Interview Strategies for Career Changers As we begin to wind down the year, you may find yourself at a crossroads in your career. We all know that with each new year comes new possibilities for us to grow and branch out both personally and professionally. Career-wise, in the event you are embarking upon a career change,  refreshing your executive resume and brushing up on your interview strategies are two critical aspects of an effective job search plan. Knowing how to prepare for an interview when making a career change can vary widely depending on many factors such as the role, [...]

Two Easy Ways to Strengthen Your Executive Resume Current resume formats are visually engaging, focused, and provide a clear picture of your most valuable leadership qualifications. During the process of writing a good executive resume, if you find yourself investing hours into strategizing and deciding how to convey your voice to connect with your audience or what to keep versus what to cut from the final version of your executive resume. Keep reading for some great tips on how to make two easy tweaks to your current resume format to give it a nice refresh. Quantify Your Leadership Contributions: If [...]

Interview Reminders The first impression is a lasting impression. We’ve all heard this before, thus … when interviewing, this is one of the most important facts to bear in mind. Below I have outlined some practical planning tips to help you succeed in acing the interview. Pre-Planning: Dress to Land the Job: Research the company in advance of the interview by using glassdoor.com or on indeed.com to get a feel for the culture. This may help to guide your decision regarding whether a suit or khakis are appropriate attire.  Details matter; take pride in your appearance. Iron out any wrinkles [...]

How to Get Your Executive Resume Interview Ready Writing an executive resume that helps you feel confident and well prepared for a job interview can be an overwhelming exercise. From knowing how to write a current resume that translates your voice on paper, to aligning key areas in your resume with interview responses, to finding the time to invest in an effective job search strategy; there are many pieces to the puzzle to succeed in the job market. When deciding how to create an executive resume that generates interviews, be sure to clearly state how your most marketable value fits [...]

Tips on Formatting and Strategizing Your Executive Resume Structuring an executive resume to achieve considerable traction among hiring professionals can be a little tricky at times. After all, objectively viewing one’s career can be perceived as a challenging activity. However, to compete among today’s pool of leadership candidates, effectively translating a strong message into a marketable career portfolio which may include a CEO resume, current cover letter, LinkedIn profile, or executive Bio is a necessity in the present employment landscape. Although your entire executive resume is important, particular emphasis should be given to the opening body of the document. Remove [...]

Personal Branding Tips for Your Executive Resume Executive resume writing strategies that include a strong personal brand and a clearly defined marketing message around your value can elevate your candidacy among the competition. Before writing a good CEO resume, Director level resume, or even a cover letter for an executive position, take inventory of the leadership traits, skills, career successes, or notable highlights that differentiate you in the market. Some great ways to facilitate this might consist of partnering with a career coach, completing a skills assessment, or simply investing time conducting a self-discovery leadership evaluation to narrow down your [...]

Need Help with Getting More Hits on Your Professional Resume You have applied to tons of positions online that you qualified for…yet no response. It’s almost as if the resume goes into a black hole.  Below are some suggestions to help better align your efforts with the scanning system and increase your interview rate. Lack of Industry-Specific Keywords With the vast majority of resumes being processed through computer scanning technology, in order to pass the resume parsing systems and the 10-second human scan, your resume will need to be front-loaded with the right industry-specific keywords and phrases that help illustrate [...]

Why LinkedIn and Your Executive Resume Are Two Powerful Job Search Tools Though your executive resume is important, your LinkedIn profile holds equal weight, and in some cases, it may be more vital to your personal brand compared to your senior-level resume. Your executive resume is typically the catalyst for landing an interview; however, your LinkedIn profile represents your online brand—which is accessible to a much wider audience. Considering that LinkedIn now boasts a 400–million-member network, it would be very beneficial to include a powerful profile as part of your executive personal branding strategy. LinkedIn is often used by recruiters, [...]

Need Help Deciding Which Resume Format to Use...Try These Tips Choosing the right format to communicate and present your unique mix of skills, qualifications, experience, training, and talent should be carefully factored into your resume writing strategy. While there is an abundance of resume formats, the three most common resume formats are Chronological, Functional, and Hybrid/Combination. Chronological resumes list your professional experience in chronological order, starting with the most recent job first.  This format is normally used if you have consistent employment with no significant gaps between jobs. It is also suitable for demonstrating career growth providing you have made [...]

Tips on Writing Your Resume When You Do Not Have a Formal Degree Although a degree can unquestionably enhance your attractiveness to a prospective employer and upgrade your official resume, there are some other writing strategies you can employ to convey your value in powerful ways in the event you do not have a formal degree. Have you opened doors in international markets, established a foreign subsidiary, or joined a startup as a ground-floor senior leader who has left a significant thumbprint on an organization’s business development strategy? Think about it, your ability to craft your story in a way [...]