For one, there are fewer executive jobs available, so they are harder to find in the first place--and it's not like they get listed every day on Monster.
Two, because they are so few and far between, your competition for them is fierce.
At every level, the job search process is really a sales process. The entire transaction of a hiring manager, CEO, Board of Directors, or anyone choosing an employee at any level is psychologically just like a customer buying a product. In this case, the hiring manager is the customer, you’re the product, and your salary is the purchase price. The job itself is the problem or task that they need a solution for. You are that solution.
You have to show them why you’re the best solution and how you can help them, because they want to know, “What’s in it for us?” “Why should we choose you?”
2 - Learn to Write an Interesting, Compelling Cover Letter or Initial Message
Everyone hates writing cover letters. But if you don't write a great one, you are missing a valuable opportunity to set the bias in your favor BEFORE they see your resume. Don't you think it's better to have someone with a positive mindset looking at your resume instead of someone with a negative or even neutral one?
If you get interviews but not the job, this is the book for you.
I have been out of work for over a year...I have interviewed several times and I was fully qualified, but there were 30 other people as fully qualified, and I was missing something every time and never got the job. I went to an interview last week and took your 30-60-90 day plan...and it worked!!!!! He was so impressed with my plan that he not only hired me, he hired me as a general manager for all his stores, A 6 figure job. Much more than I was interviewing for. - Pete Carr
This comprehensive book gives you the training to create a strategic plan for success in your first 3 months on the job. You'll learn:
* What a 30/60/90-Day Plan is and why it's so impressive to hiring managers
* What benefit it brings to you as a candidate in the interview
As a stay-at-home mom, updating your resume is perhaps the most overwhelming task you’ll need to do after deciding to rejoin the workforce.
I know it’s a bit overwhelming and ironic to some extent, considering you’ve done well raising your kids – updating your resume should be a piece of cake, right?
It’s trickier than it seems. Sure, it’s easy to list your education and previous work before the kids came – but what comes next? How do you explain the huge gap from then ’til now?
All things considered, how satisfied are you with your job?
According to a Forbes survey, only 19% of all workers are satisfied with their jobs. The majority of us don't like our jobs (not me--coaching job seekers is one of the most rewarding jobs in the world).
Job dissatisfaction is not always about the actual work you do, or about the money....there are a lot of factors involved, according to Psyblog: it's the support and feedback you get, along with the amount of control you feel while carrying out your tasks, among other things. (Huffington Post has a fun chart showing most and least meaningful jobs.)
So while some of us do need to switch careers (see Career Key for tests, or this post on job shadowing to help you try out something new), many of us just need a new employer to work for. The same job with a different company can make all the difference in the world.
That's what Career Confidential is all about...to give you the tools you need to gain the freedom to get a new job or a better job when you want it. You should NEVER feel stuck in a job you hate. Life is too short and days are too long for that. (Check out our job search tools or sign up for one of our free training webinars if you're ready to move on to a great job.)
How do you feel about your job? How satisfied are you? What is the biggest factor for you in job satisfaction? Let me know in the comments.
If you are on LinkedIn you have to take advantage of the Contacts system I call it their CRM - Connections Resource management. When used with the LinkedIn messaging it is a great tool to use to stay top of mind with connections and, if you are in job search, in contact with recruiters.
What happens if you've been told you're going to get the phone interview but then nothing happens?
They don't say they changed their mind about you--they just tell you it's on hold and then you don't hear anything more.
This happened to a real job candidate--a recruiter called to tell him about the job, submitted his resume, set up the phone interview, and gave him the name of the company and the manager. The next thing the candidate knew, the recruiter called back to say that he wasn't going to get to do the phone interview because everything was on hold, but he would be in touch. After more than a week with no phone call, the candidate asked me for help. (I do individual career coaching.)
Watch this video to see how 4 different job candidates did something special (that you could do, too) and got the offer. You've got to see it...these were some truly great ideas, and I know they will help you.
If you would like help or additional information on using these techniques to get the offer, click the links below:
You communicate your confidence in your physical presentation, your body language, and what you say and how you say it.
Good communication skills are essential. Sounding even remotely uncertain of your ability to do the job you’re interviewing for (and do it well) is an interview killer. No employer is going to hire someone who isn’t even sure himself if he is capable. What phrases convey uncertainty?
Employers want to know about more than just your skills and experience--they want to know how you'll get along day-to-day. How will you react in stressful situations? What will you do when a customer gets cranky, or there's some issue with the product?
One way for hiring managers to get to that information is to use behavioral interview questions that try to uncover how you have reacted in similar situations, or that set up a theoretical problem to see how you would go about solving it.
Both types of behavioral (or situational) interview questions show how you think, which can be much more informative for a hiring manager than asking about your greatest weakness.
The easiest and most effective way to answer Behavioral Interview Questions is to use the STAR format.
Buying a franchise is a great way to reinvent your career, find new satisfaction and higher annual earnings.
When shopping for a franchise, too often people tend to sell themselves short. Instead of finding value in skills gained over the course of a career, they focus on the lack of direct experience in a particular business sector, say retail sales or temporary staffing.
But you don’t want to eliminate opportunities before you have even begun to investigate.
The key is to keep your mind open to possibilities you may never before have considered and inventory your skills to get a truly accurate read on your experience.
Think about all the different skills acquired over a lifetime, both on the job and off.
For example, a plant manager increasingly frustrated at work feared his skills managing a large manufacturing plant with a unionized work force would not easily transfer to franchise ownership. But as he began his research, he realized his experience motivating employees sometimes resistant to instructions, meeting deadlines and working on tight budgets would serve him well. He eventually opened five locations of a fitness franchise and has been enjoying his new profitable career for five years.
Likewise, managing a household develops expertise in a range of areas, including leadership training (PTA), party planning, catering, household systems management and scheduling. Many a successful franchisee started as a homemaker.
Remember, when it comes to franchises, the companies provide extensive training and support to help you transfer your skills to a new business. What you want to have are skills compatible with the new business that will enable you to soar.
We recommend you consult a franchise coach to help you winnow down your list of potential franchises, but first consider the following skills as you do a personal inventory.
If you got the phone interview, you are just a few minutes away from getting the face-to-face interview--IF you handle those few minutes well. Think about your phone interview in a fresh way and stand out from everyone else they talk to and get your face-to-face interview!
No matter what job you do--technical, administrative, education, operations, manufacturing, data-based, marketing, or sales--the process of getting the job is basically a sales process. You are the 'product' that's for sale, or hire; the hiring manager, or interviewer, is the 'customer'. In this analogy, you are also the sales rep, because you are convincing that hiring manager, or employer, to buy your product (hire you for the job).
If your job search is like a sales process, interviews are like sales calls. If you look at what successful sales reps do to sell their products, and apply at least some of those principles to your job search and interviews, you will be successful in 'selling' yourself for the job.
Here is a great article to help you from Mark Hunter, The Sales Hunter. Mark gives you outstanding phone sales tips to use when contacting customers that work very well for also speaking with hiring managers (or Human Resources) in your phone interviews.
I have posted the article in its entirety, but I have italicized the tips that will be most useful and effective for you:
Should I use a paid LinkedIn account? I'm asked this question all the time when I'm at networking events and presentations. My answer used to be NO. Now LinkedIn has introduced a new premium account that is affordable. SPOTLIGHT: LinkedIn has developed a new Premium account for its users. The cost is under $10.00 a month less if you purchase it yearly, the rate drops to $7.99 a month!
Be prepared for your phone interview and get invited to the face-to-face!
Here are phone interview questions you'll likely be asked, along with the best phone interview answers:
Tell me about yourself. Don't fall into the trap of thinking it's a social question to break the ice. It isn't. All your answers should relate to the job.
Walk me through your resume. Hit the highlights...education, jobs that contributed to your fit for this one that you're interviewing for.
Why are you interested in this job? Relate it to your skills and what you can do for them: "It's a perfect fit because of X, Y, and Z."
HOW TO WRITE A 306090 DAY PLAN - These do take some work to research and put together, but the investment you make in time and effort is going to pay off big for you in terms of money and job offers
read more...
Executive job searches are much different than 'regular' job searches. [See this Executive Job Search Webinar]
As a stay-at-home mom, updating your resume is perhaps the most overwhelming task you’ll need to do after deciding to rejoin the workforce.
st tell you it's on hold and then you don't hear anything more.
lant with a unionized work force would not easily transfer to franchise ownership. But as he began his research, he realized his experience motivating employees sometimes resistant to instructions, meeting deadlines and working on tight budgets would serve him well. He eventually opened five locations of a fitness franchise and has been enjoying his new profitable career for five years.
Can’t get past the first interview?
Be prepared for your phone interview and get invited to the face-to-face!
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