7 Tips for Writing a Killer Executive Resume

7 Tips for Writing a Killer Executive Resume Having reviewed and written thousands of resumes over the years, first as a recruiter  and now as a professional brand builder, I’ve noticed a significant gap between what  most management resumes include, and what recruiters and hiring managers actually  want to see. I’ve spent years working to close this gap, perfecting the modern resume by leveraging  recruitment, branding, and marketing principles to raise the bar and enable my clients to  win in the rapidly changing modern job search market. With competition for top posts higher than ever, your goal in preparing your resume is to  communicate a clearly defined brand promise, which leaves no doubt about the value you  bring to the table. If you’re a management professional, here are 7 resume tips which will set you apart from  your competition. 1. Make me fall in like with you. We’ve all met those people everyone wants to see succeed. Your resume’s job is to  cement your position as that person, ensuring the recruiter, hiring manager, and everyone  else is rooting for your success. Think of your resume as your own diplomatic envoy, going forth into unknown  organisations to lay the groundwork before your official visit. While your resume has to  communicate the skills and competencies required for the job, it has an even bigger job  which most candidates never consider: building a team of champions, and getting  recruiters and hiring managers on ­side to support your candidacy above all others. The key to doing this is being likeable, and while it takes time and practice to master the  art of putting personality to paper, the best place to start is with a Professional Summary  section. Forget the “objectives” section from decades past, and tell me a story about who you are,  what you do, and what makes you different. Write in the first person, using “I” language to  make it relatable, and mix up the content with information about your story, relevant  keywords, and your professional approach and leadership style. 2. Know your key messages. Think of all the ways you’re communicating your personal brand on a daily basis: sending your resume and cover letter for a job; sharing your thoughts and experience via social media or blogs; networking at a conference; just chatting with other parents at your son or daughter’s swim class. Now imagine how powerful it would be if you always said the same thing. Even better:  what if others â€" your colleagues, clients, and recruiters â€" started describing you in the  same way? There’s not as much pressure on early career professionals to know their key value  because it’s understood that they may still be discovering it. Management professionals,  however, need to be able to communicate what makes them different. This is where key  messaging comes in. Skilful use of key messages is one of the most effective ways to launch you from  candidate to thought leader, but it takes time and a concerted effort. If you’re just starting  to build your professional brand, take the time to define your key messages before you  write your resume, using the following questions to guide you: What drives you? What makes you different from other candidates or leaders in your industry? What’s your professional mantra? What are the underlying themes supporting your success? Once you have a clear understanding of the value you add, communicate it throughout  your resume and the other platforms that support your professional brand: cover letters,  LinkedIn, social media posts, websites, and elevator pitches. 3. Less is more. Most of the thousands of resumes I’ve reviewed over my career have taken a full meal  deal approach to communicating experience, with details about day- ­to ­-day duties taking  up most of the page. This approach works for early and mid ­career professionals who are expected to execute  as part of their job. For management professionals, however, it distracts from what  recruiters really want to know: role mandate, strategic priorities, and scope, as well as  how you met your targets, contributed to organisational objectives, and applied strong  commercial acumen to add value. Replacing the full meal deal with a taster approach is much more effective â€" think four or  five bullet points for duties, and four or five relevant accomplishments. This delivers a  powerful, undiluted message showcasing your skills, experience, and ability to meet key  performance indicators. It’s also much harder to execute. When every word matters, use the first bullet point to  describe the role mandate and strategic objectives, followed by several bullets that  communicate role scope and remit, such as size of team and department, PL or budget  accountability, and reporting and business partnering relationships. 4. When in doubt, spell it out. Whereas some recruiters specialise by industry or function, many are generalists ­  particularly at the management and executive level. A common complaint among candidates is that recruiters don’t have enough specialised  knowledge about the role or industry, and to a large extent this is a fair observation. Like journalists, non- ­specialist recruiters focus on building a knowledge base that’s an  inch deep and a mile wide. In other words, they know just enough about a lot of different  industries and functions. For professionals at all career levels, it’s wise to stick to common business language  rather than specialist jargon or acronyms. Don’t assume the recruiter will know you have  particular skills, competencies, or knowledge simply by seeing your job titles and  education. And don’t assume they’ll know what it is, even if you list a technology or  process name. For management professionals, it’s important to keep the main body of the resume at that  30,000 ­foot level, focusing on role mandate, strategic priorities, and scope. Add technical  information â€" where jargon and specialist terminology typically shows up â€" in a summary  the end. Take it one step further by listing skills in a functional group, such as programming  languages or project management methodologies. This way, you communicate your  qualifications without forcing the recruiter to do extra research, which may be a deciding  factor in whether your resume moves forward. 5. Show me, don’t tell me. There’s a fine line between including the SEO ­-friendly keywords you expect the recruiter  to look for, and using hackneyed terms that are so overused, they’ve lost all meaning. Resumes are notorious for being laden with clichés, and management professionals who  operate at a high ­-level are often the worst offenders for relying upon stale, high ­-level  terms like “driving success.” When every word matters, you need to replace non- ­specific clichés with specific details,  facts and figures, and examples. The best rule I’ve come up with is to apply this classic  piece of writing advice: show, rather than tell. In practice, this means expanding on phrases such as “worked to achieve positive  commercial outcomes” by explaining what working and positive outcomes really meant in  that context, as in this example: “Allocated human, financial, and manufacturing assets to increase factory output and  profitability, enabling the business to meet sales demand, improve customer satisfaction,  and capture increased market share from key competitors.” Be as specific as possible, and after you’ve completed your first draft, go back through  each and every bullet point, asking yourself, “Did I really define what that means?” 6. Read between the lines. The world’s best brands know that design, presentation, and experience matter as much as the product itself.  While content is king, when it comes to your resume, the formatting, details, and overall  experience often make up the “queen” ­ and we all know that she often rules the  household. Consider this: I once had a candidate fax his resume to me. In 2013. For a tech role.  His candidacy didn’t move forward, largely because his delivery was so out of touch with  what the client needed: an early adopter comfortable with the latest technology. In my experience, many management professionals are playing by the same rules that  governed the hiring process during their early career years. Practices that were expected  15 years ago no longer apply, and can actually hurt your candidacy by making you look  old fashioned, or open you up to silent age discrimination. Don’t send a physical resume, unless it’s specifically requested. Remember that old gem of advice to print your resume on heavy, cream paper and drop it off in  person? It’s long dead. Most recruiters need an electronic version, which allows  them to search for key words and share with their team and client. Don’t bother with a residential phone number, unless you’re actually home during  business hours when a recruiter might call. List your mobile number, and change  your message to indicate it’s a personal and confidential voicemail box so the  recruiter can confidently leave a detailed message without worrying about prying  ears. Choose your email address carefully. Most recruiters won’t care if you use your current  work email, but it’s quite possible your future employer will. Skip straight past  options like Gmail and invest in a personal domain name and email address, like  ian@ianthompson.com, which immediately increases your credibility as a modern,  tech ­ savvy manager. Cull your technology skills to include relevant, current software only, forgoing a laundry  list of every technology you’ve ever used. Think long and hard before listing  â€œMicrosoft Office” as a skill, as it is a given that you know how to use word  processing software. The exception is Microsoft Excel: if you have advanced Excel  skills that allow you to manipulate and analyse large data sets, it’s worth listing. Use a modern font and design, staying far, far away from Microsoft Word templates. If  you’re not confident with basic design principles, hire a designer, or better yet  engage a personal branding agency to lead you through the end ­-to- ­end process. 7. Think beyond your resume. The days of being good enough are long gone. Things that used to make management  professionals stand out, like an MBA, professional designation, or experience in top tier  organisations, often form the bare minimum today. Conducting comprehensive internet searches for senior candidates is now standard  practice, with recruiters looking for anything that detracts from or reaffirms what you said  in your resume. If you don’t know what recruiters will find, it’s time to start paying  attention. A well ­executed personal brand strategy is your greatest opportunity to influence  recruitment outcomes in 2015. Imagine how powerful it would be if a recruiter received  your resume and Googled you, only to find:  a personal, professionally ­designed website, with engaging copy that tells your story,  and a blog that positions you as a thought leader; news results with trade and popular media mentions, both as an expert to journalists  and a guest author in key publications; a robust social media presence that gives insight into who you are and what you do,  positioning you in a way that aligns with the cultures of your target organisations; professional portraits that portray you as an approachable and competent leader.  Fair or not, the candidates who have the most success in job search are the ones who  are the best at marketing themselves. While your resume is a critical tool in the job search toolbox, it’s only one of many tools  you should be using to communicate your value as a management professional. Author: Irene McConnell runs Arielle Careers,  Australia’s #1 executive personal branding agency. They specialize in  crafting executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles and digital career assets. Photo credit:  EDHAR

The extroverts guide to networking

The extroverts guide to networking There are many articles, blogs and books dedicated to introverts and how to network, but what about us extroverts? We are perfectly able to network badly as well! The reasons may differ but it is surprising how similar the advice for introverts and extroverts can be to enable good networking. If you describe yourself as an extrovert, what are the  pitfalls to consider?   A previous Warwick Careers blog explored the theme of networking from an introverts perspective and suggested that we all have to network.  Career success depends â€" partially, at least â€" on your ability to forge relationships and make connections. In other words, networking. You may be very competent at your job, but this will only get you so far.”  Of course as an extrovert you may think you are already great at networking and this may be true, but some of us extroverts still struggle with networking, despite everyone telling us we should be great at it. Over confident and under-prepared So you may be capable striking up a conversation with just about anyone but this can be just talking instead of talking with a purpose.  Many introverts I know like to research and gather information and use this to plan ahead and inform their strategy.  Why should networking situations be any different for extroverts? Whether it’s a meeting, conference or after work event, do your homework â€" you’ll feel much more comfortable if you are familiar with the hot topics and discussion points. Check people out on Twitter and LinkedIn to give you some background info and conversation starters.  In this way you can avoid the embarrassment of talking to people and asking questions that are easily available and they would have expected you to know if you were truly interested in them or their organisation. You may easily strike up a conversation with another person, but are you talking at or with them?   You may be happy to talk to anyone and have your elevator pitch perfected, but a networking conversation is not one way. There is nothing more off-putting than getting stuck with the networking bore, who confuses monologue with dialogue. Active listening is the first step towards finding common ground, and moving the conversation forward. Don’t underestimate its importance and value. It is good to start with an open question: What are you hoping to gather from this event? and close with something polite, but final: [insert name here], I’ve really enjoyed our  discussion,   particularly hearing about your experience with X. Can I get your contact details and connect on LinkedIn?  Being an extrovert can be good for getting remembered but failing to remember the person or the details from your conversation with them may compromise your future connections to this contact or organisation. You are able to hold peoples attention, but can you bring others into the conversation?   Your natural confidence in these social situations may mean that you come to dominate a conversation, but where there is a small group networking try to bring others into the conversation. This can demonstrate good team working and communication skills, instead of making the recruiter wonder how you would fit in with others in their organisation. You may be good at working the room but do not forget to form quality relationships The accepted mantra seems to be to  â€˜work the room’ but this can be counter-productive if you’re looking to foster worthwhile conversations. Serial networking is unlikely to yield positive results, and you risk appearing superficial and dismissive. Some of the most effective networking takes place in one to one situations, or quiet corners. Introverts typically look for depth, not breadth, and this can bear fruit in networking terms. You don’t need to be a ‘power user’ on LinkedIn to be influential â€" look to create a manageable network of valuable contacts. A culture has developed where the name of the game seems to be collecting the most friends/followers/connections, but short-term measures don’t reflect the quality of your network. Make sure you follow-up and follow through: this is where the real networking takes place. Don’t obsess about the many, focus on fewer and more engaged connections to really benefit. Networking can be a draining activity even for extroverts, maybe through being enthusiastic for a long time or perhaps because you are reining yourself in so you are not too much. Invest your time and energy wisely. Manage your social interactions and intersperse face to face activity with follow up online networking, this can enable you to form deeper relationships.  Give yourself one or two specific goals â€" someone you want to meet, a question you need answered, a request for help or advice, for example. This will give purpose and structure to the event rather than scatter-gun interactions that you cannot follow through.

Could Time Out Travelling Be Damaging to Your Career

Could Time Out Travelling Be Damaging to Your Career You’ve got your degree and landed a job in your dream industry. You’ve worked hard for a few years and then the travel bug bites. You’ve heard about the beautiful beaches in Thailand and the romantic atmosphere in Paris. You’ve seen pictures of them on the Internet and you want to experience some of these places first hand. BUT… you are worried that taking time out of work to travel will damage your career. Well, it depends on how you handle it. Negotiate with your employer: If you are planning to take some time off to travel, share your thoughts with your boss as early as possible. Explain your situation to your boss and ask politely but firmly for a sabbatical. If your company doesn’t have a sabbatical policy, you may still be able to reach a mutual agreement with your supervisor. Depending on the work you do, you may be able to work remotely. If your request is denied no matter how hard you try and you really can’t shake off that travel bug, then you have to ask yourself if this job is really for you. Tell them about your travel experience with pride: Now that you are back from your travel adventure, it’s time to send out some resumes again. It’s understandable that you don’t want to seem as if you have been unemployed for a year. Therefore, don’t hide your travel experience. Tell your potential employers what you have been doing for the past 12 months (or however long your break was). Some of the employers may be even impressed by your experience! If you stand out boldly and carry yourself like a rockstar, you will be. Travel can help your career: Taking time off to travel gives you a chance to reflect on your life. It may open doors that you didn’t even know existed. There are people who find their calling during their travel and turn the travel experience into a new career. Nowadays, it’s not uncommon for professionals, including lawyers and doctors, to leave their professional career behind to travel the world. There is a misconception that travelling means sipping champagne and relaxing by the pool of a five-star hotel. In fact, you can learn and experience a lot more on the road than when you stay at home. For example, you can work and volunteer abroad. This way, you won’t have a big gap in your work history, if that is what worries you.

Does Your Resume Pass the 10 Second Test

Does Your Resume Pass the 10 Second Test We have all been told the same thing, “A recruiter or hiring manager only spends about 10 seconds reviewing a candidate’s résumé before deciding his or her fate.” Knowing this, it’s critical that a job seeker’s résumé effectively catches the eye of the recruiter in very short order and that it’s compelling enough to inspire the recruiter or hiring manager to pick-up the phone to engage the candidate in an initial conversation.But What Does a Recruiter Want to See in Those First 10 Seconds?As a former headhunter who worked with a national staffing firm in San Francisco, I can tell you what I wanted to see when I first reviewed a candidate’s résumé. In the initial review of a résumé, I wanted to be able to answer three questions about the job seekers:What did the candidate want to do next in his/her career? What were the key skills that the candidate was selling me? How successful has this candidate been in his/her career? If I could answer these three questions a bout the job seekerand if the answers aligned with the position for which I was recruiting, I would print out the résumé and review it more carefully and ultimately conduct an initial phone screen. Does your résumé answer these questions?1. What do you want to do next in your career?Although objective statements have now become passé, your résumé should be written in such a way that your career objective is clear to the reader. Using the target job title as a heading for the résumé followed by a well-written Professional Summary which highlights your qualifications for the role, is a very good way of presenting your career objective to the potential employer.2. What skills are you selling me?Most job descriptions will define the essential job functions or primary responsibilities and duties entailed in the job for which you are applying. To be considered for the position, it is critical that your résumé shows how your knowledge, skills, and abilities align with the essent ial job functions.I like to see a summary of core competencies near the top of the résumé. This summary helps the recruiter very easily identify what you consider to be your best skills for meeting the job requirements.It’s important, however, that the rest of the résumé provides the necessary supporting evidence to prove you actually have applied these skills in real-life situations.3. How successful have you been in your career?The best résumés are results-focused. At the end of the day, what sets you apart from the other candidates who are applying for the position is your record of accomplishments and your brilliant ideas, those ways in which you did the following:Increased revenues Improved efficiency Saved money Solved pressing problems to “save the day.”When you can quantify an accomplishment by associating a number with the achievement, employers really take notice.I like to see résumés that include a section of Selected Career Highlights near the top of the fi rst page. Too often, candidates bury their best achievements in the body of the résumé where they are easily missed. Moving these key points to the top of the résumé along with the professional summary and core competencies creates a résumé that leverages the “prime real estate” on the page.By applying this simple 10-second test to your résumé and rewriting the document so it easily passes the test, you will increase the odds of being included in the small batch of candidates with whom the recruiter is interested in speaking.

7 Reasons You Should Keep Up Your Job Search During the Holidays - CareerMetis.com

7 Reasons You Should Keep Up Your Job Search During the Holidays The winter holidaysoffer one of the best ‘window periods’ for diligent people to find time for their families, friends and favorite things. A perfect resting time, or a vacation to somewhere exotic is a welcome idea after long months of work.Surprisingly enough, if you are a job seeker or someone seeking to change your present employment base, the holidaysmight have a thing or two ‘up its sleeves’ for you.evalWe think the holiday season is one of those crucial times for people seeking jobs. This is the time you should double your game and hustle to get hired. Here are 7 reasons why we encourage this:1. Employers believe you should tooYup, they totally do. As funny as it sounds, an employer does not have a special season to hang the ‘get hired’ sign outside his door.Every employer knows that there are certain workers that would leave at one time or the other. They might likely retire or find a juicier job, or move with their families. When these people leave, positions are left vacant, and most job givers want to have a reserved person or people.These people might get to find a careerif a position gets vacant. So job givers are glad to see your resume during the holiday times. It assures them of someone doing the job if anything goes wrong.2. Less crowd at the reception officeIf you are currently looking for a job,you will most likely understand this. The working season is full of long queues at the reception offices. Being in a crowd of people vying for the same job with youis hefty competition.There is less bustling during the holidays, as most of these people tend to either hang out with their families or engage in other life issues. This creates a broader range of job opportunitiesfor you. Get searching people!3. Keeps you on trackYou see those subjects we had in high school that required constant repetition? And if by chance you forgot a piece of information, everything seemed to jumble up because it was all interconnected. The employer-employee world changes every day; some changes are very spontaneous too. This is one of the things we like to pay attention to. Companies expand now and then.New positions always pop up â€" some might be the stepping stone to your becoming a high-level employeelater on.Don’t slack you search game just now. Your dream job can be around the corner.4. A good time to upgradeNow, this is for those who are actively employed in jobs they don’t like. This is for people who travel to work every day to see people they don’t like and work for bosses who treat them like lower beings. And these jobs tend to be time-tasking too, meaning there is no time to start seeking. You come back every day, too tired to see options on your computer.evalThe holidays are a great time to go to these guys and apply for that job that your heart always wanted. Everyone deserves to be happy at their jobs, don’t they?5. Improve your networkNetworking is a powerful tool for anyone who wants to build up a solid career from scratch. That being said, there is one thing the winter holidays have in abundance. And that is a host of social meetings and banquet evenings marking the end of the year. Even award nights for consistent workers are a good platform to get connected.All you need to do is get talking with friends or relatives who know a thing or two about those places you dream of working at. They might even have people in there with whom they are acquainted.This brings you one step closer to your dream job which you wanted to get when you had chosen your ideal university.6. Revisit old archivesThis is another tip on how to get a job. We all get carried away by our working time, all the files and projects. And we seldom remember to keep in touch with old connections, some of whom might be our answer. The vacation or winter break offers a good time to reconnect with some of these people in your quest to find a job.One lead can direct to another and who can tell? You might end up going around less and gaining more. And this can get even easier thanks to available social platforms that offer a wide spectrum of old connections you might know. Pretty good opportunity.7. Work still goes on!All forms of work. There are companies whose main source of income comes in during the holidays. And there are others who have to stay active low-key. This is because other companies depend on their functionality. An example of this is a beverage making plant about a restaurant or a supermarket chain.Although the beverage company might release some of its people for leave, supermarkets depend on it as they still have to sell these products to customers. This means a company like this one will always need a set of extra hands in the production process.Don’t assume that holidays are a time when everyone hibernates. Quite the contrary is the reality. Matter of fact, some fresh job opportunities tend to spring up this season. And one of these might be waiting for a candidate like you to take cha rge.evalIn the midst of every single path we take in order to find a job, we should not forget the main things that made us search. Be sure not to sound desperate or rush into an offer. This way, you might end up in a ‘frying pan to fire’ situation.Some jobs are not all that they appear to be. Take your time to decide and apply for a job that would make you grateful that you did.

10 Tips to Job Hunt Successfully During the Holidays - CareerEnlightenment.com

5. Get a professional photo for your LinkedIn profile. Many of us go to professional photographers just before the holidays for a group family picture. While you’re there, why not have the photographer take several headshots of just you for your LinkedIn and other online profiles? An online profile with no photo is a missed opportunity to reinforce your personal brand and engage people, since people connect with content better when it’s accompanied by the author’s photo. â€" Meg Guiseppi, Job-Hunt’s Personal Branding Expert6. Reconnect with old friends on Facebook. You know that most jobs come from networking. And I’ll bet you have a bunch of old acquaintances from high school or college you haven’t thought about in years. There may be a chance one of them is doing something at a company that could benefit you. Why not find some old pals on Facebook and start a dialogue? Ask honest questions about where they are in life. Tell them honestly where you are in your life. Donâ €™t beg for help. Connect and provide value. Then, when trust is built, they might feel comfortable making a referral for you. â€" Joshua Waldman, Job-Hunt’s Social Media Job Search Expert7. Calendar your career-related holiday activities. To create the most effective results this holiday season, search for professional meetings and social events where you’ll have the opportunity to talk with people. Before you go to the event, think about your career-related goal for it. You might decide to reach out to people to see if anyone has contacts at a company you are targeting. Or you might ask if people know someone in your target industry. Be clear about the questions you want to focus on at each event. â€" Carol McClelland Job-Hunt’s Green Jobs Job Search Expert8. Connect with new recruiters during the holidays. If you don’t have relationships with any recruiters, network to one through your contacts. This is a good time of year to ask your friends to introduce you to their fa vorite recruiter (who works in your industry). If they have a good relationship, they can mention they have a colleague who’d be someone good for them to know. â€" Jeff Lipschultz, Job-Hunt’s Working With Recruiters Expert9. Turn your holiday card into a marketing tool. Include your business card in holiday cards you send to well-connected friends, with a line asking for their help in your job search. Don’t omit sending cards to anyone you’ve interviewed with; they may still have job openings and your holiday card with its business card enclosed may get you another chance at the job. â€" Dr. Jan Cannon, Job-Hunt’s Mid-Life Career Expert10. Volunteer to create access to employers. The hiring managers you want to meet go to holiday charity events and other public holiday events. The best way for you to meet them without a large financial investment is to volunteer at one. If you believe volunteering at a holiday charity event is not worth your time, look at the list of corpo rate sponsors of the previous year’s event. You may reconsider your stance. â€" Stephen Hinton, Job-Hunt’s Green Industry Jobs ExpertThis article first appeared on Next Avenue on December 3, 2015.

Creating Your Own Professional Security Officer Resume Writing Examples

Creating Your Own Professional Security Officer Resume Writing ExamplesIf you are looking for advice and support on how to create your own professional security officer resume writing examples, then I can help. That is why I wrote this article. This topic is the basis of how I became a security officer. Now, I will share with you some of the things I did in order to be successful in my career.So, first thing I did in order to create my professional security officer resume writing examples was to read over hundreds of resumes, and try to find the ones that truly spoke to me. Because this is my dream job, and this is something I have been waiting for all my life, I want the best and the brightest to apply. So, as I read through those resumes, I was doing what any other people would do: I was looking for inspiration, and the chance to find a way out of my current situation.Now, when creating a security officer resume writing examples, do not let yourself get carried away by the material . This may sound hard, but it is very important. You have to remember that when you read through the rest of your security officer resume writing examples that there are thousands of others out there just like you that would just love to get a job as a security officer.So, when you begin the process of developing your security officer resume writing examples, the most important thing you need to do is find something that truly speaks to you. As I said before, there are hundreds of other applicants that would love to be security officers just like you. But, the good news is that you are the only one who can truly make that decision for yourself.After you have found something that speaks to you, and can truly be applied to a security officer resume, you need to start writing. You need to make sure that you use your heart as well as your head in order to be able to achieve the success you desire.One thing you should always remember is that a paper resume is not going to get you anywher e in the real world. Instead, you need to think in terms of human behavior and human emotions. You want to use action words instead of simply listing your experience and education. Listing your experience without emotion or motivation is something I used to hear over again from other applicants.The reason why you should be using action words and using your emotions in your professional security officer resume writing examples is because these are two very powerful and useful tools that will get you noticed by the recruiters. Using these two elements in combination, is how you are going to become successful in your security officer career.So, the next time you are creating your professional security officer resume writing examples, remember to use emotion and human behavior in order to be able to achieve the success you want. When you do this and apply these to your situation, you will be making yourself an effective security officer recruiter. Good luck!