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5 Steps To A Powerful Personal Brand On Your Executive Resume

You've certainly heard that using a powerful personal brand message will make your executive resume a compelling read—and help you gain traction in your job search. But how do you go about defining and capturing your brand?

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7 Ways To Improve Your Failing LinkedIn Strategy

Struggling to get serious job search mileage out of LinkedIn? If employers surf your Profile and then leave (or ignore your response to job postings), you might be missing simple strategies for presenting your brand on the site. Related: 10 Tips For Finding Your Perfect Job Fast With LinkedIn Consider these straightforward, corrective actions in your LinkedIn strategy, methods, and perspective – which can make the difference between landing a great job and spinning your wheels:

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What Does Your LinkedIn Headline Say About You?

Did you realize LinkedIn has a built-in marketing and search engine-friendly capability that is easy to use - and often overlooked? Well, neither do most job hunters. RELATED: 6 Things Recruiters Want To See On Your LinkedIn Profile The best 120 characters of keyword optimization you can find for a job search, your LinkedIn Headline (or title) is a major piece of the puzzle that can help recruiters locate your skills. If you're one of the many that loaded up this field with your current job title (such as "Vice President of Operations" or "Sales Executive"), or worse yet, used it to declare your unemployed status, you're missing out on a great opportunity to market yourself! Instead, I recommend presenting your brand and goal in your LinkedIn Headline, using some self-promotion plus a label that gives you a fighting chance of being located by a keyword search. (What's that? You didn't realize that recruiters will look for you by keyword? That's a subject for another post.) Here are some LinkedIn Headline comparisons for your perusal, taken from actual profiles.

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Does Your Cover Letter Make These 5 Critical Mistakes?

You’ve polished your resume to no end, especially after finding a job posting that precisely fits your skills. But did your cover letter merit the same attention? Related: 5 Parts Of A Cover Letter (A.K.A. How To Write A Good One!) Many hiring managers use your cover letter to gauge your interest in the company, as well as your aptitude for the job. Therefore, when you resort to “Dear Sir, I’m interested in your open job, here’s my resume,” you’re missing out on a critical chance to persuade employers to take you seriously. Here are five of the most crucial mistakes made in cover letters—those that can quickly knock you out of the running for a leadership job:

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5 Reasons You Should Continue Your Job Search During The Holidays

Planning to hold off on your job search during the holiday season, believing that no one hires at this time of year? You could be missing lucrative opportunities to snag a great new role. Related: 5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Freeze Your Job Search During The Holidays Most professionals assume that the holidays are a time of parties, year-end vacations, and relaxation – and they’re right. The holiday season, however, is also a time in which candidates can easily locate new contacts and even find themselves approached by employers for a prime position.

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3 Executive Resume Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make

Struggling to convey your distinguished career in a compelling executive resume? If you believe your resume is disjointed and fails to tell employers who you really are, you’re probably right. Related: 7 Must-Haves Of An Executive Resume In 2014 Here’s why: we’re taught to be good at what we do, but not to articulate our value proposition. You may spend many waking hours spearheading change, handling corporate strategy, leading large teams, or directing enterprise-scale projects – but not a single minute thinking about how to represent these accomplishments to others. As a result, writing about your executive career can be a difficult task – particularly without a strategic plan for showcasing your personal brand. Read on for solutions to common challenges in developing a strong executive resume, with tips for improving your message – and simplifying your efforts:

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3 Things You Should Know Before Contacting A Recruiter

Considering contacting a recruiter to find out about executive or leadership jobs in your field? Many job hunters assume forging connections with recruiters will put them closer to lucrative, high-level positions that aren’t otherwise advertised. Watch: 3 Tips For Making Your Resume Stand Out To Recruiters However, a successful recruiter-job seeker relationship doesn’t just happen. It’s important to understand the relationship among all involved parties (the recruiter, company, and you), get your resume in top shape, and to be ready to deal with potential objections.

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10 Little Things That Make A Big Difference To Hiring Managers

As a former hiring manager in several consulting firms, I often wondered if candidates were cognizant of the impression they made on employers. Related: How Hiring Managers Make Decisions Even small things, such as the frown displayed by an applicant upon arriving at an interview, or the worn-out jeans on an applicant in a roomful of suits, gave me pause as I worked to screen candidates. Ironically, many of the issues I spotted were easily fixed by taking care of seemingly minor issues. In some cases, these corrections would have made the difference in making the hire vs. taking a pass on the applicant! Here are 10 “little” things that make a big difference to hiring managers in your job search:

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