What kind of job search dilemmas are you facing?
We all hit roadblocks sometimes that can keep us from moving forward and reaching our goals.
In executive job search, there are many potential pitfalls that can sabotage or prolong the search.
But, as in life, workarounds or viable solutions almost always exist.
5 Common Executive Job Search Dilemmas
Here are 5 challenges facing many executive job seekers, and ways to overcome them:
1. Ageism
First, accept that ageism exists and give up the notion that you can hide your age.
Even if you haven’t worked on building your online presence, personal information about you probably exists online on the many aggregator sites. A quick Google search of “your name” will probably reveal your age.
But don’t despair. There are plenty of employers out there that respect and seek seasoned candidates with the wisdom that only comes from years of overcoming the tough business challenges.
One aspect of ageism you can conquer is dispelling the concern that you’re out of date with the new world of work.
As much as possible, keep pace with your younger competitors. They are social media savvy, active on various social networks, and have built a strong online presence. You need to do the same.
- Align your LinkedIn profile with your resume focus.
- Optimize and fully populate all applicable profile sections to boost your personal SEO with plenty of relevant keywords.
- Get busy leveraging all that LinkedIn has to offer.
- Expand your online footprint with diverse search results. This boosts your social proof and helps you get found online. And it reinforces your subject matter expertise and thought leadership.
- Keep an eye on the quality and number of search results for your name by self-Googling about once a week.
For details, read Strategies to Conquer Ageism in Executive Job Search.
2. Employment Gaps
Ever since the pandemic, employers have been less concerned about employment gaps.
Even so, some executive recruiters and others assessing you through your LinkedIn profile and executive resume may still red-flag you if you have long stretches of time unaccounted for. They’re typically more attracted to employed candidates.
If you can, it’s best to plan ahead to accommodate or shorten potential gaps, before they happen.
But, if such preemptive tactics are not possible, there are ways to downplay employment gaps.
For more information, read How to Deal With Employment Gaps in Your Resume and LinkedIn Profile.
3. ATS and Your Executive Resume
Do you know about the potential resume black hole – Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)?
ATS were developed to deal with the overwhelming number of resumes executive recruiters and employers receive these days for openings posted on job boards and company websites.
But job seekers need executive recruiters and job boards to get a job, right?
To some extent, but not entirely.
Recruiters are a source for executive jobs, but you can’t heavily rely on them.
And job boards can yield disappointing results. Your best-fit job may never be advertised anywhere.
Therefore, I recommend that you don’t devote all (or even most) of your job search time to these two methods.
Instead, supplement those efforts with purposeful networking. Network your way into the “hidden” (or unadvertised) jobs at your target companies . . . circumventing the gatekeepers and therefore ATS, for as long as you can.
Get all the skinny in my post Executive Resume ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems): What You Need To Know.
4. Undercover Executive Job Search
If you’re like most of the clients I work with, you’re employed, but looking to move on for various reasons.
You probably can’t risk broadcasting that you’re actively seeking opportunities . . . on LinkedIn . . . or anywhere online . . . or to too many people.
But, you’ll probably need to add to, or change, the content in your LinkedIn profile to position yourself as a good-fit candidate for your target employers. And you’ll need to ramp up your activity on LinkedIn.
Accomplishing this, while staying undercover, doesn’t pose a major challenge, but it does require a stealth strategy, and an understanding of how LinkedIn works.
For the full strategy, check out How to Run a Confidential Job Search on LinkedIn.
5. Online Safety and Privacy
You may understandably struggle with putting yourself “out there” when building your online footprint – a necessity in today’s executive job search.
Of course, you need to be careful about the content and information about yourself you post online. That content will be prey to nefarious people, as well as legitimate people.
But without a strong, diverse online presence promoting your personal brand and ROI, you may be invisible to the very people who can help you reach your career goals.
Striking the right balance takes a well-planned social media strategy and savvy about what to post and NOT to post about yourself.
For all the details, see my post The Online Safety and Privacy Dilemma in Executive Job Search.
More About Executive Job Search Dilemmas
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7 Ways To Contaminate Your Personal Brand and Doom Your Executive Job Search
How Grammar and Spelling Errors Can Be Deadly (and Good) in Executive Job Search