Long gone are the days of sending out resumes cut and pasted from Internet resume templates. For executives going through the career transition process this manner of applying for positions will simply not cut it. While boilerplate cover letters and generic resumes littered with a few keywords here and there may work for entry level jobs, it simply will not help you land a rewarding executive position. To attract the top decision makers, you need to develop a branded self-marketing portfolio that sets you apart from your competition.
Putting together a portfolio of self-marketing materials is vital to securing an interview or meeting with the key players in the company. The following are the types of documents that should be part of your executive marketing campaign:
- Résumé & Cover Letter
- Focused One-Sheet
- Career Biography
- Leadership Brief
- Achievement Summary
- Positioning Statement
- Executive Style Reference Dossier
- Networking Résumé & Introduction
- Thank You Letters
These documents should amplify the information in your executive résumé, which is the core document from which all other marketing materials flow. Your resume must contain essential information to attract the eyes of decision makers, human resources managers, recruiters, and executive search consultants.
In today’s tough job market, focus is paramount! Corporations are looking for a perfect fit. Be sure to optimize your résumé with key words and phrases relevant to the type of position you are pursuing. Once your résumé is entered in a recruiter’s database or applicant tracking system (ATS), these keywords are critical for ranking your résumé in the top search results. While this might not seem critical to the executive-level candidate, it’s important to consider that the big five search firms (Korn Ferry, Spencer Stuart, Russell Reynolds, Heidrick & Struggles, and Egon Zehnder) use applicant tracking systems based on keywords.
All of the marketing materials you provide a hiring manager or other key decision maker, should adequately demonstrate your qualifications and position you as the ideal candidate for the job.
This brief article is an excerpt from, Landing An Executive Position.
*This article may be republished with written permission. If you are interested in posting this article on your blog, please email me at Beverly@HarveyCareers.com. I will respond within 2 business days with my required signature and credits.