Do You Have the Executive Knowledge for a New Employer?

September 28, 2016 by Thomas

In a world where jobs can be hard to find at times (especially on the executive level), it is important for candidates to put their best foot forward when going on interviews.

That said getting to those interviews in the first place can oftentimes prove to be the biggest challenge of them all.

If you are not feeling 100 percent confident in penning your own resume, turning to an executive resume writing service can make all the difference in the world.

For starters, such a service is geared towards helping those executives who are considering a new job (be they presently employed or out of work), though may be struggling somewhat to write a winning resume, one which will get them in the door for an interview.

In the event you feel it is time for such a writing service to come to your rescue, do you know where to begin your search?

Use the Internet to Get Started

While word-of-mouth is still a good way to go about finding the products and services you need in today’s digital age, the Internet itself proves a fantastic resource.

By doing a Google search of executive resume writing services, you will have a number of them with which to choose from, setting you off in the direction of what you need.

Once you have that service selected, it then comes down to connecting one-on-one with a professional resume writer.

So that you are able to put your best foot forward when it comes to being considered a strong candidate for an executive position, remember these tips as you and your writer put your career highlights in writing:

Resume – First and foremost, what will your resume say about you? It is important that you have a resume that catches eyes, not electronic trash cans. To do the former, work with an executive resume writing service, knowing that these professionals can make your resume stand out for all the right reasons. As an example, your experience as an executive is your best attribute, but you don’t want to go on and on about that experience. A professional resume writer can help you get to the meat of the matter, all the while avoiding a lot of leftovers. Also make sure your resume is directed towards your target audience. Once again, an executive resume writer will want to sit down with you and discuss the type or types of jobs you are going after. Always make sure you provide as much direct information as possible, making it easier for a professional writer to come up with a winning resume, not one that will get tossed in a heap with many other unattractive ones;
Attitude – Nothing screams more that you are not the right person for the job than going into an interview with a negative attitude. Do your best to come across as a go-getter, not someone just looking to collect a paycheck. As an executive, you would be expected to be one of the leaders of a company, so leadership means going out there and accomplishing things. If you have led on a number of pertinent projects over the years, discuss them with the writer preparing your resume. He or she can highlight one (perhaps a couple) that will jump out when an employer or HR recruiter goes over your resume;
Drive – Finally, your executive resume writer can do a fantastic job on your resume, but it is up to you to then sell it, along with selling yourself when an interview or interviews present themselves. Be sure to show that you have the drive necessary to not only handle the prospective position, but exceed at it. While experience and education are certainly key ingredients to getting a new job, your drive can never be taken for granted. For many employers, they want to see someone walk through their door that is passionate about the job they are interviewing for, not someone who just appears lukewarm to it.

Finding the best executive resume writing service for your needs does take some time and effort, so give it your best shot.

Once you find that service, it is up to you and your professional writer to combine on the resume that will turn heads for all the right reasons.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

What to Do Before They Ask What Do You Do?

July 18, 2006 by Liz

What’s Your Name

When is a rose not a rose? When it is Compassion. When a car not a car? When its a Model J DUESENBERG. Why did I quit teaching? Because I couldn’t find another word.

It’s true that’s the reason.

I left college being called a master teacher, with student teachers following me into the classroom. It had something to do with my philosophy that if I couldn’t sit in a desk all day, I’d be damned if I would ask a 6-year-old to try to do so. I loved the kids and the teaching, but when new friends asked What do you do? I heard myself saying, I’m a teacher, but not like any you ever knew. That wasn’t good. That’s when I realized that I needed a new word or I wouldn’t be teaching.

You’ve probably not left a career over a word, and probably suspect there was more to it. There was, and there wasn’t. The way folks viewed me was the problem. I wasn’t what they imagined. I didn’t like being put in their box.

But we rely on words figure out our world view.

There is no getting away from that.The next best thing is picking our words.

What Are You? a Blogger? a Writer? a Publisher? a Sales Rep? a Marketer? a Citizen Journalist? a Critic? a Martyr?

What do you do? they say. What do I answer? [Read more…]

6 Steps to a Branded Business Blog in Record Time

June 21, 2006 by Liz

Branding IS Who We Are

It’s enough to say that a person’s perception is that person’s reality. What a person believes is what that person knows. Most folks don’t think about a difference between the two. Why should they? That’s philosophy. Life works out just fine without having to stop to think about such things, doesn’t it?

What did I just say?

In my own way, I said that customers decide who we are by what they perceive. They are the folks who define a brand. So the best plan is to make sure their perception matches what we want our brand to be, because in their eyes our brand is who we are.
[Read more…]

7 Steps to Being Recognized as an Expert

June 20, 2006 by Liz

The Catch 22 of Being an Expert

One of the hardest parts of business blogging is finding a niche where you know you can write successfully. Once you find that niche, naturally you’ll looking to find readers. Those readers that you’re looking for are looking too. They’re looking for a writer they have time for — someone they can trust and rely on — an expert.

Becoming an expert seems to be a Catch 22.
You have to know your stuff to be an expert. But . . .
It seems that “expertness” starts out as not what you know, but what you’re known as.

You have be an expert, before folks will see you as one.
A Ph.D. helps, but it doesn’t automatically translate to expert. Testimonials from other experts help too, but they aren’t a magic entry to the world of experts either.

The problem for the most of us is . . . if no one will look at what I know, how will I ever be recognized as an expert?

7 Steps to Being Recognized as an Expert

There’s no question that to be an expert, you have to be knowledgeable, authentic, and hardworking at what you do. Everyone pays dues to get to the top, but knowing what to work at helps a lot too.

To be recognized as a expert, someone has to see your work and know its quality, see its value, find it relevant and worth coming back to.

These are the 7 Steps to being recognized as an expert when someone comes to look.

Be the expert you are, not the expert someone else is. You are the only you the world has. That differentiates what you offer from the start. Know your strengths and play to them.
Be an expert in ONE thing. Find ONE niche that fits your strenghs. People like a “go to” person for a specific need. Once they come they can find out about the other wonderful things you know about.
Write expert content. Readers want top-notch, quality, relevant content — information, answers, AND analysis. They can get news anywhere. Add your expert opinion, analysis, evaluation, synthesis, or predictions.
Be an expert at keeping track of your niche. Don’t overwhelm yourself with feeds, but have an aggregator. Follow popurls to get the latest on the social bookmarking services. Read the magazines and the blogs that talk about the topics you cover.
Be an expert at specialized searches. Make finding interesting content tidbits your expert quest. Get to be friends with Google Alerts and similar services. Follow terms around the Internet.
Be an expert at getting the word out. Get to know the other experts in your niche. Talk with them. Visit and comment on their blogs. Ask them for an interview. Volunteer to guest post now and then.
Be an expert at going deeper into your niche. Saturate yourself in the trends, but go deep too. Find out what researchers are thinking so that you can offer your readers the highest quality and most relevant information and analysis.
Plus one: Be an expert at having fun. Nothing is more appealing than an expert who loves what he or she is doing. Share the joy of your niche with the folks who come to see you. They’ll want to know more about what it is that you do.

Striving to be an expert in your niche lets your readers know who you are and why they should keep coming back to see you. It’s a key centerpiece of your brand — quality, knowledge, and credibility as promotion. If you’re ready when that person comes to look, the rest will happen. Just keep counting to seven — seven key steps to being an expert that is.

What better way to promote your brand and your business than to have everyone see you as the expert? How can I help you do that?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Job [and Client] Hunting ala Liz

April 23, 2006 by Liz

Gosh You Look Great

You have your act totally together. You know how to answer every question. You can explain how to capitalize on your strengths and how you make your weaknesses irrelevant. You can explain your biggest challenge and how you handled it with finesse and outstanding interpersonal skills. Your resume is a personal branding brochure and an inviting picture of who you are. You can see yourself as a leader and explain what your best traits are in simple, clear sound bytes. Your personal branding BIG IDEA shines through your eyes, your words, and everything you do. You are cool.

That doesn’t change the fact that job [and client] hunting is stressful. Even if you didn’t put your pants on backwards. [Read more…]

5 Sure-Fire Ways to Break the Promise of Your Brand

April 10, 2006 by Liz

Brand YOU Common Sense

All of this Brand YOU conversation really does come down to common sense. In order to make a strong place for yourself in the world of business, you need to know yourself. You need to capitalize on your strengths and shore up your weaknesses, to find ways to let people know how you add value, and to think deeply so that you can speak to the unique assets that you bring to everything that you do.

Being able to do those things puts you ahead of most folks–if you keep the ideas in perspective–because most follks don’t quite understand the concept of brand versus product or store. Keep in mind your brand is a promise you make. Not everyone will take you up on it. Some will look for you to break that promise. One day, in some way, you probably will.

5 Ways to Break the Promise of Your Brand

Here are 5 sure-fire ways to break the promise of your personal brand.

1. Build a brand on what you wish you were instead of what you are. You’ve taken time to build a brand. You’ve gathered the attributes and strengths that you want people to see as yours. But they’re really just pipe dreams–wishes instead of realities. Your promise was made on false pretenses. People recognize soon enough when you’ve oversold yourself. They see it in what you can’t do. You not only lose your brand. You lose any credibility you might have had. It’s exponentially higher, if not impossible, to win back trust, than it is to earn trust you never had.

2. Crack under pressure. Sail along smoothly as a calm and charismatic leader until the chips get down, then lose it all and fall apart. It doesn’t matter whether you whine and shake, or yell and stammer. Lose your humanity, your leadership skills, your sense of humor and your brand is lost right with them. You broke your promise when it counts.

3. Change with the weather. A brand is a promise that you’ll always be there–you, the you that folks have come to know. Your coworkers and business relations don’t want to get to know you every time they meet you. They want a brand they can believe in. Consistency is a cornerstone of any brand. If you’re not consistent you don’t have a brand. Folks don’t make promises with the wind.

4. You don’t believe you. You know what you want to be, and in your heart you want to be it. You just don’t believe you ever will. If you don’t believe you, why in the world would I? It’s not good business to bet on a promise that starts with I’m not so sure, but I want to try.

5. You think Brand YOU is an entitlement. Whoa! Slow down cowboy. This isn’t a rodeo, and you don’t have the silver buckle yet. You see Brand YOU isn’t really about you at all. It’s about the customer, and the customer is every person who is NOT you–the folks you work with and those you serve. Brand YOU is merely a way of communicating to them what you stand for in shorthand so that you can get on to the relationship of working together with some common knowledge of each other as already established ground. The promise should be that you’re there for THEM.

Just like any broken promise, no personal brand at all is better than a broken personal brand.

Turning Brand YOU Upside-Down

Now that you’ve identified your personal brand and you know what it’s there for. It’s time to turn it upside-down. It’s time to add the most crucial part of it. ME–Well, me the customer. The customer is the reason you made a brand in the first place. The customer is the one who lets you know what your brand really is.

Now Brand YOU becomes Brand YOU & ME. Two is a lot more fun. Just wait I’ll show you why and how.

–ME “Liz” Strauss