In my last post, I covered expectations of the executive candidate. Before you can be chosen as Candidate #1 for an executive position, you must first get the interview. These four strategies will help you do that!
1. Shape your personal brand.
- Begin by being able to show your value proposition and why you’re the best candidate. Your brand should encompass your reputation and describe your contributions.
- Your brand should convey your uniqueness, enthusiasm, and distinctive understanding of the business. It must answer the employer’s questions: Why should we hire you (over your competition)?
- Saturate all your career marketing communications with your brand. Your resume, cover letter, business cards, thank-you notes – whatever documents go into your portfolio, should package you with a consistent brand. The goal is for an employer to associate your brand with you.
- Your brand should include your online identity. Google yourself with the employer’s perspective (because they will Google you). Create a compelling profile on LinkedIn. Consider having your own website with your name as its domain name (such as barbpoolecareerexpert.com). You can include a blog focused on your expertise, samples of your best work – or both. Writing for other sites about what you know best can also be powerful branding.
- It goes without saying that you should eliminate any negative information online that hurts your brand. Remove controversial material. Politely ask site owners to move negative material on sites you can’t control. Keep the positive flowing to deemphasize any negative information from the past.
2. Conduct due diligence on employers.
- Target specific employers you wish to work for. This is outside the realm of those who have advertised openings. Avoid sending out blanket resumes to mass employers or posting on numerous job boards. Statistics support that only about 1 percent of executives surveyed found career opportunities by widely broadcasting their resumes. The truth is that the vast amount of executive positions with an annual salary of $150K+ are not posted on the open web. Concentrate on employers that you feel are a fit for your talents; and with whom you would enjoy working.
- List about 20-25 employers to target, and do your due diligence with extensive research. Find out about their culture, their successes, their products and services. Knowing as much as possible will help you know the best way to reach these organizations. Include in your research, identification of hiring managers for the types of roles that interest you. Use both online and traditional resources: social media, business sites, and the old-fashioned method of talking to people in person and on the phone.
- Tap into your research and your network to identify company insiders who can share information and refer you to hiring authorities.
- Conduct informational interviews or meetings with insiders to learn information you can’t find in your other research – problems, issues, needs, successes, or initiatives. This is very powerful, because it puts you in a position to introduce yourself as a solution to the employer’s challenges; and a leader in forwarding its mission and goals.
- Integrate all you learn on targeted employers into a multifaceted job search campaign that includes networking and responding to advertised openings (remember that there are fewer at the executive level posted).
3. Network with those who can help you.
- Particularly at the executive level – approximately 70 percent or more – positions are obtained from networking over any other way. Networking should be a top priority in your job search.
- Professional associations and organizations are one of your best networking venues. Make a point to join organizations in your field or industry. Do more than join in name. Attend meetings and event; network with members.
- Connect with your network BEFORE you need a job. Contact those people in your network regularly. Offer to help those who have their own career concerns or needs; mentor those who could benefit from your knowledge.
- Tap into your research and your network to identify company insiders who can share information and refer you to hiring authorities. Online networking is considered essential today. 96 percent of hiring authorities – HR, recruiters and hiring managers, go there to look for executive talent. LinkedIn is a must. Facebook and Twitter are increasingly used for professional networking. Of course, there are many sites. Make it part of your plan to have at least two online networking sites.
- It goes without saying that you should eliminate any negative information online that hurts your brand. Remove controversial material. Politely ask site owners to move negative material on sites you can’t control. Keep the positive flowing to deemphasize any negative information from the past.
4. Work with recruiters.
- At the executive level, executive-search firms and recruiters are more important than they are to job seekers at lower levels. Many executives are sought out or “headhunted.” Though perhaps unfair, one reality is that recruiters are more interested in those executive candidates who are currently employed. Of course, unemployed executives are hired, but those who can be “wooed” are the most desirable.
- Another reality is that recruiters work for the client employer, not the candidate. This means it is not the recruiter’s job to find the executive candidate a position. That said, recruiters want to keep their pipelines full. They typically have a database to draw from when matching candidates to employer needs. Some recruiters will be open to contact with you only when you are a match with a search in their pipeline. Others may be more receptive to contact more frequently. It’s a good idea to learn the standard operating method and comfort level for each recruiter you work with.
- Identify the recruiters that area fit for you, such as job function, targeted industries or employers, geographic areas, etc. Keep in mind that it’s hard to spot which client employers recruiters work with, as this is typically confidential.
- Send your resume and cover letter to a few recruiters you’ve identified and ask them to consider you for search assignments they feel to be a match. Follow any instructions on resume submission. Follow up with a phone call and email asking for a meeting with the recruiter. But don’t bug him or her. The recruiter may or may not meet with you. When you do work with a recruiter, explore assistance in preparing for the interview process with the client employer, post-interview debriefing, and help in negotiating your compensation package.
- If a recruiter does not have a current search assignment for you, think about referring a matching candidate. This can do wonders for your recruiter relationships. They are always grateful for referrals to great candidates.
Do you have additional ideas around these four strategies, or other ways to help land the executive interview? I’d love to hear from you!
