Many executives forget a job isn’t theirs until they sign on the dotted line to become employed with the company. Receiving a job offer is great, but some mistakes could lead to the offer being withdrawn. You’ve worked so hard to get your executive resume bio in shape to get recognized, land an interview and ultimately get a job offer. Here are some of the common mistakes you need to avoid both before and after receiving a job offer.
Not Being Honest
Don’t tell your interviewer you have another job offer elsewhere if it isn’t true. Similarly, don’t lie about the salary at your current position or previous position. Employers have the right to look at this information for verification before they make a job offer. If you’re caught in a lie, they may question your entire executive resume bio and not give you an offer.
Not Keeping Your References Informed
Your references on your executive resume could be critical in getting you a job. However, any of the top resume writing services will tell you to always keep your references informed when you send in a resume. Employers often call those references, so you don’t want them to be surprised when it happens. You want your references to be prepared so they can discuss your past work most effectively.
Negotiating Too Much or Too Early
Negotiation is part of the interview process for executives. However, there’s a time and place for negotiating, and doing it too early or too often could make an employer uncomfortable enough where they won’t offer you the job. You are entitled to fair pay and benefits, but there has to be some give-and-take as well.
Social Media Blunders
Potential employers almost always look at social media profiles because it gives them insight as to who you are. Use a LinkedIn profile service to get your Linkedin profile cleaned up from a professional standpoint. Also be careful not to post any photos or commentary that could be offensive or otherwise hurt your chances of not looking and sounding professional. Social media is a valuable tool, but it can also be extremely costly when not used appropriately. Professional Resume Services is one of the top resume writing services in the industry. Not only can we help you write an effective resume to boost your chances of landing an interview, but we also have valuable tips about various stages of your executive job search. Feel free to contact us at any time if you’re struggling with your job search.
There are many different tools you need to have as an executive looking for a new job. Using these strategies will keep you on par with your competition, and your job search strategies can put you over the top. However, without utilizing every resource available to you, there’s a good chance you’ll be left behind. Whether it’s updating your LinkedIn profile or optimizing your resume, there are certain things you must have with your job search.
Executive Biography
Your executive resume biography tells a story and is more conversational than a resume or cover letter. This is your opportunity to go into detail about a particular situation that highlights your skills, brand and personal attributes. Some executives focus more on resumes and cover letters, but a strong executive biography can tie everything together.
Executive Resume
Writing an executive resume today is much more difficult than it was a decade ago. With so many automated systems used to identify keywords, you have to be precise with the words and phrases you use. Many times, executives will leave the resume writing to professional resume writing services to ensure their resume gets noticed.
Updated LinkedIn Profile
If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, it’s time to get one. If your LinkedIn profile isn’t up-to-date, it’s time to update it. Recruiters and HR managers will sometimes look on LinkedIn to find candidates. Other times they will look on LinkedIn after they’ve viewed a resume to get more information on a candidate. Your LinkedIn profile gives you the opportunity to go beyond the information on a resume, so take it seriously and don’t just rehash your resume.
Networking Card
There’s a difference between a business card and a networking card. When networking, you need to have a card that displays your personal email address, cell phone, branding statement and social media accounts. A traditional business card may not be the best for networking with new people to find new opportunities. Having both could be beneficial, but a specific networking card is unique and will help you stand out. Professional Resume Services is here to help ensure you have everything you need to be successful with your job search. Whether it’s writing an executive resume biography or just giving you tips on how to approach your job search, contact us any time you feel like you need a boost.
When you sit down to write an executive cover letter, you may have many different thoughts running through your mind. Will the hiring manager even read this? Why can’t I simply regurgitate my resume? Aren’t all cover letters the same? The truth is, cover letters are difficult to write when you write them properly. They shouldn’t be the same as your resume, and yes, hiring managers do read the good ones. You just have to make yours stand out from the rest by being appropriately creative in your writing. If this doesn’t seem like your style, here are some tips from a cover letter writing service to help you out.
Distinguish Cover Letters From Resumes
One mistake many executives make is turning their resume into paragraph form and calling it a cover letter. This isn’t the purpose. Your executive cover letter should show more of your personality and creativity, rather than your experiences in the industry. You will likely send in your resume and cover letter at the same time, so no one will want to read the same thing twice.
Be Brief and To The Point
Don’t include more than two or three paragraphs on your executive cover letter. In fact, cover letters closely resemble executive profiles, since they should just be short statements describing your value and what you bring to the table. No hiring manager wants to read a lengthy cover letter.
Showcase Your Ability to Help The Company
As far as the content of your executive cover letter goes, write more about how you can help the company, rather than focusing on your past achievements. You may need to use a cover letter writing service to help iron out the details. It’s easy to talk about how good of an employee you are, but everyone does that. When you demonstrate your knowledge about the company and tie in your experiences, your cover letter will stand out.
Be Creative and Conversational
As an executive, most resumes and cover letters you write are likely cut-and-dry. It doesn’t hurt to be a little creative, at times. Try writing your executive cover letter in more of a conversational tone. Incorporate random facts about your industry or tell a very short story to keep the reader engaged. Professional Resume Services knows the ins-and-outs of a great executive cover letter. We are an executive resume writing service with expertise in resumes, cover letters, networking, LinkedIn profile development and more. If you’re struggling with your cover letter in any way, feel free to reach out to us at any time.
Can Your Family and Friends Boost Your Networking Success?
Networking seems so simple, but so tricky at the same time. Many professionals and executives believe they will have easy access to a job if there is a family member or friend in the company. However, this isn’t necessarily true. And even if it is partially true, you have to be careful how you approach the situation. When it comes to personal branding for senior level managers, always having a professional approach is critical. You could be putting your family member’s or your friend’s reputation on the line by asking for a favor. Here are other things to consider.
Use Them, But Don’t Abuse Them
There’s no harm in asking someone you know to help you get your foot in the door. But you don’t want to make them go out of their way and potentially damage their own reputation and success on your behalf. As you know, c-level personal branding takes a lot of time and effort to build, but can be damaged instantly. Don’t abuse your close connections by pressuring them to fight for you, especially if you may not be completely qualified.
Verify Your Qualifications First
The best thing you can do right away is ask your close connections whether you are qualified for a position they have available. You should also learn how to optimize your LinkedIn profile before you even reach out to them, just so your information is current. The worst thing that can happen to both your reputation and your friend or family member’s is to make the effort to get your foot in the door, only to find out you don’t meet the necessary qualifications.
Understand Their Risk in Helping You
Family and friends can boost your networking efforts, but also take into consideration the risk they are taking in helping you. They’ve worked hard to get in the position they are in just like you have. If they recommend you and you don’t fit with the company for some reason, their own c-level personal branding could take a hit. Sometimes it’s not worth the risk for them, so take that into consideration before asking any favors. Professional Resume Services can help you with your networking efforts. Whether you need to learn how to optimize your LinkedIn profile or brush up your resume, we are here for you when you need us. Feel free to reach out to us at any time.
Beat The Competition With The Job Search Success System
Competition is unfortunately part of the picture in searching for a job. It’s also part of the picture in keeping your job and being promoted.The Job Search Success System has more to offer than getting your foot in the door; the skills you learn will help you be successful throughout your career as you struggle to keep up with the market.
In addition to finding that job, there is coaching on:
how to figure out what you really want out of your career
how to become the acknowledged expert in your field, boosting your income and potential
how to negotiate for salary increases of 10% and more — up to 50%
communication tips
efficiency tips
project work, consultation work, and adding income streams
The more skills you have, the more options you have. When you are actively seeking to improve your skills, it benefits you now and in the future. It also benefits those around you because you are setting a standard of professionalism that will enhance your workplace. Even if you would decide that you are not ready to invest in a tool like The Job Search Success System, pay attention to the things offered in the package. Those are skills you need to develop somehow in order to keep up in the marathon that is a career.
I did say “marathon” instead of “race”. That is because the goal isn’t really to be the first one past the finish line: the goal is to get across that line, getting and keeping a job until promotion to a better job. You might not be as fast as some of the other runners, but if you keep at it, you will get there!
There are many different factors that could be considered “the secret” to success but they’d only be a factor in the final result. When you think about it, all the best resumes, cover letters, and knowledge won’t help you get a job if you aren’t consistent in applying for the job. Nothing replaces that foundation of persistence in completing any project.
What if you’ve been applying all the places you can think of and are not hearing back from job applications? It could be your resume. Or it could be something else that a professional career coach could show you. But giving up will almost certainly guarantee failure, and regrouping to try again will increase your chances of success.
A long time ago, I heard a funny story on the radio that illustrates what I am trying to say. The scene was a high school football game and one of the players made a terrible mistake on the field just before halftime, costing yardage and points. Now, what if that player had just given up, thrown himself down on the middle of the field, and stayed there? The storyteller described that scenario humorously– imagining the band trying to march around his body during the halftime show and it was amusing to listen to. But it got me thinking that you can’t just give up and lay down in the middle of everything because you are tired of trying, or failing. Sports teaches you to deal with failure by getting up and keeping on. You keep working on skills, learning more about the game, training to strengthen yourself, and try again. A job search is very similar! If you aren’t persistent and don’t keep at it, you’ll miss out.
A job search or career change is like building a home: both require thought, research, and careful planning to be successful. When you look at blueprints for a custom-built home, you see the wisdom of many experts compiled to create the perfect house. Codes and construction standards, design details and homeowner’s dreams — it’s all there in the blueprints, ready to become reality. If the experts aren’t part of the design process, those blueprints will be missing something. It’s like a kitchen designed by someone who only eats at restaurants; the non-cook has no grasp on what is practical for a kitchen. You could end up with cupboards too small for cereal boxes, counters with no outlets to plug the toaster into, and an oven that can’t be opened when standing in front of the stove because the island is too close. With a job search, there are similar problems that can arise. If you are trying to design your career plans without expert advice, you are going to miss some important factors that will cause problems later on. It’s just the way things work; we learn through mistakes, and if we are smart, we learn from others’ mistakes too. When you are keeping up-to-date with regular reading of available resources you are going to be able to see where you can do things yourself and where to call in an expert. Our Job Search Resources list contains all you need to accomplish this goal, with links to many experts and tools. You can find links to:
career research and exploration
job search sites for free or pay
social networking
salary calculators
self-assessments
and much more
The more expertise invested in designing the plan, the better your blueprint for a successful job search or career change will be.
The job search process can be long, boring, and more than anything, disappointing.You may spend hours searching the internet and newspapers, and will come up with almost nothing that sounds like the job you’re looking for. Which brings up another problem-do you even know what it is you are looking for? This aimless searching leads to wasted time, energy and disappointment.
Fortunately, you can make the job search easier on yourself if you take some time and decide what it is you want to search for. If you have an idea of what kind of job you want to do and a job that you would enjoy, then your search will be more fruitful and you will waste less time aimlessly searching. First, you need to decide what it is you want to do.Think about what you enjoy, what you know how to do, what you have been educated in, and where you want to be in your career. If you take the time to think through what it is you want, then you will be one step closer to getting a job and a career that you can enjoy. Next, as you begin your search, keep focused. You have decided what it is you want to do, so don’t stray from that path. If you do, you will only be wasting valuable time that could be spent on a targeted search. Use job search sites that have filter so you can search for specifics such as: full time, part time, education needed, distance from where you live, and the type of work.
If you know what you want to search for before you even begin the path to a new career, not only will you spend less time searching for a job, but the time you do spend searching will be more fruitful and you will be more likely to find a job you will love.
Many executives forget a job isn’t theirs until they sign on the dotted line to become employed with the company. Receiving a job offer is great, but some mistakes could lead to the offer being withdrawn. You’ve worked so hard to get your executive resume bio in shape to get recognized, land an interview and ultimately get a job offer. Here are some of the common mistakes you need to avoid both before and after receiving a job offer.
