Are You Making These Networking Mistakes?

Networking is one of the most valuable actions any professional or executive can take for a variety of reasons. Whether you have a job you like or are seeking a new one, networking has plenty of value. However, if you don’t network properly, you could find yourself frustrated at the lack of success it’s getting you. Networking can work for everyone, but it doesn’t mean you can just go through the motions and land your dream job as a result. Here are some of the most common mistakes executives make in their networking efforts.

Not Warming Up Your Contacts

It can be easy to lose touch with your professional network. With such a busy schedule, combined with not personally seeing your connections frequently, contacts can quickly and easily go cold. However, the key to c-level personal branding is to always work on improving your image and brand.
Any LinkedIn profile development professional will tell you if you reach out to a cold contact and act like you just saw them yesterday, your efforts won’t yield very good results. Just like you have to build a relationship with any new contacts you make, you have to warm up the relationship with current contacts.

Being Too Vague

When you visit the best executive resume writing services, they aren’t going to tell you to be vague on your resume. The same goes with networking. If you don’t enter a networking event with a clear goal in mind of why you’re going, you’ll leave with an empty feeling. Before you even attend an event, write down a list of things you want to accomplish, and most importantly, what you’re looking for in your career. Anticipate questions people may ask you so you know how to answer.

Networking With The Wrong People

It’s also possible you’re simply talking to the wrong people. In most cases, if you’re new to an area or industry, you can’t talk to your past connections and expect to get anywhere. That’s why LinkedIn profile development is so critical in networking, since you can make connections no matter where you are. There are plenty of LinkedIn groups available to help you get acquainted with the right type of people before you even meet them.
Professional Resume Services provides not only the best executive resume writing services, but can also help with your LinkedIn profile development. Feel free to contact us if you are struggling with your networking efforts in any way.

Do You Need a Job Search Marketing Plan?

BlogJob SearchSocial Marketing/Online Branding

Coming up with a marketing plan at the beginning a job search can sound a little intimidating, even for professionals and executives. It sounds like it would involve an extensive process that would take a lot of time away from the search itself.
However, any top rated resume writing services will tell you not to underestimate the value of a job search marketing plan. It’s much better to learn and understand today’s job search techniques before you get started, rather than just trying different things until something works. Here are the important concepts of a job search marketing plan.

Know How to Distinguish Yourself

If you’re going to advertise yourself, you need to know what different companies and recruiters are looking for. Any executive knows the importance of c-level personal branding, so you need to know how to brand yourself to fit the current market. How you portrayed yourself a decade ago is likely much different in today’s job market. Figuring out what characteristics leads to a successful job search is the first part of developing a good marketing plan.

Figure Out What Your Job Search Will Entail

When writing a professional resume, it’s better to be specific and target certain companies or industries rather than being too general. This just means you need to do a little homework upfront before you even start crafting your resume. You may need to do some online research, attend networking events or even visit some companies to get more information. Come up with a plan of what you’re willing to do and what you need to do based on your resources.

Develop a Plan and Stick With it

When you come up with a plan, you need to stick with it. Your plan is obviously to succeed, so adjustments may need to be made along the way in order to achieve your goals. To improve your c-level personal branding, this could mean attending one networking event each week. It could also mean you need to send out one resume to a different company every day after you’ve done your research on them. Set aside time every day to work on the plan you set in place and stick with it religiously.
Professional Resume Services is one of the top rated resume writing services to help you develop a job search marketing plan. If you need any assistance with creating your perfect plan, feel free to contact us at any step along the way.

Protecting Your Executive Image Online

BlogSocial Marketing/Online Branding

There are many reasons why you need to keep a clean executive image online, and most of them are obvious. The good thing is, in most cases, you have complete control over your online presence. The importance of c-level personal branding can’t be understated, whether you are searching for a job or have a steady career going. How exactly can you maintain a clean executive image online? Here are a few tips to consider.

Search For Your Name Online

The first thing you need to do is see what the Internet has to say about you. Do a Google search or use a search engine of your choice to look up your name. Read every result you possibly can, because if you can see it, anyone can see it. Hopefully you won’t be shocked at the information you see, but the only way you can clean up your image is to know how you’re portrayed in the first place.

Tidy Up Your Social Media Profiles

Even if you don’t see anything negative about yourself in an online search, you still need to clean up your social media profiles. When it comes to personal branding for senior level managers, social media can be a big problem. Social media is a powerful networking tool when utilized properly, but one simple mistake can lead to much larger issues.
LinkedIn is the most powerful professional social media platform to use. Consider hiring a professional LinkedIn profile writer to make sure you are creating the best possible executive image. You never know who is looking at your profile, so you always want to look as professional and credible as possible.

Enhance Your Online Presence in a Positive Way

Engaging in active c-level personal branding doesn’t have to be difficult. There are plenty of ways to make a positive impact online, such as joining and participating in LinkedIn groups, posting in professional forums or message boards, writing professional blogs and more. All of these will help enhance your online presence in a positive way and boost your professional brand.
Creating a positive executive image of yourself online can take a lot of work. It can also be ruined with a simple post on social media. For more information on personal branding for senior level managers, feel free to contact us to help protect your executive image online.

Should You Include Hobbies and Volunteer Work on Your Resume?

BlogResume Writing

A question that comes up periodically that I wanted to address is people wonder whether they should include any hobbies or volunteer work on their resume. The short answer is: it depends. Most of the time, these things won’t hurt your chances of landing a job interview. However, you have to be smart about what you include. If you are at an executive level, leave them off. If you are entry level or professional level, or a non-corporate profession hobbies and volunteer work can be used to help your chances, but you need to keep these tips in mind.

Be Smart About Which Hobbies to Include

Stay away from including any hobbies revolving around politics or religion. Both of these are controversial topics, and can hurt your personal branding. There are very few jobs out there where including these types of hobbies could actually help your chances of getting an interview. Otherwise, you’re taking a big risk of offending the person reviewing your resume. You don’t want them to throw your resume aside because of your political or religious views.

Volunteer Work is Generally Good to Include

There generally isn’t anything wrong with incorporating volunteer work or community outreach into your resume. In fact, most of the top rated resume writing services will encourage you to include community involvement over hobbies. Volunteering demonstrates to a potential employer that you like to be active in the community. The more well rounded you are, the better you will appear on paper. Volunteering is also a great way to network, so there is a business aspect to it.

Focus on Hobbies Beneficial to the Job

Make sure the hobbies you include on your resume pertain to the job in some way. If you are going for a horticulture role and in your free time grow a specific kind of plant, then yes, add that. For example, it won’t do any good to talk about your passion for cooking if you’re searching for an executive job. However, if you frequently play golf, it could be attractive since companies like to take clients or business partners out for golf if they share the same passion.
A good rule of thumb to go by is hobbies won’t be the reason you get an interview, but they can be the reason you don’t get one. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or need assistance with the hobbies or volunteer work section of your resume.

Six of the Most Common Errors Made by Networking Event Attendees

BlogJob SearchNetworking

As an executive, you have been in the workforce for many years. Therefore, you know the importance of make the most out of networking events as you search for new opportunities. Networking events present people with amazing opportunities to get to know recruiters and learn more about different companies. However, it can be easy to botch a networking event if you make any of these common errors.

1. Going in Unprepared

The first thing you need to do is ask yourself, “How do I create the most effective executive resume?” Even if you have a plethora of experience to add, you may find yourself struggling with knowing where to start and what’s most important to include. Once you find the answer to that question, you can take that initial step into being prepared for your networking event. If you try to use your old resume, you likely won’t find much success and will just be wasting your time. If you find you need help updating and organizing your resume properly, you can always get in touch with a resume writing service.

2. Not Treating Networking Events as Interviews

Colleagues will ask you questions when you’re at a networking event. This is by design, because a networking event is essentially an initial interview and a chance to make a great first impression. Just like you, businesses are trying to find a good match. Now would be the time to brush up on your LinkedIn profile development, because recruiters could (and will) check out your profile right after speaking with you. It never hurts to cover all of your bases. Linkedin is also a great way to do a little digital networking in your spare time.

3. You Don’t Accurately Represent Your Skills

You know all the most important elements to include on a resume. The hard part is figuring out how it all ties into the position you’re seeking with a company. Tailoring your resume for specific positions is a vital aspect of c-level personal branding. It’s not enough to simply list out all of your accomplishments, but to do so with the goals of the company in mind. Think about how you could benefit them and how your skills match their objectives, and you’ll go that much farther come the day of the networking event.

4. Not Visiting With Other Employers

Don’t be laser focused on one or two company employees at a networking event. You may be passing up a great opportunity that was right in front of you! At least shake hands with other executives and strike up conversations with them. They may not have an opening for your position now, but that could change at any time.

5. Not Doing Homework

This may go without saying, but people in the industry talk to each other. It’s likely that your colleagues already know about you, so you need to return the favor. This could start with getting to know the company’s executives on LinkedIn, but you also need to research information about the specifics of the company. Don’t hesitate to really dig in and learn as much about the companies you’re interested in as you can. The more you know about them and their mission and values, the more productive your meetings and small talk will be at these networking events.

6. Expecting Immediate Results and Accommodation

As an executive, there’s no doubt you’re extremely experienced and qualified for the positions at this networking event. However, you’re not the only one. Yes, you’ve accomplished a lot over the course of your career, but you should never let your achievements go to your head in the middle of a professional event! Remember: you’re up against some stiff competition. Going into the networking event expecting a job right off the bat because of your credentials is a recipe for major self-sabotage. Be humble, be gracious and be open. Try to meet as many new contacts as possible, and stay in touch with them. Even if you don’t get a job right off the bat, going to this event could lead to a new and satisfying position down the road.
Networking events are great resources to find job opportunities you may not have known were even out there. When you’re ready to attend a networking event, feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or need help preparing so you don’t make these mistakes or others.

Here Are Five Myths About Personal Branding You Absolutely Shouldn’t Believe!

BlogSocial Marketing/Online Branding

Everyone has a personal brand, whether they know it or not. It’s important for everyone to clearly define their personal brand, but it’s especially critical for high-level executives. As C-level personal branding has increased in importance, the myths surrounding it have also grown in number and prevalence. The truth is many people believe these myths, which can negatively impact their personal branding. Here are the top five myths you should know about, and most importantly, shouldn’t believe.

Myth 1: Your Personal Brand Is Equivalent to Your Reputation

You’re allowed to keep your personal life separate from your business/online life. You may have a completely different reputation with your family and friends than with your business colleagues, and there’s nothing wrong with that!

Myth 2: Personal Branding Isn’t Necessary

Many people underestimate the power of personal branding for senior level managers. Just like a reputation, it takes some time to build a solid personal brand, but it can also be ruined in a matter of seconds. If you think personal branding isn’t necessary, think again.

Myth 3: Personal Branding Is Manufactured

C-level personal branding is only effective if it’s not fake. People who try to make themselves sound better than they really are will only hurt themselves in the long run. Top executives can see right through manufactured personal branding so you won’t be doing yourself any good to create a false personal brand.

Myth 4: Personal Branding Takes a Lot of Time

The art of personal branding for senior level managers isn’t as time consuming as people make it out to be. Yes, you have to work on it a little bit, but you shouldn’t have to spend extra time on your personal brand. Every email you respond to or phone call you take either helps or hurts your personal brand. Just be conscious about your actions and your personal brand will essentially develop itself.

Myth 5: Your Personal Brand Makes You Look Selfish

You may try to make yourself look good on a resume or cover letter, but C-level personal branding is different. As a top executive, you likely have many leadership roles. Being a good leader is one of the best ways to give your personal brand a good image. If you’re able to help others do their jobs better and advance in the rankings, how could you possibly seem selfish?
Most people focus on polishing up their resume, but don’t spend much time thinking about their personal branding. What are you known for? What do you excel at? Many top resume writing services will emphasize your personal brand in your resume, which actually makes it even stronger.

How to Craft an Eye-Catching Executive Resume Brand

BlogExecutive ResumesProfessional ResumesResume WritingSocial Marketing/Online Branding

If you’ve followed us for a while, or just have ample knowledge of how job searching and the professional world work, then you know the importance of crafting a personal brand. This is how you appeal to other professionals, especially those who may hire you to work for them later on. The main issue for anyone attempting c-level personal branding, however, is figuring out how to go about it efficiently. In this blog, we’ll give you a few tips on how to brand yourself efficiently and catch the eye of recruiters in an instant!

Include Your Accomplishments

While this goes without saying, your accomplishments within your industry will be some of the most important elements of your personal brand and should not be ignored. The key aspect here is how you incorporate them. You don’t want to splay them all out like playing cards strewn on a table. Rather, you can frame them in a way that appeals more readily to employers.
For a few ideas on how to do this, you can always rely on a team of the best executive resume writers in your area or do a bit of independent research. While you should strive to keep your entire resume brief, you can add a bit of color to your stories by describing them in the form of a (very) brief story—three lines maximum, to be precise.

Think About How You’ve Contributed to Your Industry

This part of brand construction may prove a bit challenging, but it is the perfect method of showing any recruiter or hiring agent how you are a valuable employee. By creating your personal brand, you are effectively telling other professionals a story. Make it appealing by getting to the meat of the action! This means displaying your contributions to the past companies you’ve worked for. It may help to follow the C-A-R formula for these contribution stories, ‘C-A-R’ meaning Challenge, Action and Result. Think about what was being asked of you at the time, how you completed the task at hand and what happened afterward.

Research as Much as Possible

Oftentimes catching a glimpse of others’ work and ideas can help inspire you. If you’re stumped as to how to start or flesh out your personal brand, looking at how others have constructed theirs can give you a boost. We don’t mean lifting someone else’s work entirely, however! Writing an effective resume means showcasing your own strengths and individualizing yourself. Copying someone else entirely defeats the purpose.
As you surf through your Google results and check out what other people are doing, be sure to evaluate your own methods and ideas. How can you apply what they’re doing to your own strengths and accomplishments? Think about how you have influenced your previous employers in ways no one else did. This will help you figure out how to brand yourself well.
Additionally, it may help to get in touch with a professional resume writer to learn what you can do to better market yourself. You may come away with a new perspective toward your career and professional potential that you’ve never considered before, one that will wow employers on the spot!

Five Tips for Personal Brand Creation and Maintenance

BlogJob SearchSocial Marketing/Online BrandingSuccess Strategies

So you’ve learned the importance of a personal brand and have made the decision to start working on your own…but what’s next? This is a very common question that has been asked by several senior level professionals just like you. As it turns out, building a personal brand is hard, but it can very much be done! Here’s how.

1. Think About Yourself

Every employee, and especially every senior level professional, has something significant to offer a company. You will have to tap into just what your skills and positive personal traits are before you begin crafting your personal brand. In fact, this is the first step of c-level personal branding. It may help to approach this issue from the perspective of an employer and figure out what traits are most desirable in any employee, then work backwards to hash out what makes you unique from every other applicant out there. Craft a story about yourself for your hiring audience to read.

2. Start Pruning Your Presence Online

While no one will admit to Googling themselves, it will actually help you figure out one of the most important parts of branding yourself—your name. Keep track of how you’re mentioned online and whether it’s in a negative or positive context.

3. Be Mindful of Your Internet Activities

Now that you have an idea of how you’re perceived online, you’ll have to make sure to keep these perceptions under control. Don’t post anything you wouldn’t want potential employers to find later on. If you’ve already engaged in online activities that you wouldn’t necessarily want employers to discover, you will generally have the option to delete them—but be careful!
You can never completely erase something from the Internet once it’s there. In the meantime, you can do any necessary damage control by carefully considering what you post and only letting pictures and other forms of media slip through if they contribute to your efforts toward personal branding for senior level managers.

4. Build a Website

Thanks to the advancement of the Internet, building a website is easier than ever! “Why do I need one?” you may ask. For starters, so many business interactions now take place online…from consumers to businesses to potential employees and those in charge of hiring them. A website is a wonderful way of presenting yourself to the world in a quick and aesthetically pleasing manner. Don’t think you have to go big and flashy! Just a paragraph about yourself, contact links and a well written resume will do.

5. Look to Older, More Successful Brands

You can find other people who’ve built personal brands by connecting with those who are in either the same industry or are alumni from your alma mater. Connect with these people as soon as possible for tips on how to better construct your personal brand. If you play your cards right, these new associates should prove valuable!

On our site, you’ll find information about building a personal brand, writing an effective resume and much more! Once you learn a little more about yourself, you may choose to get some additional help to push your executive job search to the next level!