Commonsense Executive Job Search: What You DON’T Do Can Hurt You

You’re planning a career move in the near future . . . or you’re suddenly out of a job. Whatever the reason, the best way to land a job is with a commonsense job search approach.

But instead, most job seekers do this:

• Scramble to update their old fashioned resume that they used years ago to land their most recent job.
• Apply to every job they see posted online that even remotely fits their needs . . . no matter whether they want the job or they’re qualified.
• Post their unfocused, generic resume to every possible job board.
• Sit back and wait for something to happen.

Overall, they ignore (or don’t take the time to learn about) best practices for today’s executive job search.

Things have definitely changed and methods evolve to meet the needs of everyone and everything involved in job search.

But commonsense job search will always be the best method.

What Is Commonsense Job Search?

The guiding principle to landing a good fit job:

Be empathetic. Put yourself in the shoes of the people who will be assessing you for the jobs you want – employers, recruiters and other hiring professionals.

✔️ Make it easy for them to find the information about you that tells them you’re a good fit for them.

✔️ Make it clear to them in your resume, LinkedIn profile and other personal marketing materials that you have what they need, so you’re a good hiring choice.

These things will drive the way you promote yourself in your resume and other marketing materials, and how you navigate your job search.

But how do you go about doing that?

7 Aspects of Commonsense Job Search

Keeping in mind the guiding principle noted above, incorporate these strategies into your job search.

Targeting

Start your job search with targeting. Determine what kind of job you want and which companies or organizations will provide the kind of work you want to do.

Research

Next, research your target companies and industry to uncover the information you’ll need to create your marketing communications (resume, LinkedIn profile, etc.).

What things (skills, areas of expertise, personal qualities) are they looking for in candidates?

Draw a straight line from you to the qualifications and qualities they need.

Personal Branding

Define and differentiate your personal brand around what showcases your unique value to your target employers.

Don’t be afraid to give people assessing you for jobs a sense of your personality. Employers want to know what kind of person you are and how you operate on the job.

Resume, LinkedIn Profile and Other Personal Marketing Communications

Write content about yourself and the value you offer in a way that will resonate with your target employers and their hiring managers.

Make sure you bring forth information that positions you as someone who will fix specific problems for them.

Overall, make it super easy for them to quickly get to the critical information about you in your resume and other materials. Make it easy for them to see they need you.

Send cover letters (or covering emails) every time you send out your resume. If nothing else, it’s a courtesy. But more than that, it’s an opportunity to zero in more on that particular employer in a way that you can’t do in your resume.

Make sure you do what so many job seekers DON’T do – Make the content interesting and compelling.

Online Presence

Be visible. Make it easy for hiring professionals to find you, and what you need them to know about you, in the places they go to source candidates like you.

Find out where the hiring professionals you want to be seen by are hanging out – online and in-person – and position yourself in front of them there.

Use personal branding video to more vividly showcase the attributes and qualities you possess that your target employers need.

Be sure what they find about you online is “clean” and accurate. Self-Google regularly to make sure things stay that way.

Networking

Practice “give to get” networking. Don’t expect favors without giving something in return. Do something nice for them first. Networking that works for everyone is all about helping, sharing, finding common ground, and being a good listener.

One suggestion when reconnecting is to send them a link to an article or blog post that is relevant to them.

For recruiters, pass along other candidates to them. They’ll be very grateful and more likely to do you a kindness.

Job Interviews

Interviews are not really about you. They are all about whatever pressing needs the employer has right now and how you will help them fill those needs.

And be a good listener in your interviews. Everyone loves to be heard.

Emotional Intelligence

Forbes senior contributor Jack Kelly said:

“Emotional intelligence or emotional quotient (EI/EQ) is generally viewed as the ability to be aware, manage and express your emotions. You approach relationships and work-related interactions in an empathetic manner. People who have EQ tend to be emotionally aware and sensitive to the feelings of others. This quality helps effectively solve problems in a compassionate manner. Possessing an emotional intelligence trait equips a person to treat others with compassion, understanding, respect and kindness.”

Hard skills will always be an important consideration in hiring. But people with superior social skills or emotional intelligence are becoming more sought after.

EI/EQ is directly related to personal branding. Job seekers have always been wise to highlight the personal traits that indicate how they work with people and how they operate. Personality is important to employers. Branding is all about personality.

In Summary

To wrap it up, job search social media expert and a co-creator with me of CareerBrandVideos™, Hannah Morgan, said:

“Job search isn’t about you. It’s about the company finding the right person for the job at the right price.

• Present and position yourself as a solution, not as an applicant.
• Communicate the problems you solve (not the work you have done)
• Write and speak so that everyone will understand what you’re talking about.”