The executive job search has become a direct marketing and sales exercise. Your cover letter and resume are your first and last opportunity to stand out from the crowd and get invited for an 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.