Searching For An Executive Job? Here’s What NOT To Do

Searching For An Executive Job? Here’s What NOT To Do

Embarking on an executive job search? The job market is a competitive place, especially when it comes to executive roles. Hiring companies are doing everything they can to make the right hiring decision the first time. So how can you stand out in the candidate crowd and land your dream job? Here are some tips to get you started.

8 Disastrous Moves That Kill Your Executive Job Search

Source: thriveglobal.com

1. You expect the executive resume alone to land you the interview — and it won’t. The executive resume is like a business card/email signature. A business card/email signature alone won’t get you business.  It’s what you do with the business card/email signature that gets you business. An executive resume is the same type of marketing document.

 2. You write your executive resume solely focusing on what you do and not cherry picking relevant achievements that speak to what’s needed in your target job descriptions. (And you wonder why hiring managers don’t call you.)

3. You lead with “25+ years of experience,” “seasoned” or other age disclosing terms, then get frustrated when companies (wrongly) use age against you. Lead with ageless achievements.

4. You only apply to job postings and don’t speak to humans.  Get out from behind your computer and go meet people at in-person networking events, coffee meetings, and virtual video calls.

5. You are on LinkedIn … but you don’t work LinkedIn.  Too many frustrated job seekers are seeking the holy grail of magic keywords to be found. There isn’t a magic set of keywords. Contributing to LinkedIn in forums where your target hiring manager hangs out online is how you get found and how to find hiring managers.

6. You submitted to 100+ postings, but you haven’t reached out to a hiring manager at a target employer, even if a job posting isn’t present. Many jobs never get posted—so if you are only submitting to job postings, you are missing out on a lot of job openings!

7. You aren’t sure how to market yourself, so you don’t. You distract yourself with research and continuous resume editing to stay “busy” and subliminally sabotage yourself by not reaching out to employers.

8. When interviewing, you assume the interviewer knows what you do since they read your resume. First interview mistake is that you assume they read it. And the second interview mistake is, as a result, you are not selling yourself as you compete against other candidates who vie for the same job as you. 

Read more.

 

9. You Don’t Work With An Executive Job Search Firm

If you’re in search of an executive finance job, you need the right strategy to set you apart from other potential candidates. At Clarity, our executive search team uses behavioural science and predictive technology to connect hiring companies with ideal candidates. Discover the benefits of becoming a featured applicant for executive search positions.

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Clarity is a recruitment agency specializing in the placement of designated Accountants and Finance professionals in the GTA and Vancouver. Our mission is to improve decision-making in hiring by investing in behavioural science and hiring technology. We specialize in Project & Interim Resourcing, Permanent Search and Executive Search and recruit Finance and Accounting Executives for growth companies. We are a tenured team of successful recruiters who have worked in the major industries across Toronto and Vancouver. [email protected].

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