Grammar, spelling and punctuation issues can bring your job search to a screeching halt before it even gets started. Still, too many executives overlook basic typographical errors that significantly hurt their chances of landing the job they desire. Whether it’s your LinkedIn profile, resumes and cover letters, emails or anything else, always take the time to proofread your work before any other eyes see it. Some recruiters and hiring managers may forgive a typo here and there, but you shouldn’t rely on it. Here are some tips for avoiding these mistakes and why it’s important to avoid them.
Proofread Everything Before Sending or Publishing
Never rely on the spell check program your word processing software has. Many important words can go undetected when misspelled, so it’s always important to give every document a thorough proofread before sending or publishing it. When you’ve looked at your resumes and cover letters for hours, it can sometimes be easy to overlook simple mistakes. Those simple mistakes could be costly and derail your job search.
Misspelled Words Can Hurt Your SEO
Not only will a hiring manager likely push your resume and cover letter to the side if they contain typographical issues, but you might also be undiscoverable online. Hiring managers rely on online searches to find the best candidates, so if important SEO terms are misspelled, they won’t find you. Everything from the headline of your LinkedIn profile to the list of achievements in your resume all factor into your SEO. One misspelled word can hurt you in different ways, so looking at everything with attentive eyes is worth the effort.
Have A Professional Read Your Documents
An executive resume service will easily catch simple typographical errors. However, what they also do to help is make sure your resumes and cover letters flow naturally, make sense to the reader and clearly demonstrate your brand and intentions. It’s entirely possible for you to have a resume free of grammatical and spelling issues, but still not help you because the language isn’t clear. This is where an executive resume service is beneficial to ensure your target organizations understand exactly who you are.
At Professional Resume Services, we don’t want simple mistakes getting in the way of your dream job. We are here to help you with any aspect of your job search, whether it’s creating a new resume from scratch or fine-tuning an existing one. Typographical errors aren’t a reflection of whom you are necessarily, but they can severely hurt your job search efforts. Feel free to reach out to us at any time to see how we can ensure this doesn’t happen.
Whether you want to believe it or not, age discrimination is real when it comes to job searches. This is one of the main reasons why the top resume writing services suggest people in their 40s and 50s visit them to update their resume to make it look more modern. While there’s nothing you can do about your age, you can take some steps to make yourself seem younger than you are. When you give hiring managers no reason to question your age, you’ll have a better shot at landing the job. Here are some ways you can take age discrimination out of the equation when searching for an executive job.
Connect With Hiring Managers
Human interaction is critical for developing relationships. Your executive resume writer can craft the perfect resume, but it won’t do any good if you can’t connect with the hiring manager on some level. As you get older, chances are the hiring manager will be younger than you. You can connect with them by speaking in modern terms and focusing on the future instead of the past, as some of your experience could be outdated.
Demonstrate Technical Knowledge
You don’t have to be the most technologically savvy person to land an executive job. However, you also can’t be severely limited with technical knowledge. Having an online presence with a LinkedIn profile and being active on other platforms shows you’re keeping up with the times. Employers don’t want to spend time training and teaching basic technical skills, so if you already have those then you’ll be a step ahead of the rest of the candidates your age.
Modernize Your Resume
When writing a professional resume today, you have to include things you didn’t many years ago. Your LinkedIn profile URL should always be included. Remove any list of references, address information and non-relevant skills, as those elements are outdated. Working with an executive resume writer can help you quickly modernize your resume, whether it’s formatting changes or substantive updates. These updates are important because you don’t want the formatting of your resume to show your age.
Professional Resume Services is widely regarded as one of the top resume writing services. We work with executives of all ages to ensure their resume is modern and set up to succeed as they begin their job search. Details are critical in every job search today, and we are here to help you cover all of your bases. Never hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or need advice with your job search.
Job searches can be stressful, time-consuming and frustrating, but they don’t have to be. It’s natural to think you’ll get a call for an interview right away when you send in your resume to a company. But even if you worked with the top rated resume writing services, there’s still a chance you won’t get the call as quickly as you had hoped. Instead of dwelling on it and thinking about where you may have gone wrong, use the downtime to your advantage. You never know what may happen, but keep yourself busy by doing these things.
See if Other Companies Match Your Interests
Every executive resume service will tell you to not put all of your eggs into one basket. While you should spend a significant amount of time researching a company before sending in your targeted resume, don’t stop there. Move on to the next company to see if your personality fits with their culture and if you have the skills they are looking for. Most people have a specific list of companies in mind that they want to work for, but may discover other opportunities in the meantime they didn’t expect.
Make A New LinkedIn Connection
You can also use your downtime to update your LinkedIn profile and come up with strategic ways to utilize the platform. Take some time to find executives from other companies of interest and reach out to them. There’s never any harm in introducing yourself and making a new connection. Just don’t go overboard by building your list of connections so large and not knowing half of them. Making connections through your LinkedIn profile can lead to various opportunities later on.
Thank Your Past and Current Mentors
Waiting for a job interview call is a good time to reflect on where you’ve been and look forward to where you want to be. An executive resume service may suggest reaching out to your past and current mentors to simply thank them for how they’ve helped shape your career. They will appreciate the gratitude more than you think, and you never know if they’ll be able to provide you with one last nugget to help you move forward.
Professional Resume Services is more than simply an executive resume service. We work with executives who are at different points in their careers and are pursuing different paths. Some executives we work with don’t have a LinkedIn profile, while others simply need to brush theirs up. No matter where you’re at in your career or what type of career advice you think you need, feel free to contact us at any time to see how we can help.
Executives who spend several hours a day searching job boards for the right position are likely just spinning their wheels. With the thousands of jobs and applicants that apply for those jobs, your chances of being recognized are slim. In fact, many of the top executive positions won’t even get posted on job boards. After you’ve focused on LinkedIn profile development and have visited with an executive resume writing service, your best chance of finding a job is through networking. Here are some of the main issues with job boards and why you should avoid them.
Applicant Tracking Systems
Employers use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) today to sort through resumes automatically. The trick to passing ATS is having the appropriate amount of relevant keywords scattered throughout your resume. An executive resume writing service can help you select those keywords, but there’s no guarantee it will pass since there’s not a standard ATS software to study and learn. Since jobs posted on job boards likely receive hundreds of applicants, hiring managers usually will use ATS to filter out candidates. This means your chances of getting noticed are very low.
Executive Positions Rarely Get Posted To Job Boards
After writing a professional resume, your next step shouldn’t be to scour the job boards. Chances are the high-level positions you’re seeking won’t even be posted on them anyway. If anything, you can look through the different company names in order to spark your own internal research on them. You’ll likely need to look through LinkedIn, attend networking events and do other research to learn what jobs they actually have open.
What Job Search Strategy Should You Use Instead?
Networking is by far the most effective way for executives to find the jobs fitting their skills and expertise. Employers want to take their time to find the right fit, and they usually never find that person from a job board. Focus on LinkedIn profile development first, since you will be doing some networking via that platform. Making connections through LinkedIn gives you a great foundation for developing professional relationships that may eventually evolve into new opportunities.
Professional Resume Services is an executive resume writing service dedicated to helping professionals with every aspect of their job search. Job boards may have been effective a decade ago, but the top executive positions won’t be found there today. You’ll just be wasting your time and energy searching on them, and there are plenty of better ways to focus your resources. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time for some tips on effective job searching strategies today.
Have you ever felt like you were spinning your wheels during your job search? You may be putting forth a lot of effort but not moving forward as quickly as you’d like. Sometimes it’s best to take a step back and evaluate your strategy and make some alterations as needed. If you need to, get advice from an executive resume service or a professional LinkedIn profile writer to help you jumpstart your searching efforts again. Here are a few great tips to help you speed up your job search.
Focus On Your Personal Brand
Every action you take should boost your c-level personal branding. Whether it’s at a networking event, writing a resume, developing your LinkedIn profile or anything else, your brand should always be front and center. If recruiters or hiring managers can’t get a good sense of who you are as a person or a worker, they’ll be hesitant to take the next steps with you in the job interview process. Focusing on c-level personal branding is only going to benefit your job search efforts.
Network Online And In Person
Networking has always been an essential part of a job search and will continue to be. You can network around the clock if you want to with platforms like LinkedIn. In fact, many people start conversations on LinkedIn before meeting at a formal event, just so there’s already some familiarity there. Just be sure to have a professional LinkedIn profile writer review your profile to ensure you’re not making any critical mistakes inadvertently.
Target Your Resume
An executive resume service can help you target your resume to the employer you’re interested in. You can send out as many resumes as you want, but if it’s too general then companies will see right through it and toss it to the side. Resume targeting is critical today, so it’s well worth the time and effort to find out exactly what a company wants and how your skills fit.
Build A Positive Online Presence
You have to assume any potential hiring manager is going to do an online search for your name. This is another reason why working with a professional LinkedIn profile writer is important. They can emphasize certain keywords to ensure your profile shows up high in the search results. Do an online search for your name and clean up anything that doesn’t demonstrate your overall brand.
Professional Resume Services understands how frustrating it can be not knowing what employers want to see. Our executive resume service goes beyond simply writing error-free resumes. We can work with you throughout your job search, answer any questions you may have and make any tweaks along the way. If you’re ready to speed up your job search and get into the job you want quicker, contact us to see if there’s any way we can help.
Creating an attractive LinkedIn profile is valuable for anyone who’s searching for a new job. However, even the cleanest and most attractive profiles won’t be discovered if you don’t incorporate the right amount of SEO keywords in them. If you’re new to SEO or don’t necessarily know the right ratio of keywords to incorporate, it’s worth it to hire an executive LinkedIn profile writer to help you optimize yours. You’ll have a much better chance of your profile showing up higher in the search results and being noticed. Here are some SEO tips to consider to make your LinkedIn profile act as a magnet to recruiters and hiring managers.
Load Your Headline With Keywords
Many recruiters look at the headline first before they read a profile any further. You only have a limited amount of characters to include in your LinkedIn profile headline, so make the most of every one of them. Think about what potential recruiters would search for. LinkedIn will create a default headline for you based on the information you input into your profile, but it’s not the SEO-rich headline you want. Change it up to add more relevant keywords and job titles recruiters are most likely to search for.
Scatter Keywords Throughout Other Sections
Your LinkedIn profile headline is a short section but can take some time to develop thoroughly since every character matters. Once you finish it, don’t forget about the other sections. SEO applies to all sections, even though a recruiter is going to likely read your headline first. Part of LinkedIn profile development is making the most of every section while ensuring the text and information flows naturally so it’s easy to read and enhances your brand. Doing so will give you a much better chance of getting recognized and potentially making new connections as a result.
Make Your Brand Evident
One mistake executives sometimes make is focusing too much on incorporating SEO keywords and neglecting to demonstrate their personal brand. A LinkedIn profile with great keywords will show up higher in the search results, but if there’s no meaningful content present, then a recruiter is going to pass it up. Combining SEO with a powerful branding message is something an executive LinkedIn profile writer excels at and is worth considering to optimize your profile.
Professional Resume Services strives to help executives maximize their job search by focusing on all the details of LinkedIn and SEO. We are much more than simply a resume writing service. Job searches today have many different components that all work together to demonstrate your personal brand. Whether you’re looking for a new job or if your LinkedIn profile needs a revamp, contact us at any time to see how we can help you out.
The two traditional components needed to apply for a job include a cover letter and a resume. As technology and the job searching process has evolved, though, many people wonder whether it’s still necessary to include a cover letter with their application. If you follow the recommended course of action by attending networking events and making connections with people prior to applying for a job, then cover letters for resumes are still valuable. You want to introduce yourself appropriately and show your personality when applying for a job, and a cover letter is a perfect way to do so. Here are some reasons why an executive resume cover letter still brings value.
Cover Letters Won’t Hurt Your Chances
Most recruiters and hiring managers don’t mind seeing a cover letter sent in with a resume. It doesn’t mean they will read it from start to finish, but including one isn’t going to hurt your chances. On the other hand, some hiring managers actually do read cover letters for resumes thoroughly to get a glimpse of the applicant’s style and brand. So not including one could mean your application gets tossed to the side. The bottom line is there are very few situations where a cover letter will hurt your chances of getting a job, so go ahead and include it.
Things To Keep In Mind When Writing Cover Letters
Any cover letter writing service will tell you to target your cover letter as you would your resume. It starts with addressing the actual person who will read the cover letter. If you aren’t sure who this is, do a Google search and look on LinkedIn for the appropriate person to address it to. Otherwise, it may appear as if you wrote a general cover letter to send to multiple companies, which isn’t attractive for hiring managers. Also, be sure to incorporate some personal branding attributes in your executive resume cover letter so your targeted employer knows who you are as a person and an employee.
Cover Letters Should Add Value To Your Resume
Your cover letter shouldn’t simply be a summary of your resume. It should, however, add value to your resume by going into more detail or highlighting the most important parts of the resume. The language and tone of your executive resume cover letter should be more informal than a resume, while still being professional. Be specific as to why you are a great fit for the targeted company and you can point to your resume for evidence.
At Professional Resume Services, we look for ways to help executives stand out among the talent pool of other individuals. Too many people devalue the cover letter nowadays, which is a huge mistake. A cover letter can be extremely effective when done correctly and our cover letter writing service is here to help. Never hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or need tips for developing yours.
When you get invited to interview for an executive position, you have one chance to make a great first impression. The challenging part about this is everyone has their own views on what impresses people most. Some people think using a big vocabulary will demonstrate their intelligence, but sometimes this won’t impress interviewers. Others may think working with a professional resume writing service is enough, and that the interview process is just a formality. The bottom line is you have to be careful with what you think is impressive versus what an employer thinks is. Here are some tips to help you make a great first impression in your executive interview.
Dress For Success
Some job interviews don’t merit wearing a suit and tie, so you don’t necessarily have to default to that look. Instead, dress for the position you’re applying for and make sure the clothes fit you well and you look sharp overall. You should have a professional headshot in your LinkedIn profile picture, so your attire for a job interview should be professional as well. What you wear to an interview shows how much you want the job, so dress for success and it will only help your chances of making a good first impression.
Rehearse Answers To Common Questions While Sounding Natural
Another way to impress your interviewers is to answer their questions fluidly and naturally. You can get some example questions from your executive resume writer and think about how you will formulate your answers. The only thing to beware of is sounding like a robot when answering them in the interview. The interviewers will likely be able to see right through you if you aren’t natural, so the practice questions should be used just to get you thinking about how you’ll respond, whether than preparing canned responses.
Don’t Be Afraid To Show Some Personality
Employers want to hire someone who fits their workplace culture as much as they want a person who meets all of the technical job requirements. While you need to present yourself as a professional, it’s also acceptable to have a sense of humor and show off a little bit of your personality. Your LinkedIn profile should be crafted in a way that hints at your personality type, so interviewers may be looking for it in the interview.
Avoid Desperation And Entitlement
Finally, two things you don’t want to do is show desperation or entitlement. Desperation isn’t attractive to anyone, and entitlement shows you may have some problems fitting in with other employees. So even if you do feel desperate or entitled to getting the job, be humble throughout the interview. Your chances of landing the job will decrease significantly if the interviewers sense either of these attributes.
Professional Resume Services is classified as a professional resume writing service, but we believe we are much more than that. We want to be involved in every aspect of your job search and assist you in any way we can. Making a good first impression in an interview is critical, so contact us at any time for additional tips on how to do it.
