It’s no longer enough to look for a job through traditional methods such as submitting an application and resume through job listings. Social media has become essential to the C-level job search. For this reason, LinkedIn profile development should become an integral part of your job search process. Why Is LinkedIn Important?
There are a number of reasons why you need to focus on writing a stellar LinkedIn profile to help you obtain a C-level position. LinkedIn profile writing services can help you:
Promise value to a potential employer and advance thought leadership
Reach recruiters and decision makers
Advance your job search with LinkedIn’s unique features
Network with industry leaders who may connect you to your next position
Prove you are who you claim to be
How to Complete LinkedIn Profile Development
Whether you work with an experienced executive LinkedIn profile writer or you choose to attempt this process on your own, it’s essential to know what aspects of your profile require the most attention to be effective.
Optimize Your Profile – Make sure your profile reflects every position you are considering. Be sure as much of your profile is complete as possible. A complete profile is more effective.
Request Recommendations – LinkedIn allows coworkers and former employers to provide recommendations for individuals. While some people automatically provide these when you connect, you may need to ask others.
Increase Your Network Connections – LinkedIn is designed to make networking online easy. Even before you start searching for a job, you should reach out and connect to other individuals in the industry you are considering. You should also connect with past coworkers, friends, family members and anyone else you know.
Look for a Job via LinkedIn – LinkedIn Jobs makes it easier to use this social media site to find your next job. This tool will suggest jobs based on your profile. Therefore, you should follow companies and industries you are interested in and research recruiters in your industry.
Engaging in LinkedIn can be a useful tool in helping you find your next C-level position. However, without the proper LinkedIn profile development, you may impede your efforts, rather than help you obtain the right position. If your profile isn’t well-suited for your job search, employing the help of LinkedIn profile writing services will ensure your profile makes a good first impression and helps you land the job of your dreams. LinkedIn is the top social media site for executive-level positions.
If you need the help of an executive LinkedIn profile writer, contact us. We can help you revise or create your profile so it appeals to recruiters and prospective employers.
Glassdoor recently came out with their list of the 25 Best Jobs in America for 2015. Their criteria for the Glassdoor Job Score is based on three factors — earning potential (average annual base salary), career opportunities rating, and number of job openings. It’s a pretty nice list, from the sales engineer at #25 to the #1 physician’s assistant. It covers a lot of career fields and your own “best job” just may be on the list.
Then again, it might not.
Filter Job Options Wisely
Picking a career based solely on how much money you will make is not a good idea because there are a lot of other factors involved. The career opportunities and probability of employment (number of job openings) are two more factors, and for a list that covers everybody in America, Glassdoor does a good job. But narrowing down the options to the best strategies for your particular career path means you need to filter out what won’t work for you.
One place to start would be in taking a good look at your current resume to see what you are qualified to do. If you don’t want to do what you are qualified for, you have a great place to start deciding what needs to change. Look at why you don’t want to do what you are qualified for, what you may be interested in, and research how to explore that potential.
Other filters to use are location, current debt load, and family obligations. Every factor you can think of should come into your planning. Your dream job might be a nightmare if you don’t consider all the factors in your own life first.
Get Sound Advice
Choosing a career mentor who is willing to help you figure out your options is one of the best things you can do with your career plans. This is a long-term networking strategy that should be mutually beneficial. Getting a lot of advice from many sources will give a big perspective, but getting advice from someone who knows you is going to help you avoid some stumbling blocks in the path of your career.
AARP’s website and magazine will often have very good career advice. Kerry Hannon’s slideshow about 8 Common Mistakes Older Job Seekers Make is targeted to the older worker but actually could apply to all of us. Here’s why:
Mistake: kicking back & taking a break. The problem isn’t in taking a needed vacation, but in failing to maintain an active presence in your field. Try blogging or consulting so when you resume your job search, you have evidence you didn’t stagnate.
Mistake: using dated email accounts. It’s an excellent idea to have a dedicated professional email account that is your name, your initials & last name, or your name + your expertise. But make sure it’s also a currently respected address. AOL & Yahoo are not going to work like Google or Outlook to enhance professional image right now, but these things change rapidly so pay attention.
Mistake: low or missing digital presence. Privacy is not the same as invisibility, and most potential employers will look online. Social media and LinkedIn profile development are no longer optional for professionals.
Mistake: refusing to be flexible about salary requirements. You may be offered a lower wage but can negotiate compensatory perks, for instance. Looking at the bigger salary picture can get you in the door.
Mistake: overlooking contacts. You never know who you will run into again, who can introduce you to your next boss, or who is going to be helpful. Ideally you are being helpful to the others in your network, too, because it goes both ways and comes around again.
Mistake: overdoing your resume. If it is bloated with outdated detail, hard to read, and over two pages, you overdid it. Time for a resume update! Do your research and make it concise. They can ask you for more detail in the interview.
Mistake: ruling out jobs. It may not be a perfect fit, but a job that is mostly a good fit will be perfect with the right attitude.
Mistake: waiting for the perfect job to open up. Here’s the truth: there is no perfect job. That’s okay, because people aren’t perfect anyway. The same skill set and experience can transfer beautifully into any number of possibilities so be open to them all.
These mistakes are certainly not limited to any age group. If you have been making one, fix it and you could find that next job!
Professional resume and executive resume services have always emphasized the importance of networking for those interested in finding a job or moving ahead in their career plans. This is because the interactions we have with others in our industries creates a background impression that job applications, resumes, and cover letters are viewed against. People see the resume, for instance, and find out more by either asking around or remembering contact.
LinkedIn is an online networking site, the biggest and most influential one we have access to in 2015. Louisa Chan is a marketing expert, and her post on Copyblogger is primarily speaking to content writers. But the 7 Ways to Build Online Authority with LinkedIn that Chan suggests are good suggestions for professionals of any industry who wish to establish authority in their field. Isn’t this what networking and moving ahead as a professional is all about? As others become familiar with our expertise, we have a voice in the field — and the more expertise that is in our voice, the more authority we have.
Seven Ways To Build Authority on LinkedIn
Here is a quick look at these great suggestions:
complete your profile
compose content for distribution
convene in relevant LinkedIn discussion groups
connect with your peers
communicate in a personal way
continue to improve
commit to your production schedule
All of these are ongoing projects. Even the completion of your profile is never ending, because if you are doing the other things, there will be more to add to your profile. And each time you add to the content you produce, your voice is being heard as an expert in your field. If nobody knows you are an expert, you are invisible. One of the first things that a potential employer or the HR person deciding on your promotion, will do is see what you have to say about your expertise online. This is essential, whether it is original content (and there should be some original content) or a carefully curated contribution to the discussion along with your commentary.
Sometimes, the difference between a job application that makes an employer say, “Wow!” and one that makes an employer say, “Whoa…skip that one” is a simple mistake that is easy to avoid. In a recent Daily Worth article, Natasha Burton looks at 9 common job application mistakes that can cause that application to get tossed. Her list is:
not following instructions
applying for “any” position
sloppy grammar
outdated resume
listing responsibilities instead of what you accomplished
over-the-top resume
passive voice & too many skills
unsolicited salary requirements
inappropriate cover letter/email
Pay Attention To The Details
Every single item on this list could be avoided if the applicant is paying attention to detail. It’s pretty easy to go into an automatic zone when you are submitting a lot of applications, but that’s when the mistakes happen. Electronic job applications, for instance, are increasingly common and can put everything in the wrong box if you aren’t careful.
Handwritten applications are still being used, and that means your handwriting has to be legible. Is it? Hard-to-read scrawls are one big reason a good candidate goes un-interviewed. Slow down and write clearly if you are asked to fill out an application by hand.
Many times, it feels redundant to fill out an application when you have all that information on your resume. But often, an employer will use it to cross-check your information. It’s a good idea to have a copy of your resume — the updated one you submitted — so that the details are easy to access. Nobody remembers all the little details of a job history without help, and why add stress to your life? It’s easy to have your resume along and use that to fill in the application quickly.
Probably, the most important mistake to avoid is not following instructions. If you have a tendency to skim quickly and assume you caught the gist, slow down and make sure you also catch the details that could change the way you do things.
If your goal is to get a new job this year, here are seven things you need to do to prepare yourself for your job search.
1. Update your résumé. While ideally your résumé is customized for a specific job, having an up-to-date résumé targeted for a specific “type” of position is the next best thing. So if you’ve taken on additional responsibilities in your current job, or you’ve changed your job target, or you’ve added new training or educational credentials, now is the time to talk with your résumé writer about updating your résumé. (And if you don’t have a résumé at all, now is definitely the time to put one together! A professional résumé writer can help!)
2. Develop — or update — your LinkedIn profile. A LinkedIn profile doesn’t replace the résumé…it complements it. Someone looking for a candidate with your skills and experience might conduct a search on LinkedIn and find your profile. Or, someone in your network might be interested in recommending you, and forward your LinkedIn profile URL. So make sure you have a LinkedIn profile — and make sure that it’s updated. (Yes, this is something your résumé writer can help you with.)
3. Know what you’re worth: conduct salary research. One of the most often-cited reasons to consider a job search is to increase your salary. But how do you know what you’re worth? There is more salary research data available than ever before. Websites like Glassdoor.com and Salary.com can help you see how your current salary and benefits package stacks up.
4. Build your network. It’s estimated that 70-80% of jobs are found through networking. Networking effectiveness is not just about quality — although that’s important. It’s also about quantity. It’s not just about who you know. It’s about who your contacts know. Many times, it’s the friend-of-a-friend who can help you land your dream job. Grow your network both professionally and personally. You never know who will be the one to introduce you to your next job opportunity.
5. Manage your online reputation. More and more hiring managers are checking you out online before they interview you. What will they find when they type your name into Google? How about if they check out your Twitter profile? Or find you on Facebook? Now is the time to conduct a social media assessment and clean up your online profiles.
6. Define your ideal job. “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” That line, from Alice in Wonderland, is important to remember in your job search. If you don’t know what your dream job looks like, how will you know how to find it? What job title and responsibilities are you interested in? Do you want to work independently, as part of a team, or both? Do you like short-term projects or long-term projects? Who would you report to? Who would report to you? Answering these questions can help you define your ideal position.
7. Create a target list of companies you’d like to work for. Like your ideal job, you probably have a preference for the type of organization you want as your employer. Things to consider include: company size, industry, culture, location, and structure (public, private, family-owned, franchise, nonprofit, etc.). Once you’ve made your list, look for companies that fit your criteria.
How To Make Taxes And Your Job Search Easier To Handle
There is a lot of information out there on tax filing and job hunting and keeping your information organized. It’s an important subject because, according to the IRS, some job hunting expenses are deductible. The problem is figuring out how to keep track of all the expenses so you have the paperwork to prove your deduction claims.
Pilers, Filers, and Technophiles
The way that will work best for your purposes is the way that you naturally do things. Most of us are either pilers, filers, or technophiles.
If you are a piler, it’s obvious because there probably is a pile or two in your immediate vicinity right now. You tend to toss things somewhere to deal with later, and instead of going against your habits, how about having a box or basket to toss all receipts into? If you can create several boxes and make them look good, you can sort as you toss, but some of us pilers would rather pitch it all in one place and take an evening to sort it at tax time. Pilers have a hard time going through extra steps even if a nice system is set up, but boxes — that’s just walls on the pile. It works.
If you are a filer, you might already have an impressive system set up with files and labels. Just make sure there are files for any job search expenses and that you put anything remotely deductible in a file so you can find out if it is needed at tax time. Filers need to make sure they aren’t so organized they over-separate files into overwhelming divisions of minutiae. It’s okay to file by month instead of subject, for instance. If you find yourself unable to file something that may be important, make a file for “may be important stuff” and put it in.
If you are a technophile, you love the tech stuff and you are great at scanning documents and putting that information in cyberspace or hard drive. The problem is when you lose track of where your stuff is or that hard drive crashes. There is a lot out there for technophiles who want to keep documentation electronically, but make sure you have backed it up for emergencies.
It’s true that some job search expenses are deductible but only if you handle your documentation information efficiently. Whether you are a piler, filer, or technophile, the challenge is to figure out what works for you and do it.
Are You Looking For A Way To Improve Your Job Skills?
Many of us need a little help learning the new skills that are a part of today’s workplace. Fortunately, there’s a way to get some of that education for free — the MOOC, or Massive Open Online Course. The challenge is finding the right course for your circumstances, and not being overwhelmed by the task. Many of the top universities offer MOOCs, but just because it’s good content doesn’t mean it’s good for you.
Do Your Research
Take the time to read reviews and carefully consider what your goals are. For instance, the emphasis on internet marketing in every business means that people who keep up on SEO skills are preferable. Look for some reviews, or guides like the 2015 Guide to Free SEO Training Courses Online on Search Engine Watch. The goal is to select one skill to develop in your spare time and deciding which skill you need to prioritize based on your own career goals.
Do Your Homework
Once you have decided to take something like a MOOC, keep at it. Most of the difficulty in online classes is keeping at it. This is why it’s usually good to do one at a time and, if you can talk a friend into taking it with you, you have a study partner and some accountability. You are working on educating yourself for your own satisfaction for the most part, but that is impressive because it shows you are looking for life-long learning opportunities.
People who demonstrate a desire to keep learning, taking the initiative to research the best options for their industry, and keeping at it by getting through something like a massive open online course are impressive. They make an impression on their colleagues because they set a good example. They make an impression on their employer because they demonstrate an ability to stay current with their skill set. And they make an impression in their self-confidence because they are increasing their knowledge and understanding. If you decide to explore the potential of the MOOC, do your research and select the right one — then do your homework and get it done.
