How To Conduct The Most Effective Job Search: The 6 Essential Executive Job Search Topics & Techniques

Here, I will explore the six essential job search topics and techniques to help folks effectively find jobs in this tough market. The main topics I explore below are:

· Interviewing

· Job Search

· Resume

· Personal Branding

· Networking

· Salary

Each of these topics have many facets that are vital and of interest to job seekers. Therefore, I have limited each one to a “sub-topic.” Namely: (1) Interviewing: Answering “So Tell Me about Yourself”; (2) Organizing Your Job Search; (3) Your Resume: Getting Noticed; (4) Personal Branding to Set Yourself Apart; (5) Networking with Business Groups and Online; and (6) Salary for a New Job: Timing Is Everything.

In almost every job interview, this question or a variation thereof will be asked, so there is no excuse for a candidate not to be prepared to answer it.  The only wrong response is, “What do you want to know”?  That tells the interviewer that you are not prepared for the question and possibly that you don’t have much of an idea of what the job entails and what you can offer them as a candidate for that particular position.  You must anticipate this question and be prepared for it;  write it out and rehearse your answer until it sounds natural, so you can deliver your response with confidence and poise.

As a recruiter, I ask this question to see how candidates handle an unstructured situation and to find out what they thought was important, to get an initial sense of who they are, to find out how articulate they are and to get my first impression about how confident they are.

Here are my three main suggestions about preparing your response to a job interviewer asking you to “Tell me about yourself”:  (1) Be brief.  Your answer should last about a minute or two.  In the beginning, the interviewer just wants to know a little bit about you, not your biography.  Offer two or three things that will interest the interviewer about your ability to fill successfully the position at hand.  (2) Focus on what the interviewer is really interested in.  With this question, you are not being asked about where you born, grew up went to school and so on.  The interviewer is only interested in whether you can do that job, how you can fit in, and a sense of your accomplishments in the past that make you well qualified for their position.  (3) Highlight your most relevant accomplishments relating to the job at hand.  Your goal is to stand out from all of the other job candidates and telling a brief but memorable story is always a great idea.

Here is an article with more job interview tips and tricks.

I work for a company that specializes in helping job seekers to locate and successfully apply for executive jobs. However, any job search needs some organization to keep track of who you’ve contacting, what you sent to them (it is recommended that you send specialized resumes and covers letters with personal branding – see below) so that you’re prepared when you get a follow-up call, and what interviews are scheduled or follow up calls that you need to make. In today’s market, everyone conducts a job search online whether it is with CareerBuilder, Monster, Craigslist, HotJobs or other sites. If you have a specialized job search, I highly recommend that you find a website or forum that addresses your specific needs and wants.

Simply keep a journal or a notebook about all the details of every job to which you apply (or organize printouts that help you keep track). If you get a follow-up phone call or an invitation to come in for a job interview, let it go to voicemail so you have a few minutes to prepare to call them back. For this purpose, you need the job listing with its list of qualifications and requirements, their Web site so you can do some research should you get contacted, and a copy of the resume and the cover letter that you sent to them so you know exactly what they are responding to. When you return their call, they want to feel special (don’t we all?), so you want to respond specifically about their job; they do not need to know that you have responded to dozens (if not hundreds) of other job postings.

Here is an article about online job applications should you go that route.

Below, we emphasize the importance of personal branding in your resume, in cover letters and in interviews to distinguish yourself from your competition in this tough job market. Please pay heed. Your resume is most often the first impression that a potential employer gets from you so you need it to be noticed and for it to stand out among the hundreds they may receive for one job listing.

Maybe you haven’t had a reason to update your resume for decades because you had job stability, but now you need to do so. Or you need to revise a resume that reflects that you are now in the 21^st century, since many resumes are now presented online, and employers are looking beyond mundane qualifications like your typing speed and your experience with software in the 1990s.

You need to package your background on your resume to appeal to (1) a resume screener (this person is often an entry-level HR person who uses software looking for keywords to search for resumes meeting their required qualifications); (2) recruiters; and (3) hiring managers.

As a serious job seeker, you need to rewrite your summary at the top of your resume to immediately address the needs and qualifications sought for a particular job.  That may seem like a pain, but you need to land only one job, and this effort may make all the difference in the world to distinguish yourself above hundreds of other competitors.

You probably are not a professional resume writer, so do not hesitate to seek services that do this job for you to make sure you are sending out a well-crafted and personally branded resume that “sings” to potential employers.

In this tough job market, you need your qualifications to stand out among your competition to get more interviews.  You do this by defining your personal brand in your resume and any other promotional material like cover letters to represent your unique promise of value.  And then you follow up with that personal branding in the interview process – distinguishing yourself by emphasizing your natural strengths and unique achievements and contributions that are desirable to potential employers.

Here are three tips to help you to define your personal brand:

·         Carefully examine your strengths.  Focus on what you do best; do not dwell on responsibilities in past jobs that may come off as mundane.  Instead, emphasize what you consistently delivered to your employers that helped their bottom line.

·         Gather feedback from others.  Especially valuable are testimonials from employers, customers and colleagues that point out your value, assets that you bring to the table and your quality of work.

·         Assess your competition.  You want to distinguish yourself from others in similar positions because you accomplished your duties with personal style and confidence with little need for help from others.

In short, integrate your personal brand in your resume, cover letter and when being interviewed.  The goal is to distinguish yourself above and beyond your competition.

Besides traditional networking with friends, associates and colleagues who may know about potential available jobs that fit your niche, you can explore business groups in your town or community and also find networks and professional associations related to your interests online.  Locally, a good networking group can be a Chamber of Commerce.  Online, simply enter keywords related to your job search and see what pops up; especially look for forums and blogs which are objective and have no strings attached to networking with like-minded folks.

A discussion about salary in the job-interviewing process has a time and a place.  Timing is very important; you can derail your chances of being considered if you ask too soon about the salary for the position.  Of course, this topic must be broached and is very important before accepting a job.  However, this discussion should be saved toward the end of the interview process when the employer has provided you with some sense of commitment.  This often does not happen during the first interview, but be patient; any interview process runs its course, and towards the end, if they decide that you’re the one they want, that is your moment.

At the first interview, you and the employer are getting to know each other and trying to determine if you are a good match.  If the question of salary comes up at this point (and it often does), I suggest that you diplomatically deflect this topic in this early stage. You might say that you trust that they will make a fair offer; your main concern and priority is finding the right position with a great company. If you got the interview through a recruiter, you can refer the employer to talk salary with your recruiter and let him or her be the “bad guy.”  That way, you keep your hands clean during any salary negotiation and concentrate instead on showing the perspective employer why you are such a great candidate for the job.

When the timing is right to broach the subject of salary (when you know they want you), the company should make the first offer.  If asked what you’re looking for, I suggest you ask, “What do you have in mind?”  If they provide a good starting point and offer a good “package deal,” then you go from there.  If the number is too low, present your case again about why they are ready to commit to hiring you.  If you suggest a counteroffer of a better salary or a better package deal, they should take that under consideration because they’ve already indicated that they want you.