When does your job search begin?

Does it end when you find a job?

What is the Life Expectancy of Your Job?

With the current challenges of global economic transition, executive jobs have an average life expectancy of less than 3 years. Employees are now viewed as a variable cost. They remain on the books only as long as they continue to add to the bottom line. No job is safe. Case in point: Last week I had lunch with an friend who has just become available as a consultant: A c-suite executive who was with a company for five short years – short compared with the track record of over twenty years in a previous company.

Look at the profiles of your professional connections in LinkedIn. Do you see a pattern of shortened timeframes within successive jobs?

I’ve heard this advice from job seekers who’ve recently found a new job: "I’m going to maintain my job search connections and website memberships for a few more months until I know my new job is the right one." Which poses the question: Is job search a project with a beginning and an end?

Should Job Search be a Long-Term Strategy? 

In order to manage your position in the executive job market, now and into the unforeseeable future, would it make more sense to have a long-term strategy? Even if you are currently employed, a good insurance plan would be to always be set up for the next opportunity.

Could You Position Yourself as a Strategic ‘Passive Candidate’?

With it’s growing popularity and membership, LinkedIn has become a preferred source for recruiters to find passive candidates. Passive candidates are attractive to recruiters for a number of reasons that rightly or wrongly justify perception of ‘higher quality’. However there are disadvantages to recruiters pursuing passive candidates not least of which are candidates with higher demands, who are more likely to back out at the last minute.

Could you position yourself as a strategic ‘Passive Candidate’? One who is actively marketing their unique value. Not actively seeking an immediate position, but obviously up to date with the latest trends in the talent market, and active in their industry circles. You would be a most attractive candidate for a recruiter realizing that  given the right opportunity, the strategic candidate is more likely to make a move than a passive one.

How do you Differentiate Yourself as Being Available for the Right Opportunity? 

Being able to stand out from the crowd in LinkedIn is a definite advantage in your Career Management Strategy. There are a number of ways you can communicate your brand and value proposition through LinkedIn:

• Post your branded message regularly in the "What are You Working On?" box
• Fill out your Profile completely, giving your resume a "Guerilla" overhaul
• Brand yourself in your Summary and use keywords that will get your target employers’ attention
• Network through targeted groups
• Participate in LinkedIn Answers

Develop and Execute an Ongoing Job Search Strategy

LinkedIn serves one prong in what could be a multi-pronged job search campaign. And it’s a resource that is becoming more competitive as it becomes more popular. 

In a previous post we discussed LinkedIn’s Appeal, What’s Next? 

It’s not only recruiters who are looking for talent. Company executives are searching the internet for innovative solutions to their problems as well as researching their competitors.

Why start your job search campaign at the bottom of the recruiting chain when you can target your unique value proposition at the c-suite and shorten your route to a job offer?

It’s the social media links that are coming up at the top of the organic search. Herein lies a key to your career management strategy. If you know how, you can be found.

Paper Resumes - passé? 

There was much discussion earlier this year on this subject and viewpoints both for and against, but the general consensus seems to be: Paper resumes for job applications make you look old and outdated. And yet, hiring managers still want the convenience of a paper resume at the interview.

Job Boards – in or out?

Job Boards have been gaining popularity over the past ten years. The success of jobs search engines in bridging the gap between jobseekers and employers has spawned thousands of job sites. According to the International Association of Employment Web Sites, there are over 40,000 employment web sites. According to comScore Media Metrix, July 2009, the most visited job boards were CareerBuilder, Yahoo! HotJobs, and Monster.com.

Then there are niche sites such as TheLadders and BlueSteps, both of which target high earners, and are gaining followers among recruiters and job seekers alike. Added to the fray are job search engines such as SimplyHired and Indeed, which trawl the job boards and corporate employment sites to grab every available posting. 

Employment web sites may still be a tactic in your job search strategy, and for this reason we have listed a number of executive web sites which may benefit your research.

LinkedIn's growing appeal!

LinkedIn was launched in May 2003, and as of October 2009 had more than 48 million registered users, spanning more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. An article in Businessweek, June 2009, stated that "the growing appeal of LinkedIn to recruiters is just one more headache for Monster to contend with". 

LinkedIn's popularity and benefit as a professional networking site is unquestionable now, October 2009, as we write this article. But … For how long? Already, we're hearing "LinkedIn profiles are a must, blogs a plus." What's next?

Your Online Profiles

Other social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, are also becoming popular search destinations with employers. With the growing popularity of social media, people now have multiple profiles online. We've all heard nightmare stories about people not getting hired, or even getting fired after they were Googled and found on Facebook in a situation that could be described as professionally compromising. 

Facebook is no longer just a place to connect with friends and family. In March 2009 Facebook launched Pages, its new public profile for businesses and celebrities to build brand and community. Now there's a way to maintain your personal network separate from your professional network on Facebook.

Today you are more likely to be Googled by a recruiter than found on a job board. Notice the search engine results today when you do a Google search. It's the social media links that are coming up at the top of the organic search. Herein lies a key to your career management strategy. If you know how, you can be found.

Paper Resumes, Job Boards, LinkedIn – In or Out?

In the days of the paper resume, getting an interview was dependent on "What You Know". Online job boards and email made both recruiting and getting an interview more efficient with the electronic resume. Then came LinkedIn  which added "Who You Know" to the digital equation and made networking easier for job seekers and selective recruiting more efficient for employers. Now, as the unemployment numbers increase and more and more candidates get on board with LinkedIn, the question becomes: "When will LinkedIn be surpassed by the next, more efficient technology offering?"

Talent-Driven Recruiting Strategy v.s. Recruiting for Current Openings

January 2010 is near. The beginning of a new year when hiring budgets open again. Only time will tell if the economic tide turns. Companies with a talent-driven recruiting strategy are always prospecting and readily maintain a pool of top candidates for new opportunities. Company executives use the internet for innovative and competitive research. When a business owner or senior executive searches for a solution to their company's problem, will they find you?

Your Web 2.0 Professional Portfolio™

The next advance in job search technology has been around for some time. Web 2.0 is being massively leveraged by businesses, from Fortune 500 companies to the solo-preneur. The recruiting industry and job search candidates are just beginning to explore advantages offered by social media and personal Web 2.0 sites.

  With the staggering competition in the executive job market, landing an interview is no longer a matter of "What You Know" and "Who You Know". Now it's a matter of "Who Knows You". Can those companies with a talent-driven recruiting strategy find you? The Executive who can be found through their personal Web 2.0 site is positioned as the solution to an employer's problem.

Consider your Web 2.0 Professional Portfolio™ your first interview! 

These are the instruments that represent your personal brand. This is your opportunity to demonstrate that you represent a solution to your target companies needs. Like any good marketing copy, your cover letter and resume should focus on your client – in this case on your target companies. In order to get the sale – in this case the interview, they should translate your experience, skills and accomplishments into a solution for the clients problems.

One of the most effective ways to write good marketing copy is to get feedback from your clients.  Ask a hiring executive: "What are the key points you look for in a cover letter and resume?" and you’ll hear these responses: 

• A 3-5 second initial glance is all you get, so the first few statements should grab my attention. Next, I’ll look for skill level, experience, and achievements and how they will contribute to my bottom line.
• I’m looking for key words that tie your resume and cover letter to the job description.
• I also look for a "close" in the letter. Ask for the interview. This is the most important presentation in your life. Close it.
• Do your research about potential employers. Target companies that match your aspirations, goals, and most importantly your ethics and morals.
• I read between the lines for attitude and personality which translates to initiative and contribution, then I look for culture and job fit.
• In the resume I want to see that the skills you’ve developed in other experiences, including life experiences, are transferable to the position for which you are applying.
• I also want to see that the accomplishments are substantive, in other words give me numbers to prove the marketable skills you list.
• I like to see  a record of continuing education. The continual emphasis on personal development speaks well of your ambition and your ability to creatively solve problems for my company.
• Make sure that you do not have any unprofessional things on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. Most employers will now Google applicants and will have a look at your on-line presence so make sure that your on-line brand is positive.

Executive Job Search Solution’s personal branding system makes a compelling case that it would be an opportunity lost for your target company not to interview you. Even if a position is not open or doesn’t actually exist, the diligent company executive who is responsible for business growth will not ignore such an opportunity to enhance his organization’s human capital.