The best executive resume format can help you reach recruiters.
Imagine the excitement you feel when you’re contacted by a recruiter for the job of your dreams. If you want to increase the number of contacts you make, it’s important to use the best executive resume format, as well as an effective cover letter for your resume. Thinking like your recruiter will ensure you understand what they’re looking for and increase the chances they will contact you over the other candidates.
Good Searches Are Essential
When you post your executive resume bio, you need to make sure it is fully searchable to increase the chances recruiters will find you. In general, blogs can be difficult to search. However, social media sites, such as LinkedIn, are highly searchable. Always fill out your profile as much as possible to ensure your profile will hit more frequently.
Be Careful of Your Friends
You may think who you’re friends with doesn’t matter, but in the recruiting world, it really does. What your friends say and do on your social media profiles can have a dramatic impact on how recruiters and prospective employers see you. While you don’t have to cut out all of your friends, make sure photos are properly filtered and prevent your friends from posting information about you to your profile. All it takes is one bad post and it can ruin your entire reputation among recruiters and businesses alike.
Be a Thought Leader
Businesses want employees who are able to think for themselves and will be positive contributors to the workplace. For this reason, it can be invaluable to write articles for your industry, even if you submit them on an unpaid basis. Recruiters often use your name to search for published works that may be attributed to you. This will showcase you as a thought leader in your field and can increase the chances you will be recruited.
Do Some Research
Just like website content, the best executive resume format is focused on keywords. Many recruiters now use software to look for certain key words or phrases within your executive resume bio. If they can’t be found, you won’t be contacted. If you aren’t sure which words would be most useful to you, some research into your industry can help. It can also help to post different versions of your resume on various sites and see which ones perform best.
Do Your Best
It’s not all about your cover letter and resume. Many recruiters will look within companies for their top performers to attempt to recruit them for bigger and better things. While you can boost your chances by adjusting your resume and cover letter, one of the best things you can do is excel at your job. When you stand out and are recognized, recruiters will take notice.
Resumes aren’t the only thing you have to worry about when you’re trying to land the job you’ve always wanted. In fact, resumes and cover letters work together to attract the attention of employers and give them the information needed to make a decision. An executive resume writing service can help you create an effective cover letter for your resume, but you should also know how to write a great cover letter yourself for the best results.
Do Your Research
The opening of the cover letter for your resume is one of the most important elements because it creates a first impression, whether good or bad. Most people start with “Dear Sir or Madam” with no thought to who may read the letter. To make the best possible first impression, find out who is responsible for hiring so you can address your cover letter to the appropriate individual. Google and LinkedIn can be a valuable resource in finding the name of the hiring manager.
Add a Little Personality
A cookie cutter cover letter is boring and isn’t going to give you the positive reaction you want from the hiring manager at a company. Just like your resume, it’s important to make sure your cover letter helps you stand out from the hundreds of other resumes they will receive. While you still need to include the basic information, you need to do it in a way that shows your personality and gives the hiring manager a clear picture of who you are and how you would fit into their company culture.
The Appropriate Length and Format
An executive resume writing service can help you create a cover letter in the appropriate length and format to provide the right information without being too long or boring. Your cover letter should consist of three paragraphs. The first should introduce yourself and talk about why you want the job. The second paragraph should portray your value to the company. Finally, use the third paragraph to ask for an interview, similar to a call-to-action found on a website. Make sure your resume does most of the talking.
Personalize It to the Recipient
Sometimes the best way to stand out is to dig a little deeper and create a cover letter that speaks directly to the recipient. For instance, if you discover the hiring manager has a particular hobby, you can then tailor your cover letter to use the same lingo used for that hobby to attract attention. Hiring managers appreciate these extra touches. However, it’s important to make sure you leave out abbreviations or other frequently used emoticons and casual phrases. Resumes and cover letters are an important aspect of the hiring process. Without a good resume and cover letter, your odds of getting hired are much smaller. This is why it’s important to work with an executive resume writing service to help you tailor your cover letter and resume to each job prospect, attracting the attention you’re looking for.
Your executive resume should reflect why you’re making a career change.
Switching your career path can be a challenging time. There are a lot of difficult choices to be made, and after you’ve decided to leave your current field, you may be nervous about finding a new career with an executive resume that may not match the jobs you’re looking for. Reflecting your career change on your resume will help your new employers understand your switch and get a better sense of why you’re a good fit for your new career.
Updating Your Resume
When it comes to executive resume writing, it is important to show employers what skills you possess and how those skills would benefit their company. Even though your former career path may be different, it is likely you have many transferable skills that will still be relevant to your new job.
You can use your core qualifications to sell yourself in different ways, depending on the industry you’re trying to enter. The trick is to slant your current skills to be relevant for the job you’re seeking. Using the following steps, you can make your executive resume and cover letter for your resume work for a different industry.
Start Over
It is tempting to use your past resume and make some changes here and there. However, you’ll be much better off if you avoid the urge to take this easy route and start from scratch instead. After all, a new career means a new executive resume! With a new cover letter, as well as a new resume, you will be able to start slanting your skills toward your new field from the start, making it even more effective.
Express Interest
In all likelihood, your interest in your new field didn’t just happen overnight. You’ve probably been interested in the industry for years but were simply working in another. Use your new executive resume to tell your interviewers why you’re interested and what you know. This knowledge will help you seem interested, dedicated and ready for your change.
Highlight Skills
A traditional experience-based resume may not be enough for your career change. Instead of listing all the skills you have and have used in your previous job, you need to put all the focus into your transferable skills.
Stay Confident
Use your cover letter for your resume to really sell yourself. A lot of people become less confident when they change careers because there are plenty of people with more experience looking for the same jobs. Really hone in on your transferable skills, your accomplishments and your love for your new field in both your cover letter and resume.
Changing careers can be challenging, but with enough confidence, you can show potential employers why you deserve the opportunity to use your experience and knowledge to make a difference in your new field.
