Job Search Misfiring? Revisit Your Executive Resume is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

See this nice looking fellow?

A buddy of his has been pecking at my office window for the past month.

Every morning, he sits on a branch of a shrub next to the window, picks up steam and smashes into the glass.

He plays this game for hours at a time.

Does he see his reflection and think another bird is coming at him, or does he see an open space to fly into?

Either way, he’s getting nowhere. But he keeps banging against that window, day after day.

I’m sure you’ve heard Einstein’s definition of insanity:

“Doing the same thing over and over again,
and expecting different results.”

You may be among the many executive job seekers guilty of making this mistake . . . locking yourself into a repetitive process even though it’s not working.

If you have a branded, targeted LinkedIn profile (so you’ll be found in online searches) and resume you’ve been using diligently, and you’ve  been in a proactive job search (I mean, you’re actively and purposefully networking for a new job) for more than let’s say a month, and you’re getting nowhere . . . no interviews . . .

It’s time to revisit your resume because it’s not positioning you as the good-fit candidate you know you are.

Maybe it doesn’t clearly align your expertise and value proposition with the needs and challenges your target companies are facing right now. If so, go back and stress these attributes and qualifications using the relevant keywords and phrases recruiters and hiring professionals will be looking for.

Or maybe you’ve made the biggest resume writing mistake . . . you haven’t done the personal branding and company/industry targeting work you MUST do first, before even attempting to write your resume.

Either way, take another look at your resume. If it’s broke, fix it!

Put yourself in the place of the people who will be assessing you through it (and your LinkedIn profile). Make sure your promise of value hits home with them.

Related posts:

Top 10 Executive Resume Branding Tips

Executive Brand Resume: Differentiate Your ROI Value Above the Fold

The Lazy C-level Executive Job Search

photo by hart_curt

LinkedIn’s New Criteria For a Complete Profile is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

If you’ve spent some time on LinkedIn building your branded profile, you know that LinkedIn measures your profile for completeness, based on various criteria.

What does “100% complete” mean and why is it so important to get there?

Your profile is more likely to land higher in search results. Your visibility as a good-fit candidate increases dramatically.

Executive recruiters and hiring decision makers at your target companies are more likely to land on your profile when they’re sourcing and assessing good-fit candidates.

In mid-February, LinkedIn changed the completeness criteria and the way they calculate profile completeness:

“The new calculation gives you more control of your score by emphasizing things you have direct control over, like Skills, and putting less weight on areas you may have less control over, like Recommendations. The score also takes profile freshness into consideration, so frequent profile updates can now help with profile completeness.”

Here’s what you now need for a complete profile:

• Your industry and location
• An up-to-date current position (with a description)
• Two past positions
• Your education
• Your skills (minimum of 3)
• A profile photo
• At least 50 connections

LinkedIn says that adding a profile photo makes your profile 7x more likely to be found in searches. Having your 2 most recent positions makes your profile 12x more likely to be found.

Looks like it’s time for you and all of us who rely on LinkedIn to attract business and job opportunities, to spend a little time working on our profiles.

Related posts:

My free ebook, Executive Branding and Your LinkedIn Profile: How to Transform Your Executive Brand, Resume, and Career Biography Into a Winning LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn Guide for Executive Branding and Job Search

Does My LinkedIn Profile Really Need a Photo?

Best LinkedIn Tips: Find LinkedIn Groups to Join

photo by nan palmero

LinkedIn and Undercover Executive Job Search is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

Are you hesitant to use LinkedIn and all it has to offer because you’re currently employed and worried that people at work will discover you’re looking for a new job?

Then you’re like many of my c-level executive clients. A few years ago, they opened a LinkedIn account (everyone told them they needed to be on LinkedIn!), maybe filled in some of the requested information, and completely forgot about it, except when they received requests to connect.

Or maybe, like some of my clients, you’re resistant to having any online presence at all, so you don’t have even a bare-bones LinkedIn profile.

What you may not understand is that having NO LinkedIn profile is as good as being invisible to the very people you need to be positioned directly in front of. You need to have a branded, 100% complete profile (according to LinkedIn’s criteria) for passive job search — to be more easily found by executive recruiters and the hiring decision makers at your target companies.

You also may not understand that, if your LinkedIn profile lacks a keyword-rich Professional Headline and Summary section, and has little or nothing in the Experience section, people viewing it will have very little meaningful information to help them assess you.

For more information and tips, read my Executive Career Brand post on how to use LinkedIn for confidential job search.

Related posts:

LinkedIn Guide for Executive Branding and Job Search

Does Your Online Identity Scream “Hire Me”?

The Lazy C-level Executive Job Search

photo by Dave-F

Executive Job Search and LinkedIn: Do I Need a Photo on My Profile? is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

Whether or not to include a photo on LinkedIn and other online profiles continues to be debated among career professionals.

My c-suite executive clients are typically over 50. They’re understandably concerned about ageism. A photo could indicate age and leave them open to discrimination.

Often, posting a fully completed LinkedIn profile is their first foray into online job search and career marketing . . . the first time they have considered putting a photo of themselves “out there” and exposing their image to the world.

If you’re like many of them, you worry that your LinkedIn photo may red-flag you for discrimination – age, weight, ethnic background, etc.

But think about this. NOT having a photo can be a red flag, too.

You may have reasons not to include a photo, but I encourage you to include one. The benefits far outweigh the pitfalls.

Find out why HAVING a photo on LinkedIn is important, in the post on my Executive Career Brand site, Does My LinkedIn Profile Really Need a Photo?

Related posts:

LinkedIn Guide for Executive Branding and Job Search

My free e-book: Executive Branding and Your LinkedIn Profile: How to Transform Your Executive Brand, Resume, and Career Biography Into a Winning LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn: Best Tactic for Undercover Executive Job Search

29 Biggest LinkedIn Mistakes

photo by nan palmero

C-level Executive Networking: What NOT To Do is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

Every job seeker should know by now that networking is the best way to land a job. If you don’t know and embrace this, and you’re in a job search, you’re probably looking at a protracted one.

If you do know this, then you’ve been working hard to expand your network toward the key decision makers at your target companies and those people who can help you in your job search.

But you may not be going about networking in the best possible way.

Many of my c-level executive clients have expressed annoyance that they’re constantly tapped for advice … a “few minutes” … a lead … or a favor by people they don’t know, or only know of through several degrees of separation.

They are the people who are at, or very near, the top of the totem pole at their companies – the key decision makers. The ones job seekers (and others) are trying to network their way towards. A few minutes of their time is like gold.

Because they’re in such demand, they often hesitate getting involved with social networking and building an online presence. A number of my clients have said that, although they know they have to be on LinkedIn, they don’t want to open themselves to more requests for their precious time.

Are you a c-level executive? One of these in-demand people that so many aggressive networkers want a piece of? Then you should understand more than anyone that, when you approach the top executives at your target companies, you need to gently network your way towards and around them.

I’m in a similar situation. I guess because I’ve been around for about 20 years in the careers industry, and have a fairly strong presence online and on various social media, people I don’t know personally, never spoke with or communicated with, or never heard of at all, reach out to me all the time.

All too often, they want something from me, so I’ve become selective about how I respond. In some instances I don’t respond at all … for some I’ll gently explain that I’m not able to respond to all the request I get … for some I’m all on board and eager to get to know the person, and help them if I can.

Don’t get me wrong. I have happily mentored many people over the years, just as I have been mentored. But I can’t mentor everyone who asks, or even give half an hour of my time to everyone who asks.

Here are the kinds of first approaches that completely turn me off:

With an invitation to connect on LinkedIn:

• I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn – using the thoughtless default message LinkedIn provides, and nothing else … no personal message.
• Will you take a look at my profile and let me know what you think of it?
• I’m looking for an XYZ position in the (fill in the blank) industry. Can you introduce me to anyone who can help me?

Direct emails from others in the careers industry with whom I’ve never communicated, or I may not know at all:

• Please help me promote my new book (or product)
• Can we set up a time to talk about how you built your business using social media?
• I’m just starting my own career services business. Can you tell me how you did it?

Where did they go wrong?

Their first communication was a request for a favor – to someone they don’t know at all, or just barely know. They didn’t practice “give to get” networking. They didn’t give me a reason for connecting with them.

Maybe they only wanted that one favor and weren’t interested in long term networking with me. But I could be setting myself up for an endless one-sided relationship, with someone constantly “picking my brain”, and offering me nothing in return.

What should they have done to make a positive connection?

Don’t just tell me how I can help you. Tell me how we can help each other.

Give me a reason to want to connect with you, get to know you and help you. Tell me how you know about me, why you want to connect with me and why cultivating a relationship with you might be beneficial for me, too.

When you reach out to me, or anyone you intend to ask a favor of, don’t make your first communication the request for that favor. Build the relationship a bit before you expect something in return. Healthy networking requires balance and reciprocity.

Related posts:

How to Build a Powerful Executive Network

Executive Job Search: The Old Way (Networking) Still Works Best

How To Write a LinkedIn Invitation to Connect

photo by ricki888c

What’s Your Executive Job Search Social Media ROI? is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

If you’ve spent some time on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or other social media channels, you’ve probably wondered if it’s worth the effort – whether you’ll get enough return on your time invested.

As I tell my c-level executive clients, it’s all about determining which platforms you like and are best suited to your needs, narrowing down to just a few, and working them well.

So many of us can easily get consumed and overwhelmed by dabbling in too much social media, and making an impact with none.

Check out my Executive Career Brand post for my social media of choice – the biggest pieces in my online brand communications plan – and a taste of the ROI value of each for me.

Related posts:

LinkedIn Guide for Executive Branding and Job Search

You’re a C-level Executive Job Seeker and You’re NOT Blogging?

Twitter Turbocharges Executive Job Search and Personal Brand Visibility

Twitter Executive Branding Strategy: The Beauty of a Retweet

photo by John-Morgan

Executive Job Search: Do You Know How Recruiters Find Candidates Like You? is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

When I first speak with prospective clients, we talk about the new world of job search. Many of them haven’t been in a search for many years. Many have never had to look for a job.

They often don’t understand that the best campaign to land a job today includes different strategies than it did even a few years ago.

Many of the new clients I speak with are surprised to learn that most recruiters and hiring authorities use LinkedIn and other social media to find and assess good-fit candidates more than any other method.

Yet some new executive job seekers are hesitant to put themselves out there, and include social media in their job search toolkit. By ignoring social media, they greatly decrease their chance of being found by the very people they’re trying to attract.

Jump over to my Executive Career Brand blog for a look at some statistics Jobvite compiled on recruiters’ use of social media to source candidates.

Related posts:

Executive Brand Online Reputation Management: Relevance, Quality, Diversity, Volume, Consistency

Does Your Online Presence Scream “DON’T Hire Me”?

LinkedIn Guide for Executive Branding and Job Search

Are Your Target Employers on Twitter?

image by 10ch

The Personal Branding LinkedIn Group is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

For about a year I’ve been managing the Personal Branding subgroup of the Job-Hunt Help Group.

Along with job seekers at all professional levels, membership includes many Reach Certified Personal Branding Strategists besides myself, and other esteemed careers industry professionals.

Come join us. It’s your opportunity to start, contribute to, and learn from the experts in discussions about branding to accelerate job search and healthy career management.

Membership is growing steadily, but we’re always up for new voices jumping in with questions and advice on best practices on all things personal branding.

I only ask that you keep your contributions free of self-promotional materials. We just want to stick to the topic – and not be bothered by pitches.

Related posts:

LinkedIn Guide for Executive Branding and Job Search

Power Your Executive Brand with LinkedIn Groups

29 Biggest LinkedIn Mistakes

How Recruiters and Employers Find Candidates on LinkedIn

Executive Branding & Job Search Ebook PRICE CUT! is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

Many people look forward to catching up on reading over the summer. Light novels and other diversions are popular.

But if you’re in a job search, or think you’re headed there, summer is a great time to strategize your search, do some career planning, and actually get a foothold and gain some traction.

Your target companies may be hiring this summer . . . and they may be looking for candidates like you.

To entice you to buy and read my ebook this summer — and learn some basics on how to navigate the complex world of today’s executive job search — I’ve reduced the price. Read about and purchase my ebook here.

The ebook will help you pull together all the pieces:

• Targeting
• Branding
• Career Communications — executive resume, biography, and other career documents
• Storytelling
• Online Identity
• Online Reputation Management
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Blogging
• Social Networking
• Social Media
• Networking
• Interviewing

Along with taking a little time to recharge from your job search efforts, devote some of your reading time this summer to accelerating your search by learning how to better manage it.

Happy reading! Happy summer!

Related posts:

Chapter 1 of My Ebook: 23 Ways You Sabotage Your Executive Job Search

Why I Wrote My Executive Branding and Job Search Ebook

10 Things I Learned Writing My Ebook

29 LinkedIn Mistakes That Can Impede Your Executive Job Search is a post from: Executive Resume Branding

More than a year ago, I wrote one of my most popular posts on this blog, The 20 Most Common LinkedIn Mistakes.

I’ve circled back to it, taken a second look, updated some items and added a few new ones to reflect new LinkedIn features, in a post on my Executive Career Brand blog, 29 Biggest LinkedIn Mistakes.

After only a few weeks, the new post has already been retweeted more than 100 times. New entries added to my original list of 20 mistakes include the following two:

•  Not using the Box.net Files application to add your resume and biography (and other career documents) to your profile. Once your documents are added, you can easily share the files with anyone.

•  Not adding a stand-alone section to highlight skills, publications, certifications, languages, or patents. Earlier this year, LinkedIn rolled out a new feature allowing you to better showcase specific accomplishments in movable blocks, so you can position them wherever you want. In “Edit profile” mode, click on “Add sections”, located right above your “summary” section.

Be sure you’re not missing out on opportunities because you’re making the other 27 mistakes.

Related posts:

LinkedIn Guide for Executive Branding and Job Search

10 Steps to an Authentic, Magnetic Personal Brand

Ebook – “23 Ways You Sabotage Your Executive Job Search and How Your Brand Will Help You Land”

16 Deadly Executive Job Search Mistakes

photo by Coletivo Mambembe