search. Here are some of the main points you need to know about the consequences of not having a LinkedIn profile.
Hiring Managers Expect To See A Candidate’s LinkedIn Profile
In this day and age, recruiters and hiring managers will look at an executive LinkedIn profile before they even look at a resume, in some cases. If you don’t have a profile set up, it could send a message that you’re behind the times, aren’t technologically savvy and more. While these may not necessarily be fair assumptions, it’s the reality of the times we live in today. If you’re truly concerned about privacy, consider working with LinkedIn profile development services you trust so you can feel more comfortable with the information put online about yourself.
You May Miss Out On Opportunities
Many job opportunities are only posted on LinkedIn or are found by networking through LinkedIn. When you optimize your LinkedIn profile, you give yourself more visibility to be discovered by recruiters and could be presented with more opportunities than you would get without having a profile. A secret many employers won’t tell job candidates is they will check their LinkedIn profile immediately after looking at their resume. If a resume presents a good candidate, but a hiring manager can’t find any other information about the person online, it could get their resume thrown out of the candidate pool.
Carefully Weigh Your Risks
It’s understandable to be concerned about privacy of your executive LinkedIn profile. However, you also have to be conscious of the times we live in and weigh your risks. Networking is such an essential component of developing a career today, and LinkedIn provides a valuable platform for doing so. Not having a LinkedIn profile may not necessarily mean you’ll be unemployed, but the chances are greater of you not finding the job you’ve always desired. Professional Resume Services not only helps develop the perfect resume, but we also enjoy helping executives strategize their job search. Our LinkedIn profile development services are top notch and we know how to design it strategically to help get you noticed. Privacy concerns are always valid, and we can help answer any questions you may have about them. Feel free to contact us at any time if you have any reservations about using LinkedIn to enhance your career.
How Your Executive Resume Could Be Bringing You Down
When you’re hard at work trying to find a new job, you may think the best thing you can do is to send your resume to as many employers as possible. The reality is this could actually be hurting your chances of getting a call back, especially if your resume isn’t in the best possible shape. Simply putting it in the best executive resume format isn’t going to get you any interest from employers, since it has to stand out in other ways as well. So if you’ve sent out multiple resumes with nothing to show for it, here are some things to consider changing on your resume.
Your Resume Isn’t Optimized For ATS
Companies today can receive dozens of resumes each day for any given job posting. This is why many of these companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to help them filter through them all and only present them with the ones that match the most keywords. You may be the best candidate for a particular job, but if your resume isn’t optimized for ATS, you’ll never be discovered. Having a completely ATS-optimized resume isn’t particularly easy, so working with professional resume writing services may be the best option for you.
Your Resume Isn’t Targeted
Sending out generic resumes to dozens of companies never worked in the past, and it especially won’t work in today’s job searching climate. Companies want to know what you bring to the table specifically for them, and want to get the sense you truly want to work for them. The professional resume writing services you work with will suggest researching companies of interest to identify their needs, challenges, culture and how you can enhance or fit into them. You’ll be much more likely to get a response from an employer when they can clearly see you’ve done your homework on them.
You Don’t Differentiate Yourself
The majority of resumes look the same. The best executive resume format is one that’s clean and concise and differentiates your skills. This is where your c-level personal branding enters the picture. Your executive resume needs to list your hard skills, but also demonstrate some of your personality and provide an insight as to who you really are. You’ve worked hard on your c-level personal branding, so use it to your advantage to differentiate yourself from your competition. Professional Resume Services is widely known as one of the top professional resume writing services for executives. We take great pride and interest in helping our clients maximize their job search, while minimizing the amount of time they have to spend on their actual resume. Many times all it takes is minor adjustments to make a major impact, so contact us today for a review of your resume and to get our expert recommendations to boost your job searching efforts.
3 Facts You Need to Know Before Starting an Executive Job Search
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.
Asking for advice when you’re struggling with making a decision can be valuable. However, when it comes to getting career advice, you have to be careful who you’re listening to. Most people you ask won’t intentionally give you bad advice, but it also may not be very valuable to you. The best executive resume services will typically offer different bits of information than you would receive from family, friends, co-workers or anyone else. Here’s how to know if you’re listening to bad advice and what to do instead of following it.
Set Realistic Expectations
One of the most vague things anyone can tell you is the ability to be anything you want to be. Better career advice is to take a look at your skills and desires and set a more realistic path for success. It’s never a bad thing to dream about being at a certain level in your profession, but you can’t overlook the work it takes to get to that point. Start by working on your c-level personal branding and achieving realistic expectations before reaching for the pinnacle of your profession.
Don’t Choose A Career Based On Money
You may have also heard to choose a career based on the salary if you aren’t sure exactly what you want to do. This may be great for a couple of years, but it will be short-lived excitement if you don’t like going to your job every day. Instead, focus on long-term happiness by looking at the values a company offers, the culture within the organization, the opportunity for advancement and growth and more. Believe it or not, the people who are motivated solely by money are typically the people who aren’t happy with their jobs and overall lifestyle, with some exceptions, of course.
Choose Your Network Wisely
Take a look at your LinkedIn profile and see how many connections you have. Many experts tell people to get as many LinkedIn connections as they can, because you never know who you will cross paths with. However, the quality of your connections is typically much more valuable than the quantity. Having a dozen or so quality connections on your LinkedIn profile will be more beneficial to you than having hundreds of connections you don’t even know personally.
Patience Usually Won’t Move Your Career Forward
There’s a time and place to be patient in your career. Too many times you see people getting passed up for advancement by people who were more aggressive. There was a time when the duration of your tenure with an organization played a factor in promotion opportunities. However, the times have changed and tenure isn’t quite as important. It’s more important to step up and ask for more responsibilities, demonstrate your leadership qualities and make it known you want to move forward in your career. You’ll likely have much better results compared to being patient and waiting your turn. Professional Resume Services provides the best executive resume services tailored to your specific needs and desires. We are always willing to offer career advice based on our years of experience, but will never provide advice to people who don’t want to hear it. Our goal is to help you find the job and career you desire, so feel free to contact us at any time when you need us.
