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4 Steps to Launching a $100K+ Executive Level Job Search Campaign That Gets You Hired in a Recession

Administrator — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:30:51 +0000

Joy Andrews lost her position as a $100K+ executive about three months ago. Devastated, Joy took some time off to clear her head and get ready for her executive level job search campaign. But now, months later, she hasn’t had many interviews and prospects are bleak. Her question to me was, “What can I do to get myself to get more interviews and get hired faster?”

In this article, I am going to give you four critical steps you must take if you want to find that $100K+ job and get hired during a recession.

Step #1 – Get organized

I am constantly amazed how executives who were driven and forceful in their jobs become lost in how to start their $100K+ executive job search. Getting organized includes these elements:

1. Treat your job search as a full time job. Totally dedicate your time to finding a job. Inform your family that your full-time job is to find a full-time job and nothing else!

2. Act as if your job search was a product or service launch. Plan your executive level job search campaign. Don’t wing it. Organize your activities in a project plan and measure yourself against your milestones and sub-goals.

3. Start your day just like you would if you were employed. Did you start your day at 7:00am and end it at 6:00pm? Then do the same for your job search.

4. Create goals for every day and every event. Get a daily goal and meet it. Develop your networking goals for each event and stay until you achieve them.

Step #2 – Get help

For many, getting help is equivalent to going to the dentist. But getting help is the smartest thing to kick-start your executive level job search campaign. Getting help includes:

1. Ask for a review of your resume. There are many services available to review your resume for free. Better yet, pay an expert to write your resume.

2. Learn from the experts. There are many experts out there that write articles like this one. Many experts also have website tools that are available for free downloads. For example, I have a free eBook at: http://www.marketyourpotential.com/ebook.asp. Take advantage of these resources.

3. Get a career coach. For executives who earn more than $100K+, getting advice for your particular situation is a wise investment Make sure, however, that your coach teaches you how to fish, not just fishes for you.

4. Get a support group. When you launch a job search campaign when the headlines are awful, being upbeat and positive is extremely difficult. Get a small group of business associates and friends who can help you during this time.

Step #3 – Get real

Just a short while ago, executives could expect to find a new position in about 90 to 120 days. Now, realistically, it can take upwards of 8 to 10 months. Getting real includes:

1. Do what it takes to survive a 10-month search. Expecting your search to go faster and not preparing for the long haul is just nuts. Reduce your expenses to just what is necessary and cut back.

2. Invest in your career. Now is the time to invest in your career and not try to “do-it-yourself.” Investments include coaching, books, tools, events, memberships, and travel to targeted cities.

3. Develop quantitative benchmarks and metrics. Analyze your job search results and measure them against standards. When you do this, you’ll be able to improve along the way which guarantees results faster.

4. Design qualitative feedback loops. Behaviors are qualitative and you can “measure” reactions to your oral and written pitch. Their reaction is a qualitative feedback loop that you can automatically gauge.

Step #4 – Get Clear

Getting a message that is clear and succinct takes work. And trying to figure out what you want next is also hard. Getting clear includes:

1. Do extensive research on target companies and industries. The Internet has a wealth of information. My recommendation is to conduct research at least 1 hour per day – above and beyond job posting searches.

2. Test your messages within networking groups. Take someone out for coffee. Try out your verbal pitch, and get their feedback. I tell my clients that they should attend at least 2 different networking groups a week during their job search campaign.

3. Know what’s happening around you. Know what’s happening around the globe. Integrate current affairs into your oral and written pitch and show how you can address the issues of the day.

4. Stay focused and determined. Persistence is the key to finding a $100K+ executive level position during an economic downturn. Direction is the result and movement in your job search is guaranteed.

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The Quick Interview & Salary Negotiation Video

Administrator — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:48:34 +0000

JISTPub asked:

This video teaches viewers how to handle the most important aspect of any job search, the job interview. Also covered is the important step of negotiating pay.

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Organizing for Top Results: the Foundation of a Fast, Successful Job Search

Administrator — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:39:09 +0000

Michelle Dumas asked:

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average length of unemployment is about 18 weeks. But this statistic accounts for all industries, sectors, and professional levels. While you may be one of the lucky few, other statistics indicate that the average job search for a professional or mid-manager can take six months (25-26 weeks) or more. Of course, if you are changing careers, your job search may be even longer. And if you are currently employed, your search will often take longer simply because you have less time to devote to it.

Clearly, for most professionals, the days of just going through the Sunday paper and sending out a few resumes is over. Today, conducting a multi-pronged search is critical. While the individual techniques and tactics of job searching are relatively simple, there are multiple steps you have to take, often simultaneously, and you will be dealing with massive amounts of information. Unless you find a way to keep this information organized in an easily maintained and managed system, you can quickly become overwhelmed, bogged down, and confused. If you let yourself get caught up in the details, you can easily lose sight of the big picture and lose momentum. An organized plan and system will help keep you motivated, moving forward, and focused on achieving the ultimate goal.

In this excerpt from “Secrets of a Successful Job Search: 7 Simple Steps to Land the Job You Want in Half the Time,” I will describe a simple, easy-to-maintain system that you can begin using today to immediately improve the efficiency and productivity of your job search.

The 4 Major Job Search Phases

In the overall job search process, there are essentially four key phases:

1) Option evaluation, goal setting & campaign planning

2) Job search & follow-up campaign

3) Job offers & negotiations

4) Accept and begin new job

At the start of your search, it is essential to create a system to schedule, track, and log all of your activities for the first three phases. At the very least, you need a calendaring system, a system of logging inter-related and follow-up activities, a contact management system, and a filing system. Create the Ultimate Job Search Filing System The foundation of your organizational system will be your filing system. It is possible to do this on your computer, to use a traditional filing method, or to use a large three-ring binder. Because it allows you to physically pick it up and carry it with you anywhere, I actually prefer the three-ring binder method, so that is what I will describe in this article. But if you prefer one of the other methods, just adapt these suggestions accordingly. Before you go any further, I suggest going out and buying a large three-ring binder right now. A large-capacity one like a 4 or 5 inch will be easiest. You will also need some tab sheets to label the sections. Some hole-punched pocket sheets that allow you to store loose sheets of paper and computer disks would also be really helpful. Now you will want to use the tabs to create 9 categories:

1) Career Vision & Job Target

Begin your filing system by including a very clear written statement of your current job target in a divided section named “Career Vision & Job Target.” You should also include a written copy of your Personal Branding Statement. In this same binder, you can keep copies of any assessments you may have completed recently or in the past, to help you in setting your career goals. This is also the place where you will want to keep references, printouts, or copies of any industry or profession-related articles or research related to your job target.

2) Career Marketing Documents

In this section, store clean master copies of your resume, biography, all job search letters and correspondence, a list of references, a salary history, and any other documents that you might use in your search. This is also a good place to keep letters of reference written for you by others, copies of awards, educational transcripts, training certificates, and any other documents supporting and proving your qualifications.

3) Company & Industry Research

This section is a great place keep printouts or copies of any articles or other research that you have collected on companies that interest you and that you have targeted or plan to target during your search. This is also a good place to store research on industry trends and competitive data of relevance to these companies.

4) Job Advertisements

While you should keep more detailed activity logs elsewhere, in the Job Advertisements section of your filing binder, you should keep a copy of every ad you have answered along with some basic notes about the date you responded and the documents that you sent.

5) Internet Job Searching

The Internet Job Searching section is a perfect place to keep records of the websites you are using in your job search, places where you have posted your resume, and any passwords and user names associated with the sites.

6) Networking & Referrals

Again, you should keep more thorough records and logs elsewhere, but the Networking and Referrals section is a good place to keep a hard-copy printout of your networking address book along with any notes of information you want to remember in relation to particular individuals.

7) Recruiters & Agencies

In the recruiters and agencies section, you should keep detailed notes about every headhunter firm or job search agency you have worked with or contacted.

Interview Preparation

The interview preparation section can be used to keep all of the notes you will accumulate as you prepare for interviews. This is also a good place to keep notes on questions you want to ask during interviews and notes about interviews you have been on.

9) Salary Research

In the Salary Research section, you can keep data and research you have collected to help you define your own market value and to prepare for salary negotiations once you have been offered a job.

In short, this binder gives you the ability to store all of the documentation related to your job search in one central place. Keeping accurate, up-to-date records of your job search activities, logs of contacts you have made, and step-by-step, calendared plans of the activities you must complete in order to reach your job search goals will pay you back for your effort multiple times over through a faster and more successful job search. By creating a plan and system for your job search, you will always know where to focus your attention and what you should be doing next.

But remember, while this step of getting organized and creating your job search system is a critically important one, you must remember to NOT get bogged down. It is important to be organized but it is also critical that you get started on your search. Don’t let not having a perfect system prevent you from moving forward. At the most, spend just a couple of days establishing your organizational system.

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Job Search Tips: How To Become A Job Offer Magnet

Administrator — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 08:46:57 +0000

As a professional you have particular skills and abilities in the ways you can help companies grow or operate more smoothly or achieve their goals. Spending some quality time looking inward and identifying what you love to do (and what happens when you do it) is an important part of your jobsearch success.

But what if you are one of those people that cringe when it comes time to communicate those strengths and “sell” yourself in a job interview?

I would like to offer you another perspective or belief system about what selling is – different from the one you might have now.

It’s so important you know how to sell yourself because when you are able to communicate your strengths in a way that compels others, you are doing yourself and them a great favor. After all, you can’t help a company that doesn’t hire you.

To boost your know-like-and-trust factor in your job interviews, it’s vital you know how to encourage potential employers to hire you in a way that’s ethical, full of integrity and authentically you.

What this means for you, is that you will attract the interest of more employers, receive bigger and better job offers, and feel confident in the way you’re communicating the ways that you can help potential employers get the results they want…and that only you can deliver. So everyone gets what they want and desire.

So, here are three tips to help get you started:

Tip #1: Steer the interview by frequently mentioning your value

So, if you’re offering turnaround expertise, you will frequently refer to your turnaround projects.

If you are a marketing expert, you will frequently share the results of your marketing efforts throughout the interview.

By focusing on the results you get, you will quickly and easily build the value of who you can be to your potential employers.

Tip #2: Create before and after stories

Everybody loves to hear before and after stories, even in an interview setting. And the best ones clearly paint a before and after picture (and the worse the better – so don’t hold back!).

Think of all the problems, challenges and dire situations with your past company (or companies) and how great things are now that you have helped them.

Tip #3: Make THEM an offer they can’t resist

The point is to create an “offer” that’s so irresistible, your interviewers think, “We have to hire this person!”

To do this, you need to offer something they believe they can’t get anywhere else. Be creative!

Here are a couple examples:

One of my clients quickly received a robust offer because HE offered to produce at least two potential solutions to a challenge the company was facing and he said he would do it in 60 days.

Another client of mine set up as part of her interview process a 1/2 day on-site observation of the potential employer’s media company. She then presented an outline of 10 ideas to improve their work environment and boost their ratings. They offered her a whopping 100k over what she had been making previously. All this even after she was let go from that previous position. I love it.

When you learn how to communicate to your interviewers that you are willing to invest getting the right information into their hands that is going to help them, you are removing all the obstacles (including money, time and your competition) that might otherwise stand between you and the job offer(s) you want.

Would you like to learn how to quickly and easily get more interviews, shorten your job search and increase your salary? Check out my website: http://www.maryelizabethbradford.com , for free articles, free resources and to sign up for my free audio mini-seminar “5 Simple Steps To Find, Focus On and WIN Your Dream Job – Starting Today!” Nationally Certified Advanced Resume Writer Mary Elizabeth Bradford is “The Career Artisan.”

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Job Search Tips: How To Land More Interviews In A Bad Economy

Administrator — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 09:53:09 +0000

Mary Elizabeth Bradford asked:

Know that you can increase your job interviews in a bad economy? Does that sound crazy to you? Truly it is not.

Most people will fall into the temptation of holding on to the job they have (even if they are not really happy with it) rather than venture out into a poor economy…thinking it will garner them little result or create unnecessary risk.

You and I both know it’s easy to let fear paralyze our actions…sacrificing what we really want when we don’t think we can achieve our aim. However, let me share with you five tips to help you understand how you CAN start moving forward and achieving your goals now instead of later (and land more interviews in the process):

Tip number one: Start your search when your competition is at a minimum Quite simply, this includes committing to your job search during a “bad” economy. It can also include months like December which is actually (statistically) a good time to begin a job search – another time when your competition is often absent.

Tip number two: Go for the growing markets. To explore growing markets online, visit business sites, trade journals and associations related to your interest. When you target a growing market, you automatically increase you odds of landing more interviews.

Tip number three: Make sure your resume is written for your target market Nothing tanks a good job search like a poorly focused and poorly crafted resume. Make certain your resume is written well.

If you are not sure how your resume stacks up, there are plenty of articles you can read on good resumes, samples you can look at online or in resume books (make sure to view the latest editions) and you can even get a resume critique.

One extra tip: it’s a great idea to have your resume professionally written. If you decide to go this route, make sure the writer is certified and has ample experience. You can find a whole list of certified resume writers at Careerdirectors.com.

Tip number four: Tap into the unadvertised job market. Major Job boards boast a measly 1 to 4% average response rate. That’s a lot of resumes to send out just to hear nothing back!

Make sure you have an adequate mix of associations, niche sites and direct company contacts in your job search strategy.

Depending on your particular goals, you might also benefit from working with recruiters, learning how to network properly (without asking for a job) and learning techniques for following up with companies that are experiencing some form of growth.

Tip number five: Understand the playing field. No matter how good you are, how exceptional your qualifications or how brilliant your references, it’s impossible for each and every connection you make to end up with a job offer.

Your positive responses are going to be smaller than the amount of inquiries you make, period. Such is the world of marketing. So make sure your expectations are congruent with the market so you don’t end up feeling discouraged over numbers which may actually be good!

Want to improve your odds? Techniques to tap into jobs that are not advertised can yield you from 20% to 60% favorable responses. If you are achieving those odds, then congratulations, you are doing a remarkable job!

Successful people generally have lots of good habits including taking challenges head on, investing in themselves and taking action. By integrating these five simple tips into your job search now, you too can achieve amazing results and reach your job search goals.

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