Here’s a pill that may be tough to swallow: most people have lackluster resumes. They tend to write extremely generic resumes that only showcase basic job duties. As a result, recruiters think they are dealing with someone who can only do the basics.Achievement based resumes, on the other hand, help you stand out from the crowd because they give concrete examples of what you can do on the job.Achievements are those things t...

Up until relatively recently companies thought that hard skills are what would get them their bottom line.Now we’ve come to realize that soft skills are just as important when it comes to growing a company. Soft skills are considered to be behaviors and traits such as adaptability, critical thinking, people skills, likeability, time management and so forth.Essentially soft skills are those that aren’t as hard driving or as...

Twitter seems to be a “love it” or “hate it” kind of platform. Regardless of what side of the fence you are on one thing remains certain: Twitter is a powerful tool that can help you build your own personal brand and expertise. It’s also a gold mine of job opportunities.Using Twitter effectively involves a lot more than just sharing random status updates. Use these tips on how savvy executives use Twitter to land jobs faste...

If you’re a very experienced professional it may have been a while since the last time you looked for a job.If you were lucky you got swooped up out of college and have been with the same company ever since. Now you’re starting to notice that being employed by the same company for life is a thing of the past. You may have noticed that even executives are changing jobs.You’ve realized that it’s time to move on to bigger and...

When dealing with high level positions the barrier of entry for reaching the appropriate contacts is practically iron-clad thanks to gatekeepers. You may also notice that the HR department is of little help in these cases.Use these tips to help work around HR gatekeepers and get in front of important contacts. Leveraging Relationships with RecruitersRecruiters are always on the lookout for the best talent for their clients....

It’s no secret that executive level positions are often times given to internal employees. They’ve been with the company a while, they know how it works and the company already feels comfortable with them. This can present some unique obstacles to an outsider trying to get in. However, it’s not impossible to make a move to an executive level position in another company. All it requires is learning how to leverage the obstac...

If you want to get found by recruiters on LinkedIn you have to know a thing or two about using keywords. Keywords are relevant terms found within your profile that will make it easy for recruiters to find you when they are searching for certain words or phrases. Think of it is SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for LinkedIn. Some really effective places for LinkedIn keywords are within the headline, in job descriptions and un...

The reality is most managers and employees are not subject matter experts, leaders in their field, self-appointed visionaries, innovators or game changers. Not everyone can be or even wants to be. We need all kinds of people in the work force, including the fabulously average. These hard-working people go to work reliably, fix problems, anticipate needs to their clients and fellow co-workers, and receive positive performanc...

You got your foot in the door of that executive level position you were eyeing, you nailed the interview, and you’ve been told that you’re at the top of the list of qualifying candidates. Congrats! Then, the interviewer asks that dreaded question, “What kind of compensation are you looking for?” Most job hunters tend to freeze up here, but for execs it can be particularly frightening. Big positions tend to equal big money –...

How often do you find yourself eating lunch at your desk? If you decide to work through lunch you could be hurting your chances for growth opportunity. Not just because companies are now looking for balanced employees, but perhaps because you may be missing out on opportunities to network with other people. Oftentimes people assume that networking has to involve big formal (and let’s face it, sometimes stuffy) events. For s...