Many executives feel similar emotions when they’re searching for a new job. They work so hard on their executive resume biography, improving their personal brand by networking and more just to land an interview. And when the opportunity to interview at a great employer presents itself, you want to do your absolute best. But what does it mean exactly to be your “best” at an interview? Sometimes simply being yourself will put you ahead of the curve, as interviewers can identify a dishonest person quickly. In addition to honesty, here are some of the best ways you can ace your c-level job interview.
Research, Research, Research
Before you even step foot in the interview, you have a lot of research to do. Research the company as much as you possibly can. This can include visiting their website, asking a recruiter what they know about the company, dissecting the job description as thoroughly as possible and you may even consider contacting the employer directly to learn more about the position. And if you’re able to find out the name of the interviewer, take a look at their LinkedIn profile to learn about them, so you have an idea of who you’ll be talking to. You may have already conducted some of this research when writing your executive resume biography, but you can never be too prepared.
Be Natural When Talking To The Interviewer
Rehearsing a list of commonly asked interview questions will help you be prepared to answer them, but you also don’t want to sound like you have canned responses. The key to writing resumes that get you hired isn’t necessarily the same key as interviewing successfully. Your resume should use professional language as much as possible, while your voice should be more natural in an interview. Just don’t confuse natural language with unprofessionalism, though.
Ask Your Own Questions
The best resume writing service will suggest having your own list of questions to ask the interviewer as well. You want to make sure the employer is as good of a fit as it seems like on paper, so ask them why they believe you would fit in. Ask them about short-term and long-term opportunities, potential advancement, travel time and anything else you have concerns about. Most interviewers will be open to answering all of these types of questions, and may even be more impressed with you as a result since it demonstrates your strong interest in the position.
Professional Resume Services prides itself on not only being the best resume writing service, but also a resource for executives who need assistance with interview preparation or anything else. We enjoy working with executives of all backgrounds and understand everyone has their own needs and desires. Heading into an interview is a nervous time for most people, so feel free to reach out to us at any time if there’s anything we can do to help.
The best executive resume writers have seen hundreds of resumes and know exactly what the most common mistakes are. As obvious as some of these mistakes are, it’s easy to make them when you’re focused so much on the details and ensuring you’re making the right impression. This also highlights the importance of working with a reputable professional resume writing service to ensure you give yourself the best chance at writing an effective resume. Here are some of the most common mistakes you need to be aware of and avoid making.
Using Long Sentences And Big Words
No matter how much experience and knowledge you have, your executive resume should use simplistic language that’s easy to read. The hiring manager likely doesn’t have the same knowledge as you, so if they don’t completely understand the big words you’re using, it could put a barrier between the two of you that’s difficult to overcome. Use short sentences and simple words in your resume and save the technical language for the interview when you’re talking to like-minded people.
Not Incorporating Keywords
The best executive resume writers will tell you keywords are more important today than ever before. With companies receiving hundreds of resumes or more on a daily basis, they will often use software to identify specific keywords and help them filter out resumes. Take keywords and phrases from the job description and requirements and use them in your resume when you can.
Being Too Generic
There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all resume. Hiring managers will see right through it if you try to submit the same resume to different companies. The key to writing an effective resume is targeting the company your applying to by identifying their needs and demonstrating how you’re a good candidate to solve those needs.
Not Talking About Accomplishments
Executives typically aren’t shy about discussing their accomplishments. However, many of them don’t talk about the achievements in detail. Use numbers and statistics whenever possible to create the most significant impact. If you just say you helped increase business over the course of the year, it’s not going to be as impactful as saying you successfully boosted sales 25% from the previous year.
Failing To Proofread Thoroughly
If nothing else, the best executive resume writers are valuable to catch the minor mistakes that could be detrimental to your chances of landing an interview. Typographical errors demonstrate carelessness and formatting issues show lack of attention to detail. While these may seem minor to you, an employer could see them as you not being serious about getting the job.
Professional Resume Services is a reputable professional resume writing service because we truly care about our clients. We don’t just write resumes. We want to know about your career aspirations, including where you’ve been and what you plan to accomplish. When we know your desires, we can help you craft the perfect resume to land the job of your dreams. Feel free to contact us at any time for help on your resume.
There may come a time in your career when you’re ready for a change. Obvious challenges are present when making a career change, and none are more evident than trying to write resumes that get you hired. Some of your skills may transfer over to your new career, but many of them won’t. Your main goal should be to discuss in your resume which skills you can use from your previous career, as well as why you want to make the career change in the first place. Employers will have plenty of questions for you, but writing an effective resume can answer a few of them. Here are some tips to consider when writing a career changing resume.
Discuss Transferable Skills
Every company wants new employees to have a solid mix of technical skills as well as soft skills. Depending on the nature of your career change, some of your technical skills may not transfer over well. Instead, executive resume writing services may suggest focusing on soft skills like your personality, work ethic, leadership, communication and more. Strong soft skills are transferable to almost any profession, so clearly showing your strongest skills backed by examples will make the most significant impact.
Target The Company
The key to writing an effective resume is targeting the specific company you’re applying for and demonstrating your understanding of their needs. The same is true even if you’re going through a career change. While you may not have the hard skills listed in their job requirements right now, if you have a complete understanding of what the company’s overall needs and goals are, you can shift your resume to target those aspects. Using examples from past experiences to show how you helped previous companies meet their goals will show your track record of success. And when you show an understanding of the company’s goals, they’ll be more impressed that you’ve done your homework and will then know you’re serious about the career change.
Demonstrate Your Passion For The Career Change
Employers today don’t necessarily like taking chances on candidates. They would rather hire someone with the exact experience they desire in their industry. That’s why executive resume writing services will suggest writing your resume to show a clear passion for what you want to accomplish with your career change. Demonstrate how thoroughly you thought the career change through and why the position is exactly what you’re looking for. Employers will look for any reason to not hire a person in your position, but when you show your passion on paper, they’ll be more likely to at least give you the opportunity to interview.
Professional Resume Services knows how difficult it is to change careers. However, when you put forth the effort to write resumes that get you hired, the result is well worth the time and energy. Your resume always needs to be perfect regardless of the situation, and everything is magnified when you’re changing careers. Writing a career changing resume is tricky, so don’t hesitate to contact us if you need help getting started.
One of the questions every interviewer will ask their interviewee revolves around their short-term and long-term goals, even if you state this information in your executive resume biography. But even when you know the question is coming, it’s still sometimes difficult to clearly communicate what your goals actually are. Your interviewer is likely looking for some key points in your answer, such as your intentions, commitment and ambition level. Their reason with asking the question is to determine whether you are the right fit for the goals they have planned for you. Here are some tips for answering this common question.
Tell The Interviewer Your Current Situation
You may have heard before that you have to remember where you’ve been to know where you want to go. The top resume writing services always recommend being as genuine as possible in an interview setting, even if you’re not necessarily where you want to be in your career. But instead of making it sound negative, reinforce the fact that you know what you’ve done in the past isn’t satisfactory and you’re looking for more growth as a professional.
Explain How You’re Working To Reach Your Goals
It’s easy to talk about wanting to advance in your career, but it’s another thing to do the work to prove it. Your executive resume biography may indicate some of this, but tell your interviewer what you’re doing right now to help you reach your short-term and long-term goals. This could be getting more education, certifications, working on side projects and more. Having your goals tied to actions will demonstrate how serious you are about reaching them.
Tie Your Answer To The Job Description
You have to also remember to consider the job description when answering the question, like you do when writing a professional resume. Talking about your personal goals is a breeze, but it means nothing unless the interviewer knows how they relate to the job opening. To do this, look through the job description and find some of the important responsibilities required. Then think about the skills you bring to the table to be able to handle those responsibilities now and in the future. If you don’t quite have all of the skills for the highest levels of responsibility right now, you can talk about how those skills are in your long-term plans and how you’re working toward achieving them.
A Little Uncertainty Is Acceptable
Being honest is always the best way to answer an interview question. If you’re uncertain about any aspect of your goals, including what they are or how you’ll get there, don’t just make up an answer that sounds good. You should have at least a general idea of some short-term goals you have, so as long as you can communicate those clearly, the interviewer likely won’t penalize you if they are on track with what they are looking for.
Professional Resume Services is one of the top resume writing services for many reasons. We focus on much more than simply writing resumes. We want to coach and guide you through every aspect of the job search process as much as we can. And because of this, we will take the time to understand your specific goals to better prepare you for interview questions along the way. Feel free to reach out to us at any time for some guidance with your job search.
There are two types of job seekers today: those who think cover letters are somewhat fun to write, and those who think they are a complete waste of time. Regardless of where your feelings are, cover letters for your resume are more important today than ever before. Like resumes, you can’t be too general in your cover letter or the reader will see right through you. By doing a little research on the company you’re interested in, you can create a targeted cover letter to get recognized. Here are some of the top do’s and don’ts when crafting yours.
Don’t Rewrite Your Resume
Too many people make the mistake of thinking their executive resume cover letter should simply be a summary of their resume. The hiring manager already has your resume, so it’s a waste of time to simply rewrite it. Instead, take advantage of the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the company’s needs and follow it immediately with how you can meet those needs. Your language in your cover letter doesn’t necessarily have to be as formal as the resume, but it shouldn’t be as informal as something like your LinkedIn profile.
Don’t Create A Generic Cover Letter
Hiring managers will be able to easily see if you’ve reused your executive resume cover letter. They are looking for your specific skills as well as how you think they fit into what they need. If you just make general statements about how companies today need what you have to offer, there’s a higher chance of your cover letter and resume getting tossed to the side and never really considered.
Choose A Few Skills To Match The Job Requirements
While you may have an abundance of skills, a hiring manager would rather see just a few of them on your cover letter. In fact, any cover letter writing service will suggest taking just a few of your skills to focus on and clearly show why those skills will help the company. Those should be the most important skills to you and the company, and you can always talk about your other skills during the interview process.
Be Personal
One of the most important aspects of an executive resume cover letter that often gets overlooked is the personalization factor. With the amount of information we have available to us today, you should be able to find a name to address your cover letter to. And if all of your searches come up empty, it usually never hurts to give the company a call and ask the receptionist for the name of their hiring manager.
Professional Resume Services is a cover letter writing service that also focuses extensively on resumes, LinkedIn and many other aspects of job searches today. Cover letters have never been more important, so crafting the perfect one will give your job hunt a nice boost. We understand it’s not always quick and easy to write a cover letter, so feel free to contact us if you need assistance with yours.
The most basic piece of advice to consider with your executive resume cover letter is to make the greeting personal. The generic greeting of “To Whom It May Concern” is no longer an acceptable way to begin your cover letter, as it’s too impersonal. With the information we have available to us today, a little effort in finding the right person to address it to will go a long way in making your cover letter stand out in a good way. So how can you find out who to address your cover letter to when the recipient isn’t obvious? Here are some tips to consider.
Search For The Email Address
Most of the time a job listing will include an email address to send your cover letter and resume to. The name in the email address may not include both the first name and last name, but usually will at least include the last name. Do a quick Google search for the name in the email address, along with the company name. You may find the biography of the person on the company’s website, or at least give you a lead on how to conduct further searching. If all else fails, a cover letter writing service may be able to help you identify key information in the job posting to help lead you to the right person.
Utilize LinkedIn Creatively
Many hiring managers today will post job openings on LinkedIn. If you found the posting on LinkedIn, then take a look to see if the post was made by an individual or by the company’s profile. Address your executive resume cover letter to that person if it’s clear who posted it. If it’s not clear, then you can take a look at the company’s LinkedIn profile and see if any employees are listed. Doing this research on LinkedIn will help you write targeted resumes and cover letters to increase your chances of getting recognized.
Give The Company A Call
When you’ve exhausted all of your resources and simply cannot figure out who to address your cover letter to, feel free to give the company’s main phone number a call. Or if the company is nearby, drop by the office and ask the receptionist for a business card of the hiring manager. As long as you’re not pushy or over-aggressive and are truthful with why you’re requesting the information, you may be surprised at how willing they are to give you at least the hiring manager’s name.
Professional Resume Services is more than just a resume and cover letter writing service. We take pride in helping every client we work with, and always take the time to understand their specific needs, concerns and desires. Too many executives make the mistake of brushing off their cover letter, but the truth is resumes and cover letters carry equal importance. To learn more about how we can help you in every aspect of your job search, feel free to reach out to us at any time.
When you work hard to optimize your LinkedIn profile, it’s only natural to consider whether you should upgrade to the premium version to take full advantage of the benefits. Depending on where you’re at in your job search, LinkedIn Premium could be exactly what you need and the expense could be well worth it. But still, knowing exactly what you’re getting from the membership ahead of time will confirm you’re making the right decision. Here is some information many LinkedIn profile writing services suggest taking into consideration before upgrading.
Two Main Features LinkedIn Premium Offers
There are four different levels of LinkedIn Premium at different price points. The two constant features across all levels is the ability to contact with anyone using LinkedIn InMail messages, and the ability to see who has viewed your profile in the past 90 days. The InMail feature is convenient since you don’t have to be connected with someone in order to send them a message. This feature itself makes networking much easier. And with the ability to see who has visited your profile in the last 90 days, rather than just the last five viewers with the standard LinkedIn version, you will always know who is interested in you.
Take Advantage of The Free Trial
Almost every executive LinkedIn profile writer will suggest taking advantage of the free trial of the premium version you’re interested in. This trial lasts 30 days, so be sure to take advantage of each day. Explore all of the various features and make note of the advantages it provides. If needed, you can work with LinkedIn profile writing services to help you decipher the main differences and gauge whether the value is worth the price point of upgrading.
No Long-Term Commitment
The best part about any of the LinkedIn Premium levels is the commitment is only month-to-month. So if you optimize your LinkedIn profile during the free trial and don’t see much value in return, then you can go back to the basic version with no obligations. In fact, many LinkedIn profile writing services work with executives who upgrade to a premium version for just a couple of months to build up their connections, or even land a new job, and then revert back to the basic version. Everyone sees different value when using LinkedIn, so you can determine its value after using it for a while.
Professional Resume Services offers LinkedIn profile writing services because we understand how important the platform is for job searching. We always recommend taking advantage of the free trial period offered and determining its value after that. Feel free to ask your executive LinkedIn profile writer as many questions as you can as well, and they will give you the facts and opinions based on their experience. And never hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about LinkedIn or anything related to your job search.
LinkedIn is a platform you can use for many different aspects of your career. One of the most important ways to use it is when you’re on the hunt for a new job. Whether you just created a new executive LinkedIn profile or you’ve had one for years, you need to make sure it’s updated and optimized for your job search. As much as your profile can help you, it can hurt you just as quickly if you don’t display the right information. Here are some tips to consider before you actively begin your job search.
Optimize Every Section For SEO
Recruiters and hiring managers have certain keywords and phrases they search for online. Knowing which words those are takes a little effort and research on your part, but you’ll have to do that anyway if you have a fully targeted resume. Any professional LinkedIn profile writer will suggest optimizing every section for SEO, since you don’t know which section a recruiter will place the most emphasis on. The more relevant keywords you have, the easier it will be for a recruiter to find you.
Balance Personal Branding With Hard Skills
Your executive LinkedIn profile is the perfect place to highlight your personal brand. Sometimes it’s not appropriate to demonstrate your personal brand in your resume, but LinkedIn can be used to build on the resume itself. You can still mention your qualifications and hard skills, while also showing who you are as a person and a professional. Having a balanced LinkedIn profile like this will help differentiate yourself and you’ll have a better chance of piquing the interest of recruiters or hiring managers.
Increase Quality Connections
Part of your LinkedIn profile development should be increasing the amount of quality connections you have. The more connections you have, the more credible you’ll seem. However, randomly asking people to connect with you won’t do any good. Quality connections can come from previous co-workers, classmates, people you’ve met at networking events or even people from common LinkedIn groups you’re involved with.
Be Active
Most recruiters will look at how active you are on LinkedIn and what your activity entails. Commenting in groups and sharing content are good examples of engaging activities. Not only do these activities demonstrate your interest in certain topics, but they also can show your expertise and leadership, depending on your interactions with the content. You don’t want to be overly active all the time, but commenting and engaging with a few pieces of content daily is just right.
Professional Resume Services understands the importance of LinkedIn profile development in today’s job searching climate. In fact, many employers require applicants to include a link to their LinkedIn profile when they apply for a job, so it’s critical for you to have yours updated and optimized. We have a professional LinkedIn profile writer ready to assist you in this regard, so feel free to reach out to us if your profile is in need of a quality revamp.
