Because today’s executive job search doesn’t look or work the way it did in the recent past, I advise executive job seekers to first learn about the new executive job search landscape, before diving in.
To help you, I’ve compiled some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) from my executive job seeking clients, along with winning strategies I offered them to deal with the various challenges and issues they faced.
These are the major road blocks and/or strategies my clients have told me they need help understanding, across various topics:
- LinkedIn FAQs
- Executive Job Interview FAQs
- Personal Branding FAQs
- Online Reputation Management FAQs
- Executive Resume FAQs
You’ll find links to these posts at the bottom of the page here.
Three Hot Button FAQs About Executive Job Search Strategy
Add these 3 FAQs to the ones I outlined in 5 Pivotal Executive Job Search FAQs.
1. I’m on the job boards almost every day and send my resume to every job posting possible, but it’s been months, and very little is happening. What am I doing wrong?
Many executive job seekers believe that all executive jobs are on the job boards.
So they spend the vast majority of their time perusing the listings and sending out their resumes to any job that even remotely fits the bill.
They’re spending many hours each week doing this, so they feel they’re really working hard at job search.
Sure, they’re working hard, but that hard work is often misdirected.
Job boards aren’t very good at helping people land good-fit jobs for several reasons, including:
- Jobs posted may not be legitimate openings.
- Job descriptions may not truly represent the job.
- Jobs may have already been filled, but still linger on job boards.
- You may not be able to delete your resume from their database once you land a job, making you forever appear as an active job-hunter and jeopardizing future jobs.
And then, there’s the nearly inevitable black hole waiting to consume your resume.
When you send your resume in response to job listings, or to human resources at a particular company, here’s what happens.
It lands in a database with an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) that matches jobs to candidates based on specific keywords they search your resume for.
Some recruiters say that they review each resume as it comes in. But if they can’t match a resume to any current jobs they’re trying to fill, back into the database go those resumes.
Then those resumes sit there until they get called up in response to specific job openings. But that only happens when resumes contain enough of the keywords they’ve deemed important.
If your resume isn’t re-tooled – each time you apply for a job online – to contain the right keywords for each particular job posting, you could easily not make the cut.
This severely limits the chances your resume will be seen, and that you’ll land a job through all that time spent on job boards.
Another reason job boards don’t work well is that many executive jobs – especially top-level executive jobs – come through proactive networking into the goldmine of “hidden” jobs.
The hidden job openings NEVER land on job boards. They’re not posted anywhere.
So you can see, it’s best to avoid spending hours responding to job postings on the various job boards.
Instead, put together a solid list of companies or organizations to target, and network your way into them, and to employee referrals.
But don’t give up entirely on job boards.
They can be very helpful for company and industry research. Find job descriptions that look like a mutual good fit in terms of qualifications – whether or not the location or the actual company itself is a good fit.
2. I know I need to target specific companies. How do I find the right ones?
This is a dilemma some of my clients face.
Your game plan – Target employers or organizations that will be a mutual good fit, and then deeply research them to uncover their current pressing needs and determine how you will help them overcome specific challenges.
Part of your targeting and research work should include informational interviews, which are not job interviews and don’t include a job “ask”. They are, instead, informal conversations with people working at the companies and in the fields in which you want to work, or people who are within a few degrees of separation from them.
Depending upon your target industry(s) and other variables, compiling your list of target companies may be a cinch, or a headache.
More tips in my post Tips to Build Your Executive Job Search Target Companies List.
3. I’ve never been a good networker. Where do I start?
Start with the solid foundation of targeting, research and defining your personal brand.
This will help prepare you to speak intelligently about yourself and your value to the companies you’re targeting.
If you can’t specifically tell people what you’re looking for, they won’t know how to help you.
Next, connect more deeply with the people you already know − friends, colleagues, current and former customers/clients, vendors, professional associations, etc.
Then, cast a far-reaching net to build out your existing network (especially on LinkedIn, but also elsewhere online and off-line) with fresh faces. Include executive recruiters and people working at your target companies.
If you have a hard time making new connections, follow my tips in How to Connect on LinkedIn with People You Don’t Know . . . and Get Action.
Finally, keep making the right connections and stay top-of-mind with them, on a regular basis.
For details on all of the above, see my post How Do I Rebuild My Network for Executive Job Search?
More Executive Job Search FAQs
LinkedIn FAQs for Executive Job Search
Crucial Executive Job Interview FAQs
Online Reputation Management FAQs for Executive Job Search