JOB SEARCH AUSTRALIA JOBS

Many companies have turned to the Internet to find their new job applicants and executives, so keeping your online presence strong has become more important in recent years. At the higher levels of the corporate ladder, a strong, professional presence online is absolutely critical, and this is especially true for executives. Writing your own blog can certainly accomplish this, and can get some great results for your job search.

You’ve probably read numerous blogs in your time, but haven’t written your own. Some people use them for personal venting sessions while others showcase their professional expertise. If you’re trying to build your brand and enhance your executive job search, creating a blog is a good idea. However, if you’re unsure that it will work for you, here are four reasons to consider it as an option.

You Get to Share (and Grow) Your Expertise

One great aspect of writing blogs for your field is that you have the opportunity to share your wealth of expertise. Having been in your field for many years, you’ve seen it grow and can share your own comparative analysis, as well as offer insight into where you see your field heading.

Additionally, you get to conduct research for your blog that can help grow your knowledge. When you’re spending all your time working with a single company, a big part of your job might be to know the intricate details of that specific organization, including goals, missinons, etc. When blogging, though, it’s better to take a broader approach to make sure that you’re creating blogs that will appeal to a wider audience of professionals.

You Can Increase Networking Opportunities

By writing a reputable blog for your field, you could eventually draw in members of your field who would like to comment on your writings and maybe even contact you directly. It helps if you have already set up a LinkedIn profile that you can link to from your blog. This way, interested parties who have already gotten a taste of your level of knowledge can look at additional accomplishments and know how to contact you if they’re looking to recruit.

It’s a Great Resume Builder

Another great reason to blog is that you can build on the accomplishments already on your resume. Since most resumes are shipped off in electronic formats, you can post a link to your blog when you apply for jobs. This becomes very helpful when employers are narrowing down their choices for an executive position, as they can decide from your blog that your experience and knowledge outweight that of the other applicants.

You Might Eventually Guest Blog

There’s something very special about having someone ask you to guest blog for their site. This is a major honor because it represents the idea that your wealth of knowledge is so well respected that others would like to have you come in to write from an expert’s standpoint. As you develop your own footprint in the blogging world and expand your professional brand, you might find that some will come to you for your expert opinion. Put a lot of effort into guest blogging spots, as they’ll often open up job and networking opportunities that can be invaluable down the road.

Some say that the idea of blogging being a benefit to a job search is a moot concept because so many people can do it without a professional background. However, many of the major blogs are written by well-respected, well branded professionals. There’s no such thing as a waste of time in an executive job search when you’re clearly working towards your goal–isn’t it worth your time to give it a try?

Technorati Tags: blog, career, employment, executive job search, executive resumes, job search

If you’re an executive and you’re job searching, the last thing you want to do is completely sabotage your chances of getting a new position. It’s easy to accidentally misstep, though, and end up ruining your chances of getting a certain position.

Of course, if you’re not having much luck finding an executive level job, it could be because of the faltering economy, the area you’re working in, or a number of other factors. Looking at your job search, though, can help you determine whether you’ve got outside factors to blame or if there’s a problem in your approach. Here are a few ways to help avoid this from happening …

Create a Quality Resume

At the executive level, creating a quality resume requires more than just writing one that is action-driven, you need to prove that you’ve made a true impact on your previous employers. By showing in numbers what types of profits you’ve helped the company make, as well as any types of initiatives you’ve started and followed through on, it’s important for companies to see through your resume that you would be a great return on their investment.

Spend Time with Forward-Thinking People

When you want to make big moves in life, you have to think big. Try to find and stay and contact with anyone who has the same big goals that you have. It’s important to be able to share ideas and information that can benefit everyone as you all progress through your careers. But it’s even more important that you keep company with people who feel confident and positive about their futures, not those who feel “stuck” and believe there’s nothing good to look forward to.

Don’t Worry about Being Perfect

You may feel that you simply can’t send out a resume or contact a lead because you haven’t come up with the “right” things to write are say. While it’s not a bad idea to be concise and clear in your communication, perfection is something you can never achieve. Look at what you’ve written from an employer’s perspective, and remember that it can’t do you any good if you don’t get it out there.

Get Organized

When you’re in the midst of a job search, it’s critical that you successfully follow up on your leads, interviews, etc. You need to keep track of everything when job searching, such as who you’ve talked to, when your next interview is, and more. Make a spreadsheet to keep track of these kinds of data.

Step Away from the Computer

With blogging, networking and researching capabilities right at your fingertips, it’s not uncommon to want to spend the majority of your job search behind the computer. But in the executive realm, getting out to networking functions is just as important as online searching. Talking face to face and keeping good contacts with people in your industry is going to be better for your career than even the best tactics you could use on a computer.

If you can keep these ideas in mind when conducting your executive job search, you may find that the process will move a lot smoother than expected. What’s the worst that could happen if you change your approach to incorporate a bit of common sense?

Technorati Tags: career, employment, executive job search, executive resumes, job search

When preparing a resume, you’re probably used to listing accomplishment after accomplishment. This is good, because employers look to accomplishments to gauge most employees.

However, at the executive level, there is more to consider than your accomplishments. Companies will want to see integrity, a vision for the future and good self control on your executive resume. There are ways to add these elements to your resume effectively. Here are some ideas you might consider.

Sell the Idea that You’re a Visionary

When writing your executive-level resume, you want to make sure to show employers that you’re able to create and follow through on a vision that matches the goals of the company. You want to show that you’re an “idea person” that challenges ways of conducting business.

Companies love the thought of shifting their business in new and innovative directions. You’ll have a big leg up on the competition by focusing your resume around ways that you’ve adapted your previous companies and changed them in ways that made them more innovative and current, especially if you can emphasize how you were able to motivate employees and adress challenges in unique ways.

Let Employers Know You Trust Yourself and Have Self Control

At the executive level, you are relied upon to make some pretty heavy decisions, many of which offer no blueprint for guidance. You’ve had to make gut-level decisions, likely on many occasions. Be sure to show that you’ve got superior instincts in your executive resume, and focus on how you’ve got sufficient self control to keep everything together in tough situations.

One way to get this done is by listing one or more instances where you were faced with a major challenge and overcame it. Whether you had to locate additional resources (money, workers) where there seemed to be none, or had to corral other execs to sit down and do some grunt work to accomplish a goal, if you succeeded in the end, you should definitely make mention of it in your resume. It’s still considered an accomplishment, you’re just explaining what you had to go through for that accomplishment.

Showcase Personal Integrity

When employers are looking for new prospects at the executive level, they want to make sure that the choice candidate is a person of personal integrity. You need to show that you’re accountable for mistakes, and that you’re honest and trustable in order to take on positions of high responsibility. Hiring committees do not want to have to worry about side actions and unethical activities from their executives. Often times, personal integrity can be showcased in a resume by the number of awards you’ve one or the quality of recommendations you’ve garnered from high-level execs who can attest to who you are as a person.

Executive resumes can be a bit tricky to write at times because you have to showcase so much more than with a standard entry-level or mid-career resume. The good news is that you undoubtedly have plenty of stories to tell, so as long as you focus on more than your accomplishments, you’ll be able to create a great executive resume.

Technorati Tags: career, employment, executive job search, executive resumes, job search

As an executive, you’re often required to think of unique and unusual ways to get noticed and hired. You have to venture out to functions when others don’t have to. It’s recommended that you not only create your own professional blog, but also get on board with other blogs and write for them. Well, there’s one more thing to add to the list: making speeches.

Making a few public speeches can be a great way to develop your brand and get yourself noticed, and building name recognition is incredibly important for executives. If you’re not used to making professional presentations (which you should be at this point) then it’s time to learn how. Here are some tips to help you make speeches that could bulk up your resume.

Find Your Topic

Your first job when come up with a speech to give is to come up with your topic. Everybody’s an expert about something. You may be an expert at something related to your field or something that you simply know related to a personal hobby or skill.

Many organizations are looking for people to give insight on a number of topics, including how to invest in the stock market, how to teach yourself to use the computer and even how to save money. However, as an executive your best bet is to speak on topics that could help push your career, such as leadership, organization, and the like.

Get Your Audience

Your next step is to find the right audience for your topic. As mentioned previously, there are tons of organizations that are looking for leaders in the community to offer insight, advice and expertise on a wide variety of topics, so it’s great to start there.

However, you could also give speeches at your local library, many of which have events within in their walls on a regular basis. Also, you could be a very effective speaker for different companies. Some even find that their talent at motivational speeches can turn into a full time occupation.

Make Your Speech

Of course, once you’ve created your topic and found your audience, it’s time to actually make the speech. Again, you’re probably well aware of the basics of speech-making, so we don’t have to go over much. It helps to keep the basics in mind: a strong introduction, memorable material, and attention-getting tactics (such as eye contact and direct interaction with your audience) are all important–and most of all, have fun.

Add It to Your Resume

After you’ve completed all of your hard work to give your speech, it’s time to add it to your resume. Don’t list your speeches in the job listings part of your resume; create a new section if you’ve given several speeches, or simply add the experiences to one of the existing sections of the document. Consider a title such as “Speaking Engagements.” And if you’ve only given one and want to add to with other items, your title could be “Presentations, Guest Blogs, Special Events” – or whatever you would like to group together.

Executives undoubtedly benefit by getting out in front of people and making connections. Ask yourself: is there any real reason why you shouldn’t be out there giving speeches to develop your name?

Technorati Tags: career, employment, executive job search, executive resumes, job search, social networking, speech