By: JoAnn Nix, CCMC, CPRW, JCTC, CEIP
Resume
In a nutshell, write a very powerful and impressive resume
that is performance based and targeted to the position/career
path you are pursuing.
Cover Letters
Your cover letter should not be a rehash of what’s
already in your resume. You need to incorporate a new
strategy, an “angle”, a few key messages you
really want to get across to your reader – messages
that they won’t necessarily read in your resume!
Sprinkle it with your personality, your philosophies and
why you “do what you do.” Above all else,
make it FRESH and ENTERTAINING. I am in constant communication
with hiring authorities and the consensus is that 95%
of cover letters are extremely boring and when they read
a very innovative, “out of the box” letter,
they will nearly always contact the job seeker, especially
when their resume is equally compelling!
Network
70% to 86% of all jobs are never advertised, not even
on the Internet – so imagine how many jobs really
exist! 48% of all jobs are found through networking. Decide
what companies and/or industries you are targeting and
begin your networking process. Devote the majority of
every single day to networking with your tier-one contacts.
Ask each contact for 2-3 additional contacts. First compile
a list of all the people that you know by categories (friends,
associates, relatives, professionals you utilize, hobbies/sports
you are involved in, etc.) You will then start networking
with these people to find out “who knows whom”
that work at the companies you have targeted or the industries
you have selected. This is the #1 way you will land new
opportunities. Devote most of your time to this endeavor!
The rewards are handsome because people like to hire people
they know instead of hiring strangers!!! Companies also
do not like to pay high advertising dollars to search
for candidates when they can simply rely on the good judgment
of people they know for referrals! And, they don’t
like to pay recruiter fees either, especially when can
avoid it.
It is very important for you to spend THE majority of
your time networking if you want to get ahead in the game.
Network with all your colleagues; join Boards and Committees;
network with recruiters; network with alumni. Remember
there are 6 degrees of separation between you and your
next employer! Informational interviewing is the way for
you to tap into the hidden job market! Keep track of all
your networking efforts via a database. Remember that
you will be building your LIFETIME network and you should
ALWAYS, ALWAYS be networking!!! All the time – not
just when you need a job.
Branding
You will need a Unique Selling Proposition (USP), business
cards/networking cards, a mini-resume on a card, maybe
a personal website, a 30 second sound bite and a 2 minute
elevator speech. All of these are vital to branding you!
Think of it this way – you are now selling a product
and you must have multiple advertising strategies. These
are some of the ways that you can brand yourself!
Referral Letters
Be sure to have several of your former managers write
strong referral letters for you, and bring them to the
interview. I suggest you tell the managers what you would
like for them to say in the letter. For example, if you
are interviewing for a specific job, then you want your
manager to address your qualifications for this job. 99%
of all referral letters I have read have been very plain
and dull. They basically say that the job seeker was employed
on certain dates, did a great job and they would hire
them back! Wow, there’s so much more that could
be said to SELL the job seeker! So be sure to give this
person some information on what they need to write! They
don’t know what to say unless you tell them.
If you can’t ask your manager for a letter, get
letters from former managers, vendors or clients or colleagues
that you have worked with long-term. |
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I work with clients
around the globe
Contact me at: info@1executiveresume.com
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