Todays Executive Job Search Toolkit - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

Todays Executive Job Search Toolkit If you haven’t been in a job search for more than  2 or  3 years, you may think that all you need to do to land a job these days is dust off your executive resume, insert any updates, post it to as many job boards as possible, then sit back and wait for the interview offers to come flooding in. You may figure that connecting with a few executive recruiters is the only other thing you’ll need to do to make that job come to you. The thing is, jobs aren’t as likely to just come to you as they did in the past. You may not be in demand with recruiters the way you were in the past. These days, such passive tactics can sabotage your job search and keep you from ever getting into a good-fit job, or prolong landing that job. You need to develop a proactive plan to uncover opportunities yourself. Using job boards is part of the new world of executive job search, but only a very small part, and not one for you to invest much time in. Only an estimated 3-5% of jobs are filled through job boards. Most jobs are not posted anywhere. They exist in that nebulous hidden job market,  that is: Jobs created to accommodate specific candidates, once they connected with and had dialog with companies’ hiring decision makers. Existing positions in which an incumbent is replaced when someone better comes along. An open slot, waiting to be filled, that isn’t advertised outside the company. Only internal people know about it. Jobs that, for whatever reason, are not advertised or visible, and can only be uncovered and accessed through networking. Landing an executive job takes work. There’s a lot to pull together before you’re ready to cast a far-reaching networking strategy. Here’s what you need to have and do, along with links to relevant blog posts I’ve written on each topic: 1. A specific career target and list of 15-20 (or more) target companies that are a mutual good fit, as far as size, location, industry, culture, and environment. Without a clear target (type of job and industry), your resume and other career marketing materials will be too generic, and won’t help qualify you in the minds of those assessing you or attract them to you. And, if you can’t succinctly describe what kind of job you want, you won’t be able to explain to your network how they can help you. Don’t worry that these companies may not be advertising jobs anywhere. You’re going to network your way into their hidden jobs, remember? The Biggest Executive Resume Writing Mistake How To Tap Into Hidden C-level Executive Jobs 2. Research each target company and the industry This takes time, but your research will help you determine why your target companies need your help, provide you with those all-important relevant keyword phrases to use in your career marketing materials, and help you with due diligence in assessing companies. Research Your Target Employers 3. Target contact list for networking Determine which people at your target companies are key decision makers or close to their inner circle. Also look for employees, vendors, customers and others associated with your target companies. Find them on , Twitter,