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.
If it’s been a while since you looked for a new job, you likely haven’t updated your resume during that time. Depending on how long it has been, simply making updates to it won’t be sufficient. When writing an effective resume today, you have to take into consideration how it looks digitally as well as on paper. And a lot of the resume writing strategies that applied a decade ago should be avoided now. Recruiters and hiring managers will be able to easily tell if your resume is dated, so here’s how you can rework yours to catch it up with modern times.
Old Resumes Need To Be Reworked Completely
Any professional resume writing service will suggest rewriting your resume completely if it’s close to a decade old. Sometimes it’s best to start with a blank document so you won’t be tempted to operate under the same framework as your old resume. But when you’ve only written a couple of versions of your resume, and none of them have been recent, how do you know where to start? An executive resume writer is a good resource since they are up-to-date on what should and shouldn’t be included.
Resume Writing Strategies To Consider
Old resumes didn’t typically highlight a job applicant’s personal brand. Today, personal branding is essential to include on resumes, since it’s what sets you apart from the rest. It can be difficult to do this if you’ve never done it before, so there’s no harm in working with an executive resume writer for assistance.
Keywords, formatting, hyperlinks and more should also be modernized in your resume. With more employers using applicant tracking systems to help them filter through resumes, it’s essential to include proper keywords and phrases to ensure your resume gets recognized. Targeting is also highly recommended when writing an effective resume. Employers can spot a general resume quickly, so do your research and demonstrate your knowledge about the company and their needs in yours.
Outdated Details Should Be Removed
Details like where you live, professional references, outdated expertise, an objective statement or other personal information don’t belong on resumes anymore. Of course, if a specific employer asks for this information, then you should have it handy and ready to provide it to them. Nothing demonstrates an outdated resume more than including these types of details, which most employers aren’t interested in.
Professional Resume Services takes pride in being a trusted professional resume writing service for numerous executives. Keeping up with the times is difficult today in the fast-paced world we live in. It’s especially difficult to do so if you have held the same job for many years and need to put together a resume quickly. Whether you’re actively looking for a job or if you just want to give your resume a boost, feel free to contact us for a consultation.
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.
We all hit points throughout our career where we hit a stall or things become stale. This could be due to getting comfortable with your current position or simply not knowing what direction you want to go. Using your LinkedIn profile for networking purposes can help you find some direction and potentially lead to other opportunities. It’s natural to hit a stall in your career, but it’s also possible to move forward when you’re ready. If you know you’re ready to advance your executive career, but can’t seem to find a spark to get you going, we’ve got some tips to help you out.
Let Career Detours Be Inspirational
If your career path isn’t headed exactly how you planned it to, don’t get discouraged. Everyone will have detours in their career. Instead of looking at those detours negatively, view them as inspirational and work harder to get back on track. Revisit your executive resume biography as a reminder of where you are now and where you want to be in the future. When your path changes, look for ways to grow from it and make any adjustments you deem necessary.
Always Look For Ways To Grow
One of the biggest sparks executives experience in their career is learning a new skill. Being able to add a new skill to your executive resume biography is motivating, so consider taking an advanced course or work on projects of your own in your free time. The top resume writing services encourage people to step out of their comfort zone occasionally because it will lead to growth no matter what. Learning experiences are valuable for career growth, but you won’t experience any of them if you don’t take the first step forward.
Network With Like-Minded Experts
Networking can lead to many different opportunities and can be a big spark for your career. You don’t even have to attend a networking event with the intention of finding a new job. Simply talking with like-minded experts can give you new ideas on how to approach your career or certain projects to help you move forward. Be sure to have your LinkedIn profile updated, though, since you’ll likely want to reconnect with people you’ve met through the platform.
At Professional Resume Services, nothing is more satisfying to us than seeing executives get exactly what they want in their career. We are considered to be one of the top resume writing services because we have a wide range of expertise designed to help people advance in their careers. We understand everyone goes through a stall in their career, and we are here to help you get out of it when you’re ready. Never hesitate to contact us if you’re ready to spark your career and take it to the next level.
What’s the first thing you think about when you start preparing or updating your resume? A common misconception today is thinking you have to craft your resume to be more general since you don’t know exactly what an employer wants to see. The reality is hiring managers are looking specifically for people who understand their needs and have the skills and knowledge to solve their problems. The key to getting recognized is writing an effective resume geared toward acknowledging those specific needs and demonstrating why you have the skills they are looking for. Targeting your resume is critical today, and here’s why it’s so important.
Targeting Doesn’t Limit Your Job Search
Your first thought when the best executive resume writers tell you to target your resume may be that you’re limiting your job search options. There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all resume. Employers need to see specifically how you can help their current and future situation, so only including relevant information in your resume is critical. When writing an effective resume, your time is much better spent researching a potential employer and targeting the resume accordingly rather than trying to create a general resume to reach a wider audience.
What To Do Before Writing Your Resume
The top resume writing services always suggest thinking hard about exactly what you want to do at your next job. Once you have your goals and desires set, you can search for potential employers that can help you achieve those goals. Take a look at what attributes and skills the company needs and identify where you can help them out the most. When writing your resume, be sure to demonstrate your brand clearly so the hiring manager will know exactly who you are, what you stand for and how you can help the company achieve its goals.
Make Your Resume Stand Out
Hiring managers want to see you’ve done your research on them before sending in a resume. The best executive resume writers can help you with relevant keywords and phrases employers want to see. When you value the idea of working for an employer, the hiring manager will be able to see it and you’ll have a better chance of getting called in for an interview.
Professional Resume Services knows it can be difficult to wrap your mind around targeting a resume. While resume targeting has always been important, employers today take it much more seriously in their efforts to narrow down candidates to find the right fit. We take pride in being one of the top resume writing services and are here to help you with your job searching journey. Feel free to reach out to us at any time for assistance when writing your targeted resume.
Executives often have a similar skill set, background and education. So how can you set yourself apart from the rest? There are plenty of ways to do so, but there’s one overlooked skill you must possess: listening. In the world we live in today, too many people want to talk about themselves, which leads to one-sided conversations no one really listens to. Your executive resume biography is designed to talk about your achievements, but when you’re networking, let someone else do the talking while you listen attentively. Here’s why listening skills are so valuable for executives.
Build Your Personal Brand By Listening
The best resume writing service builds their reputation by listening to what their clients have to say and acting on what they’ve heard. On the same hand, you can build your personal brand by simply listening to others when they talk, asking questions in return and acting on anything you hear. Always be listening for things people say where you could fulfill their needs, or where they could fulfill your needs. In many situations, you will leave a conversation with people thinking highly of you even when you don’t say much.
Ask Insightful Questions
When writing resumes and cover letters, you have to ask yourself important questions about your past experiences in order to determine how well they fit with the company you’re interested in working for. When talking to someone, the only way to know whether your experiences are beneficial to them is by asking insightful questions. And the only way to know what questions to ask is by listening closely to what they are saying. When you ask the right questions, the other person will do most of the talking so all you have to do is listen.
Good Listeners Stand Out Among A Crowd
When you combine listening skills with asking insightful questions in return, people will take notice. You likely talk to many different people at networking events, but the ones who stand out most often are the ones who listen and respond accordingly. People are experts on themselves, so that’s usually what they talk about the most. Instead of returning the favor and talking about yourself, focus on the other person and you’ll earn a lot more respect in return.
Professional Resume Services has earned the reputation of being the best resume writing service, but we do much more than simply write resumes and cover letters. It’s easy to indicate on your resume that you’re a good listener, and it’s even better to put those skills into action. If you aren’t sure about what type of insightful questions you can ask or how to respond to people during networking events, feel free to contact us for tips and advice.
Doing your homework prior to going into a job interview can be the difference between being considered a viable candidate or having your resume pushed to the side. Companies want to hire someone who shows they are willing to do their due diligence in order to make a quality decision. Writing resumes that get you hired is great, but those resumes don’t guarantee you are a perfect fit for any given job. Here are important points to research about a company prior to going into a job interview.
Learn About Key Team Members
You can find out the names of key team members of a company by looking at the company’s LinkedIn profile. Take this a step further and learn a few interesting facts about those people as well. Discover what college they attended, how their degree led them to the role they have and anything else you deem to be relevant. When you research professionals at a prospective employer as much as they research you as a job candidate, you’ll be more likely to make a great first impression.
Understand Mission Statements And How To Apply Them
Knowing a company’s mission statement is important in a few ways. For one, you shouldn’t work for a company if you don’t agree with their mission and values. You also should demonstrate to an interviewer how your work ethic, personal ethics and daily actions fit what the company represents. Having this information in your LinkedIn profile is one thing, but it’s also important to be able to give examples during your interview.
Check The Latest Industry or Company News
When you’re able to talk about the latest news within the company or the industry they operate in, you’ll earn some solid points with the interviewers since it shows you’ve come prepared. The best executive resume writing service can help you relate your past experiences to the company you’re interested in on paper. It’s up to you to follow-up on those experiences with action by demonstrating you’re ready to get started working for them right away.
Know The Company Structure
A LinkedIn profile of an interviewer or a company doesn’t give you the total picture of a company’s structure. The title “executive” means different things to different companies, so if you aren’t able to figure out how the company is structured by searching online, then don’t hesitate to ask them in the interview. You need to make sure you fit within the structure so you know exactly what your role is if hired.
Professional Resume Services does much more than simply write resumes that get you hired. There’s no specific action you can take that will magically land you any job you want, and the work doesn’t stop once your resume is created. Doing your due diligence on a company will help you master the interview and put yourself in a great position to get the job. For more tips like these, feel free to contact us at any time and we would be happy to work with you.
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.
