A job search has many ups and downs. You could be on cloud nine when you receive an opportunity to interview, but then fall back down when you don’t get the job. Keeping a level mindset is difficult, but necessary during your hunt for a new job.
It’s easy to take a break from your job search. But many people find their break that was supposed to last only a few days ends up lasting a few weeks. Not improving your personal branding every day is only making you take a step backward. The best way to stay on a schedule, and stay motivated, is to set a timeline. Here are some tips on how to do so.
Set a Goal and Plan to Meet it
Setting a goal without a plan to reach it is simply a wish. Everyone operates differently, though. You may choose to set multiple smaller goals to reach during a certain timeframe, or you may choose to solely set your sights on the end goal. Either way you choose, having a plan will help you get there.
Using the top rated resume writing services can help you meet your plan and goals. Not having a polished resume could be setting you back and getting you looked over for jobs you qualify for. Having a professional help you write your executive resume can help expedite the job search process.
Don’t Be Complacent
Complacency can be a big detriment to your job search efforts. If you’re not going to apply for a job one day, then use your effort to optimize your LinkedIn profile as much as possible, just to keep you moving forward. It’s important to note employers may have a position open for immediate hiring, but they may not be hiring immediately. Don’t wait around for them to contact you. Continue on with your job search so you can stay on your timeline and not suffer a setback.
Be Immediate, But Not Pushy
When you meet with a recruiter, it’s important to show immediacy, but not be too demanding. Recruiters know you’re looking for a job; otherwise, you wouldn’t be talking to them. You can damage your c-level personal branding by overstepping boundaries and being pushy just to meet your timeline.
Professional Resume Services understands the importance of setting a timeline and making attainable goals for your job search. Our top rated resume writing services can help you stay on schedule with a job search, so feel free to contact us if our services can help you in any way.
Coming up with a marketing plan at the beginning a job search can sound a little intimidating, even for professionals and executives. It sounds like it would involve an extensive process that would take a lot of time away from the search itself.
However, any top rated resume writing services will tell you not to underestimate the value of a job search marketing plan. It’s much better to learn and understand today’s job search techniques before you get started, rather than just trying different things until something works. Here are the important concepts of a job search marketing plan.
Know How to Distinguish Yourself
If you’re going to advertise yourself, you need to know what different companies and recruiters are looking for. Any executive knows the importance of c-level personal branding, so you need to know how to brand yourself to fit the current market. How you portrayed yourself a decade ago is likely much different in today’s job market. Figuring out what characteristics leads to a successful job search is the first part of developing a good marketing plan.
Figure Out What Your Job Search Will Entail
When writing a professional resume, it’s better to be specific and target certain companies or industries rather than being too general. This just means you need to do a little homework upfront before you even start crafting your resume. You may need to do some online research, attend networking events or even visit some companies to get more information. Come up with a plan of what you’re willing to do and what you need to do based on your resources.
Develop a Plan and Stick With it
When you come up with a plan, you need to stick with it. Your plan is obviously to succeed, so adjustments may need to be made along the way in order to achieve your goals. To improve your c-level personal branding, this could mean attending one networking event each week. It could also mean you need to send out one resume to a different company every day after you’ve done your research on them. Set aside time every day to work on the plan you set in place and stick with it religiously.
Professional Resume Services is one of the top rated resume writing services to help you develop a job search marketing plan. If you need any assistance with creating your perfect plan, feel free to contact us at any step along the way.
Experienced executives may be surprised at how resumes have evolved within the last few years since they updated theirs. In general, the information included in today’s resumes is very similar to what it was dozens of years ago, but the presentation has definitely changed. This is why many executives tend to use professional resume writing services to ensure their resume is up with the times. Let’s take a look back at how executive resumes have evolved over time and where they are currently.
Printed or Electronic?
Most professional resume writing services will suggest utilizing both printed and electronic versions of your executive resume. Printing out your resume and physically handing it to someone may seem old school, but it’s really the only guaranteed way you know they will look at it. With so many jobs posted online today, it can be easy for electronic copies to get lost in the shuffle. However, many companies rely on electronic resumes for keyword searching, so it’s still important to send it electronically as well.
Visual and Digital Resumes
Visual and digital resumes have become more popular over the last few years. They give you the ability to show off your creativity by demonstrating a skill or providing a work product you created electronically. However, the top rated resume writing services caution you about using this method in certain industries. These types of resumes are generally frowned upon when searching for an executive job, but a marketing or creative design hiring manager would likely appreciate it.
What is Best for Executives?
When executives craft their resume, it’s best to keep it simple and professional and make the important points stand out. The best executive resume writers can highlight relevant attributes within a standard resume format to make it pop out at the reader.
Hiring managers for executive positions tend to be traditional when it comes to the type of resume format they want to see. However, making your resume look exactly like everyone else’s is a good way to get yours passed over.
If you need to use professional resume writing services to get tips and tricks on your executive resume format or for any other help, feel free to contact us at any time. Crafting your executive resume is an art, so it’s important to find a good balance between what hiring managers want to see and what is going to get yours noticed over all the other applicants.
A question that comes up periodically that I wanted to address is people wonder whether they should include any hobbies or volunteer work on their resume. The short answer is: it depends. Most of the time, these things won’t hurt your chances of landing a job interview. However, you have to be smart about what you include. If you are at an executive level, leave them off. If you are entry level or professional level, or a non-corporate profession hobbies and volunteer work can be used to help your chances, but you need to keep these tips in mind.
Be Smart About Which Hobbies to Include
Stay away from including any hobbies revolving around politics or religion. Both of these are controversial topics, and can hurt your personal branding. There are very few jobs out there where including these types of hobbies could actually help your chances of getting an interview. Otherwise, you’re taking a big risk of offending the person reviewing your resume. You don’t want them to throw your resume aside because of your political or religious views.
Volunteer Work is Generally Good to Include
There generally isn’t anything wrong with incorporating volunteer work or community outreach into your resume. In fact, most of the top rated resume writing services will encourage you to include community involvement over hobbies. Volunteering demonstrates to a potential employer that you like to be active in the community. The more well rounded you are, the better you will appear on paper. Volunteering is also a great way to network, so there is a business aspect to it.
Focus on Hobbies Beneficial to the Job
Make sure the hobbies you include on your resume pertain to the job in some way. If you are going for a horticulture role and in your free time grow a specific kind of plant, then yes, add that. For example, it won’t do any good to talk about your passion for cooking if you’re searching for an executive job. However, if you frequently play golf, it could be attractive since companies like to take clients or business partners out for golf if they share the same passion.
A good rule of thumb to go by is hobbies won’t be the reason you get an interview, but they can be the reason you don’t get one. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or need assistance with the hobbies or volunteer work section of your resume.
It can be very tempting to shut down, or slow down, your job search during the winter months. When you get caught up in the holiday season, it can seem like you just don’t have enough time to put the effort you need into searching for your perfect job. However, companies generally do not stop hiring just because it’s the holidays, so now is not the time for you to stop creating perfect resumes that get you hired. Here are five things to keep in mind while you are on your job hunt.
1. Use Social Events to Your Advantage
You don’t have to rely solely on professional networking events in order to make business connections. Any conversation could lead to work-related topics, so you always need to have a professional mindset to be ready if the opportunity arises. Don’t discount the people you know, from casual friends to industry colleagues. You never know where a conversation could lead, and who your associates might know.
2. Reacquaint Yourself With Contacts
Go through your list of contacts and get in touch with people you may not have spoken to in a while. This could include friends, family and former co-workers. Catch up with them and let them know you are looking for a job. They might be able to help put you in touch with someone they know. Again, the power of networking is phenomenal. While it’s easy to underestimate the people you know on a less-than-professional basis, you never want to brush them off completely.
3. Commit to Your Job Search
The winter months can make it difficult to get motivated. The gray, gloomy days can take the drive out of networking or job searching. To stay committed and motivated, try visiting one of the top rated resume writing services. You just might find the motivation you need to keep moving if you’re able to craft a few quality resumes that get you hired. At the very least, you may receive some important advice toward your resume or other qualifying documents that will aid you as you continue your job search later on.
4. Get Direct
As you’ve navigated your job search, you’ve likely often wondered, “How do I create the most effective executive resume?” However, the key to landing a great new job involves far more than just drawing up an excellent resume! You’ve spent so long in your industry that you undoubtedly have quite a few powerful connections under your belt. Use them to get directly in touch with the people in charge of the companies you’re hoping to work for! Getting in touch with an executive for the company is a great way of proving your initiative, which employers like to see. This may very well work in your favor in other ways, as most people slow down their job hunting during holiday months and research shows nearly half of people who’ve reached out to hiring managers and other executives managed to get the job.
5. Broaden Your Perspectives
Don’t limit yourself to only certain jobs when you’re on your search. At the same time, you also don’t want to apply to just any job. While the vast majority of executive positions are highly specialized, the skills involved can easily carry over into other positions that could fit you just as well. Finding a good balance is key when you’re on your winter job search. You could visit some top rated resume services to help tailor your resume to your different skill sets. That way it will be more targeted to the particular position you’re applying for.
Your winter job hunt shouldn’t slow down around the holidays. If you’re stuck in a rut and are having a hard time getting motivated, feel free to reach out to us at any time.
Finding a job in the 21st century requires both the ability to self-promote and a bit of marketing savvy. With the invention of sites like LinkedIn, it is now easier than ever to show prospective employers what you can offer them. Having top-notch resumes and cover letters is vital when trying to get taken seriously by business professionals.
Targeting your resume for a particular job is a great way to show an employer how well you’re suited to that company and position. When trying to create targeted resumes that get you hired, be sure to consider the following factors.
You Don’t Have to Start From Scratch
The biggest mistake you can make when trying to create targeted resumes and cover letters is starting from scratch. Your existing resume will have a lot of useful information in it and can be altered to make it more targeted. Ideally, you will want to have a “summary of qualifications” section on your existing resume.
Each time you apply for a new job and want to target the resume, you can edit this section to make it specific to a particular company. By not throwing the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to your resume, you will be able to save a lot of time and energy.
Make Your Cover Letter Shine
One of the first things an employer will look at is your cover letter. Droning on about things unrelated to the job you are applying for will usually end in your resume getting tossed aside. You’ll want to make sure your cover letter is written as concisely as possible. Carefully read over the job listing and see what type of qualifications the company has outlined.
Baiting the hook with a great cover letter is an important part of landing the right job. Working in the relevant experience you have may make your cover letter more appealing. However, many executives flounder when it comes to crafting their cover letter simply because they have so much experience, it can be hard to know what’s worth including. You have to learn where to trim the fat—which the top rated resume writing services can help you with!
Show The Reader of the Resume You Have Done Your Homework
Your main objective when trying to create targeted resumes that get you hired is standing out from the other applicants. Doing your homework when it comes to the company you are seeking employment with is wise. A great way to catch the reader’s eye is to include something in your cover letter regarding the company’s history.
Don’t be afraid to delve deep with your research and learn as much about the company as you can. Merely mentioning a company’s Fortune 500 status will not garner as much attention as a lesser known factoid about their achievements or their work in the community. An easy way to get a feel for their brand and their proudest achievements is through their website. Pick out facts that align closely with your own qualifications and try to relate the two.
Once you get started, you will probably realize creating a targeted resume is not an easy process. Letting top rated resume services, like Professional Resume Services, handle the targeting process could mean better job search results. Be sure to contact us to discuss how we can help you in the pursuit of resume excellence.
Depending on how you use the Internet and social media, you could accelerate your job search or cause it to crash and burn. Thousands of jobs are posted online every day and there are many more thousands of people searching for jobs. Statistics show your chances of getting a job solely through an online presence are extremely low. Crafting the perfect resumes that get you hired will only go so far if you don’t have a personal connection with a recruiter or company. The Internet can be a valuable tool when used properly so here are three little-known ways to take advantage of it.
Have an Online Influence
LinkedIn is a great way to increase your online presence and influence. You hear me talk about this time and again. LinkedIn is key. The more connections you have, the better you will look online. Having hundreds of connections means you are a potentially valuable resource for generating new business, with the ability to bring in more talent and market a brand. However, having online connections you don’t really know well are just false senses of influence and could hurt your reputation.
Stalk Social Media
Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms are great for learning about a company’s office culture. Even if you use top rated resume writing services to craft your resume, you won’t get the job you want if you don’t fit into their culture. Companies use social media to attract their target customers and employees. If a company uses a professional approach on their social media platform, you should use that same approach when contacting them. Alternatively, if you notice their style is more laid back, you can cater toward that writing and communication style to fit in better.
Create Multimedia Resumes
Simply uploading resumes to job boards is ineffective, thanks to the high saturation of resumes already flooding in. Plus, they clog your email with spam. Stay away if you can. No matter how many professional resume writing services you use, it’s difficult to get recognized among hundreds or thousands of resumes. Now you can use the Internet to create multimedia “resumes” to break up the monotony.
Instead of uploading a traditional resume, create a website or a blog to highlight your attributes. You could make a short video to introduce yourself, talk about your skills and provide examples and work products for recruiters. This is your chance to be as creative as you want in order to set yourself apart from the rest of the job seekers.
With these three tips, you can use the Internet to your advantage to land a new job. Your creativity, combined with the help of professional resume writing services, could put you ahead of the curve.
A Simple Guide to Sharing Your Executive Resume on the Internet
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Congratulations! You’ve finally got your executive resume polished and ready to share with the world. Whether you used the best executive resume writing service or you crafted the perfect resume yourself, it’s time to show it off. Believe it or not, there are some things you need to look out for when sharing your executive resume on the Internet. With so many job boards, it can be difficult to determine where to post your resume. Here is a simple guide to sharing your resume with the online world.
Avoid Sharing Personal Information
When you publish any kind of personal information on the Internet, you never know who will see it. Avoid putting your home address or phone number, unless you want to get a lot of unwanted spam. An executive resume writer would suggest limiting your personal information to just a city or state so there’s no easy way to track you down. Once a potential employer contacts you, feel free to share the information like you normally would with a standard resume.
There’s No Bad Place to Post Your Resume
Some people believe you can post your executive resume anywhere and everywhere, while others suggest being selective. There isn’t necessarily a bad place to put your resume online, but you could find unexpected consequences. The more places you post, the more exposure your resume will receive. However, you may also receive more spam mail.
Posting your resume to just a few websites limits your exposure, but you’ll also be able to more easily determine legitimate contacts from phony ones. My favorite professional website for job seekers is LinkedIn. You can post your resume, research companies and look for jobs, all in one place.
Be Careful About Solicitations
The top rated resume writing services will warn you about solicitations you’ll receive in response to your resume. I always suggest to my clients to create a separate email address only for job search to make sure they don’t receive those types of emails (spam) in their personal inbox. You may get emails asking for personal information, but don’t fall for it. Legitimate employers most likely will wait until the interview to ask for that information so don’t give it out online unless you’ve already established a relationship with them.
These are just a few things to consider when posting your executive resume on the Internet. An executive resume writer may tell you any kind of exposure is good exposure. While that may be true, you also have to understand what you may see as a result.
