I enjoy receiving LinkedIn’s #DailyRunDown as there are a variety of topics mentioned and there are always one or two that catch my eye. Just the other day on August 5th, the subjects covered everything from, Why Aren’t Americans Moving? To Why Being Nice at Work Pays Off.

The reference to being, “Nice at Work” struck a chord with me since I have heard many stories, pro and con, about how people feel they are treated at work sometimes. I’m sure we also all have our own personal stories from the companies where we have worked and colleagues who we have interacted with.

I think being nice to people at work also ties in with corporate culture, the skills with or lack thereof for emotional intelligence, and the basic ability for having empathy for others when they need our support.

The act of caring and supporting others we work with is one the five key practices in James Kouzes and Barry Posner’s bestselling book, The Leadership Challenge. They call it, “Encouraging the Heart”, and they show how powerful it can be when you are rewarding, recognizing, and encouraging others around you.

There’s another excellent book on the subject that I recommend by Mark Crowley called Lead from the Heart. Mark writes about this often in his posts on LinkedIn.

Being nice at work and its impact on corporate culture is something I believe in so much. I have been fortunate to have worked with some terrific companies in my career. I have seen how a positive and supportive culture can drive teamwork and outstanding results.

More often than not the most successful companies are the ones where culture is highly valued and recognized by colleagues at all levels of the organization.

So does that mean we need to be always cheering people, never criticizing, and always having a happy face on? Of course not, in fact, honesty, directness, and even a dose of conflict is needed for companies to succeed. It is a key ingredient in Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. He shows the value and need for some conflict to have a healthy organization.

I have a number courses on LinkedIn Learning/Lynda.com. In one of the videos, I address the very issue of, “Being Good to People”. It is just a few minutes long so as you watch it, when I say the word “sales,” just plug in your own profession, whether it be IT specialist, copywriter, marketer, accountant, or whatever, as the lessons apply to any job function.

Some people just “get it”, and know the value of being supportive to others and being a trusted, valued and “good” coworker.

Those are the people that I want align myself with. So, give it a try, focus more on being nicer to people at work. It will make you and your coworkers feel better and I am quite sure it will pay you back in so many positive ways!

The post Be Good to People at Work: It’s Not that Hard to Do. appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

Over the course of my career, I’ve seen a broad spectrum of career successes. (And, well, failures.) And I’ve thought a lot about the causes of those outcomes. Why do some succeed faster than others? Why do some get opportunities and others don’t? Why do some get stuck in their careers?

The answer, I’ve found, to all of these questions is making a lasting impression. If you consistently make a positive, memorable impact on your boss, your co-workers and even your employees, you’ll increase your chances of getting hand-picked for the best opportunities when they come knocking, paving your way to career success.

It may sound simple, but leaving that lasting impression takes a strategic approach. Here are five tips that’ll help you make your mark and be remembered over anyone else in the room.

1. Keep it Real

I like the quote by Oscar Wilde that says, “Be yourself, everyone else is taken.” Sometimes, we get so caught up in trying to impress that we forget to show our true selves — we hold back opinions, squash our creative ideas and downplay our personalities, all for fear of being judged.

Recently, at a leadership program in San Francisco, I witnessed the opposite — and it was so refreshing. Several groups of leaders from across the company were asked to present their recommendations based on a real-life customer problem. Naturally, seven of the eight teams gravitated toward sending the best sales or marketing leader on their teams to deliver their recommendations. But not one team. Instead, they sent the least obvious pick — an engineering leader.

To everyone’s surprise, he took us all on an eye-opening customer journey laced with Star Wars metaphors. Some of his feedback was extremely revealing, but it was accepted very well because it was unfiltered. He came across as a creative problem solver with a sense of humor, and, needless to say, that presentation was the one that everyone remembered because it was authentic and brilliant.

2. Make Deposits, Not Withdrawals

Just like a bank, every exchange or interaction that you have is like a deposit or withdrawal. People either feel energized after working with you — or exhausted.

To make sure you’re in the former camp, examine the factors that contribute toward deposits. Are you easy to work with? Do you give the person with whom you’re speaking undivided attention? Do you support your team during peak periods of stress? Are you leaving conversations making others feel empowered, motivated and energized? These are great leadership qualities that will help you grow your deposits.

As I share this advice, one vice president that I work with comes to mind. He’s known as a technology innovator and leads one of the largest teams at my company. He knows very well that positive emotion accelerates innovation. As such, he makes a concerted effort to leave conversations making people feel inspired. And they usually do.

One easy tip that you can try today is giving the person you are speaking with your full attention. I often find people distracted in their own thoughts. When you’re having a conversation with someone, give your undivided attention and pay a close watch to your non-verbal gestures. Give eye contact, and don’t get distracted by the 10 action items waiting for you (or your phone!). The more focused you are in your conversations, the more you’ll get out of them, and the more deposits you’ll make.

3. Get Comfortable With Pressure

In the business world, people are defined by how they handle stress — it’s called “cope-ability.” Whether you’re presenting in front of a massive audience or dealing with a customer service crisis, nailing the pressure moments will define a lasting impression.

So, pay attention to how you handle stress and pressure, and start getting comfortable with it. In fact, go out of your way to put yourself in uncomfortable situations. When you do this often enough, you’ll be more immune to pressure when you are stress-tested — it just becomes more normal. I think it’s similar to muscle memory, where the act gets so routine, your body just goes into autopilot.

Being in your comfort zone for too long only creates a situation that makes it easier for you to crack under pressure. But if you’re constantly in the “stretch” zone, you’ll create a habit of performing well no matter what the pressure level.

4. Be Bright, Be Brief, Be Gone

This tip is something that’s stuck with me from a coaching session I had a few years ago. It’s all about being an expert in your line of work and presenting your ideas in a succinct and simple way.

First, you need to know what you’re great at, not what you’re good at. And when you know what that is, don’t be afraid to offer solutions and bring value to discussions. Whether you’re presenting at a meeting or having an impromptu chat with your boss, nail your point with simple language and simple solutions. Be bright, be brief, be gone — and you’ll always be remembered.

5. Get Elected

You often hear the advice to “manage up” and to promote yourself, making sure the higher-ups know about your achievements. And many people in the corporate world have climbed the ranks this way.

But this approach is never sustainable because it lacks authenticity. In the long run, a “vote for him or her” approach is much more powerful than “vote for me.” You want to be elected; the person who people throughout the organization want to help, want to work for and want to see succeed. This will happen when you can authentically influence your audience throughout the organization, not just manage up. In fact, some of the best leaders I’ve worked with meet with cross-functional groups, at all levels, all the time. I’m privy to a vice president’s calendar, and I’ve noticed that he works with a wide audience across the whole company, frequently meeting with people at all levels. As it turns out, he’s one of those who gets the most support throughout the company.

Ask yourself this question, “Do I work with a diverse group of people at all levels?” If you do, great. If you don’t, look for ways to extend your network to a broader set of colleagues. It’ll create more inclusion and buy-in, and a more successful career all around.

The post 5 Ways to Make a Lasting Impression appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

You’re a leader, right? Doesn’t that mean you’re fearless?

Maybe on some things but the prospect of changing careers has stopped you cold. You probably don’t admit this to very many people.

Is this you?

It would seem we are more comfortable seeking divorce from our spouse than divorce from our job. The divorce rate is much higher than voluntary turnover (when you leave by your own choice).

If this is the year you are finally going to make this important, life changing decision, here are some reasons for your fear and what to do about it. You don’t have to wait any longer.

#1: Fear of the unknown. At this point, you have no clue what you would go do. As a result, you are left inside your own head conjuring up a thousand possible things that could go wrong.

Fix: You control your thinking. When these thoughts enter your head, simply tell yourself you don’t yet know enough to have anything to fear. Brush off this unknown boogieman.

#2: Fear you won’t like where you’re headed. You might not like where you’ve been and even if you do, we grow very fond of our job situation simply because we, at least, know what we’re dealing with.

Fix: Vow that your new career exploration will include plenty of investigation so you know exactly what to expect. Far too many people don’t do the work they need to in order to fully understand the career they are headed to. This is an easy fix, as long as you do the work.

#3: Fear of lost income. You’d be starting over again, right? You couldn’t possibly take a pay cut, you have too many things dependent on your income. Besides, you’d feel personally deflated by a loss of income.

Fix: Figure out the very least you could live on for a few years and make that your cut off point. Not all career changes imply that you have to take a pay cut. Don’t make assumptions until you’ve done your homework and research.

#4: You’d have to retool yourself. As you are looking out the window, you’re making the assumption that to make a change, you need to go back to school. You might feel like that it’s too late or you don’t want to invest your time at this point.

Fix: When you are on the journey to decide your new career, you can pick and whole list of criteria for what would constitute a good, next step. Just like income, if you know you’re not equipped for school any more, make that part of your criteria for selection. Most jobs don’t require a specific degree. Certification programs exist which are usually short in duration, if that makes sense for the direction you’re taking.

#5: You don’t know what you’d do. You don’t really even know the first step you’d take to figure out what to do next. Do you go apply for jobs that sound good?

Fix: First, step away from the resume. Changing careers by doing a job search usually results in massive disappointment. You might “find” something but usually you don’t find something you love. Deciding on a career is a journey of investigation, research and exploration. You won’t figure out a new career by sitting on the couch our in your office. You also need to possess a good measure of patience as this won’t be an overnight discovery.

Make a career change this year and start the exploration now. You deserve to have a career you love.

The post Introvert Leadership: Five Reasons You Might Fear Career Change and What To Do About It appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

When I openly discuss Introverted Leadership, it gets a lot of reaction. The one that interests me the most is when people don’t know for sure they are an introvert. All they know is that they face daily challenges that come from their own tendencies.

Are you facing challenges due to your own behavior?

My view on this is that it doesn’t really matter if you are an “official” introvert as measured by the Meyers-Briggs assessment. What matters is that if you are faced with some introverted tendencies (which we all have at times) – do they get in your way of achieving your goals?

I’ve highlighted a few of these tendencies below. If they sound familiar, then consider the solutions that follow.

At a loss for what to say. Introverts tend to listen more than they speak. They also tend to speak only when there is a purpose and they have something meaningful to say. The challenge is recognizing that there are times when you know you should speak up, but you’re not sure what to say.

Solution: Use some of your classic curiosity and ask a question. We all suffer from coming up with the best, fastest comment. Give yourself some time and ask a question. While someone else is formulating an answer, you have time to create a great comment.

Solution: Repeat others’ comments. You’ll notice in conversations that a significant amount of what is being said is simply just regurgitated commentary. Don’t be afraid to repeat others as well as yourself – it’s how points get made.

Work relationships are sluggish or nonexistent. While you may not be opposed to work relationships, you may not deliberately go out of your way to form them. The issue is that when you need relationships the most, you may not have them. You need alliances early in the game to help you with all kinds of things. For example, other people help with your training, offer insights on internal dynamics, and know where the “land mines” are.

Solution: First figure out with whom you might want to affiliate. Perhaps you like them or they have a grasp on things that you admire. Pick people you think have some type of natural affinity. Take time everyday to chat with these people or have coffee with them on a routine basis. Developing relationships doesn’t have to be time consuming or unnatural.

You get droopy. A classic introvert tendency is that your energy level gets spent quickly, especially when it involves others. Once the energy is depleted, it becomes increasingly difficult to speak up, stay engaged or interact with others.

Solution: Plan ahead. If you know this happens to you consistently, plan for it to happen and create strategies to keep your batteries charged. This might mean that you plan some desk time working on a project before and after a meeting. Look at meetings like a marathon runner. Charge your batteries ahead of time and then pace yourself.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an occasional or full-time introvert. If you kick into tendencies that don’t help you accomplish what you need to, you can make some adaptations that will help you be the powerhouse you know you can be.

The post Overcoming Introverted Tendencies that Might Limit Your Leadership Growth appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

Cautiously considering upgrading your presence on LinkedIn – either for an executive search or to build your personal brand?

You’ll need to consider LinkedIn strategies that differ substantially from that of mid-career professionals. For example, many executives choose to limit the information they distribute on LinkedIn, due to company confidentiality or other reasons. Executives are also typically approached more often than other users on LinkedIn, either as a potential employer or by a recruiter piqued by their qualifications.

This activity can call for a more toned-down presence on the site, while still conveying a strong leadership message.

Consider implementing these changes to cultivate a powerful, yet discreet LinkedIn presence supporting your strategically planned executive job search:

1 – Provide (More) Details on Your Career Progression.

Most executives don’t start out at the level of CEO or COO; rather, they’ve held progressively challenging positions – and this story is important to your brand message.

You’ll get better traction for many leadership roles by showing at least part of your career trajectory vs. just your executive positions. While many professionals show 10-15 years of experience, it’s not unusual for an executive to provide a deeper look into his or her background.

In your Profile’s Experience section, you can add positions that show how you came to be qualified for an executive role, even if you omit the details associated with these jobs.

2 – Enable Confidential Surfing.

When you look at others’ Profiles, LinkedIn announces this activity to other users through the “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” display.

As an executive, you may need to monitor your team’s staff activity on LinkedIn, vet recruiters, or look at the Profiles of competing leaders in your industry without disclosing your identity. Therefore, you’ll want to consider disabling these visitor statistics on the receiving end. To do so:

• Go to Settings and then Privacy Controls
• Choose “Select what others see when you’ve viewed their profile”
• Set this option to “You will be totally anonymous”

You will now be able to visit (and revisit) the Profiles of recruiters, hiring authorities, CEOs, etc. as often as needed, with no fear of being “found out.”

LinkedIn does require you to upgrade your account, should you wish to remain anonymous but still be able to see who viewed your own Profile. (This can be a worthwhile investment if you’re analyzing your traffic and keyword statistics, as you’ll receive more robust analytics with a Premium account.)

3 – Position Yourself at an Executive Level.

While your Headline should always be altered to reflect your career level, you can also add Profile data to increase employers’ understanding of your goals (and help them find you). To do so, insert prospective job titles in different sections, depending on the degree of confidentiality desired.

For example, this sentence in a LinkedIn Summary provides job titles as goals, setting the stage for a more “open” executive search:

“As a CFO and Director FP&A, I work directly with leadership on fiscal strategy to support our growth objectives.”

For a less-obvious job search, job titles can be added in the Skills & Expertise section, alongside your leadership competencies. Lesser-endorsed Skills will automatically drop to the bottom, where they’re not displayed at first glance (and therefore not obvious to other users), but still count in your Profile SEO.

Even the Interests section can be used to reinforce your career target, with a discreet note such as “I’m on the lookout for CTO or VP of Engineering opportunities leveraging my background in product strategy, release management, and engineering team leadership” – followed by additional, personal interests.

4 – Control Notification Broadcasts.

All information you add to LinkedIn is public. However, you’ll want to use a carefully planned strategy for how your newly redone Profile will be discovered by your current employer, Board members, staff, or executive peers.

Privacy Controls, found under your Settings, can be adjusted so that others are not informed of your Profile changes (meaning your staff or the executive team will not be notified of your updates). To manage these options:

• Go to Settings and then Privacy Controls
• Choose “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts”
• Uncheck the box labeled “Let people know when you change your profile, make recommendations, or follow companies”

This change will prevent Profile change alerts from being issued to your Connections and popping up on your list of recent activity.

However, you’ll want to ensure your Activity Feed (another privacy option) stays ON if you plan to regularly post articles or feedback on areas of interest to industry contacts:

• Under Privacy Controls, click on “Select who can see your activity feed”
• Use the drop-down menu to choose an option (“Your network” or “Your connections” are popular options [described here on Job-Hunt.org]) that can be adjusted, based on your intent.

5 – Become More Open in Networking.

Some executives join LinkedIn and then start reviewing each connection request with suspicion – rarely accepting invitations or neglecting their Profiles.

While it makes sense to carefully ascertain other users’ purpose in reaching out to you, a too-cautious approach will defeat your purpose for using the site in the first place!

Some executives believe there’s little reason to maintain an active presence on LinkedIn (not realizing the sheer volume of recruiting that takes place on the site). Populating relevant sections of your LinkedIn Profile – your Headline, Summary, Experience, Contact information, and Education, at a minimum – will show your grasp of social media engagement.

While there’s no “magic number” of Connections to cultivate in LinkedIn, Profiles of less than 100+ contacts imply an unawareness of online networking.

It also follows that, as you welcome more Connections, you’ll gain closer access to recruiters or other key people in your industry. Therefore, you’ll benefit from steadily building your LinkedIn network contact-by-contact, giving invitations a quick glance to filter those of questionable intent.

Of course, offline professional relationships and networking will also play a key role in your success, and merit significant time in your job search plan.

These strategies will help accelerate your presence on LinkedIn from both a social media and SEO standpoint – gaining serious traction for your executive job search, while maintaining some degree of confidentiality.

The post 5 Best-Practice LinkedIn Strategies for Executives appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

In 2011, I was an account executive with Scor Global Life Americas Reinsurance Company, in Plano, Tex., near where I live. When Scor acquired Transamerica Reinsurance, I was laid off along with several other people that October.

At that point I called Mike Pado, a former colleague at Scor who had left the company several months earlier for a job as president and C.E.O. of Aurigen USA Holdings. Aurigen is based in Bermuda, and Mike had been hired to look at starting a life reinsurance company in the United States.

Mike, who works out of Red Bank, N.J., was still in the planning stages for the new venture when I spoke to him. He said that at some point he’d need a person who knew the reinsurance industry and its top executives and could contact them for a snapshot of the United States market. He knew I fit that bill. But he was hoping that the person he hired would also be an actuary. I’m familiar with risk assessment and risk management in that field, but I’m not an actuary. So besides my age, I was worried about that.

I had done a good job at Scor for 12 years, and I was disappointed that I had been laid off. My level of anxiety was fairly high. The Aurigen venture sounded like a great opportunity if it worked out. But the business world often has certain misperceptions about workers 55 and older. Some people think we’re set in our ways, we don’t have the energy we used to have, or that we’ve lost our drive. They may worry about offering us a lower salary than we earned previously. I knew I’d have to address these concerns when job-hunting.

I told Mike I was interested in working for him, and we left it that we’d stay in touch while he continued to develop a business plan and consider a staff for the United States company. In the meantime, I sent out 300 résumés. I heard back from about a third of the companies and had about 12 or 15 interviews, but no luck.

By June 2012, eight months after Mike and I first talked, I still hadn’t found a job. Then Mike called and said he could offer me a three-month position as a marketing consultant, and that we’d see what happened after that. I was excited, but a consulting job was not ideal for me. I told him I would do the best job I could for him but would continue looking for a staff job with benefits, and he understood.

Consulting works well for people who like short-term projects and freedom, but I’ve always liked having a staff job. I like the feeling of belonging, and benefits are important.

I started talking to executives right away to gather the information Mike wanted and help him determine whether there was room for another entrant in the United States life reinsurance industry. I spoke to a vice chairman, 11 company presidents, 25 chief actuaries and 30 life underwriters and sent Aurigen’s annual report to customers and others, sometimes with a handwritten note.

My work helped Mike make a case to his board that another United States life reinsurance company could do well. In October I got the news that Mike’s proposal had been accepted. He was finally able to hire me as an account executive on staff for his new-business development team. I was able to stay in Texas for my new job at Aurigen.

Right after hiring me, Mike had me join him and the Aurigen pricing team at the October 2012 conference of the Society of Actuaries in Washington. Many industry executives attend, and I’d help sell prospective clients on the benefits of working with the new venture.

When word got out that I’d been hired, my former colleagues gave me a warm reception, which was nice. Several welcomed me back to the industry, and one asked about my sales territories. It felt great to know that I hadn’t been forgotten.

Rather than start a new company from scratch, Mike began looking at United States insurance companies to buy, choosing one that Aurigen closed on and renamed this past spring.

Some people might have no problem retiring after being laid off at 59. Maybe they tell themselves it’s not what they would have wanted, but they make the best of it. Or maybe they are ready to retire, so it turned out to be perfect timing. I’ll be 61 in September, but I want to keep working, so getting a chance at this job worked out well for me.

It’s easy to get depressed about being an older job seeker. You have to keep your eyes open, stay focused, and be open to possibilities. You never know when and how an opportunity may come along.

The post Older, Unemployed, and Landing the Job appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

Why is it important for you to care about creating mini celebrity status and becoming a thought leader when it comes to your career? Simply because self-marketing in your area of expertise can have multiple career benefits for you including:

1. Potential exposure to future “dream” positions – they contact YOU!
2. More quality opportunities, better pay and quicker promotions.
3. Establishment as an expert in your industry.
4. Wider networks.
5. Greater ability to garner positive references and testimonials.
6. More control over who you work with and how you work.

Different benefits will stand out as meaningful to different people. The real point is, managing your career gives you options… options you may not have had otherwise.

So where do you start? Here are three quick and easy tips:

Tip #1: Get a Platform

It’s easy to get a platform to express your opinion and ideas about your area of interest in your industry – just start a blog! WordPress.com is a free site where you can set up your blog in minutes (very easily by the way – even if you are like me and not technical).

Another option is to get involved in your industries association and ask them if you can volunteer to write short articles for their blogs and/or newsletters on topics you are knowledgeable and passionate about. Associations are ALWAYS looking for content for their newsletters/ezines and blogs. You can position yourself as a thought leader in your industry quickly this way! Years ago, I began writing short articles for Career Directors International on job search cold calling, and those articles led to my being published in The Business Journal, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and MSN.)

A third option is to sign up for a LinkedIn account (email me and I will invite you to my list!). LinkedIn is a business-oriented networking site. Once you’ve set up your profile, you can answer questions other business people are asking on various topics by joining discussions in LinkedIn groups – a quick way to establish your credibility!

Tip #2: Rub Shoulders with High Performers in Your Industry

Get involved in a corporate volunteer group or industry association. These are two wonderful portals filled with people that care deeply about industries and issues – just like you! Not only will this broaden your networking circle, but it will keep you growing in your career!

And remember, if you attend an industry luncheon to listen to a great speaker, introduce yourself to him or her after their presentation. Give them your business card as well – and gulp – ask for theirs! It’s the little things you do as you “put yourself out there” to be open to new opportunities, friendships and possibilities that will pay off in the long run.

Tip #3: Grow Your Knowledge Base

What was the last certification you received? How about ongoing training? I recommend making sure that each year you commit to 2-3 actions that result in your learning a new tool for your trade. To make sure you will be motivated to do this, make it that one training, certification or learning experience that has been in the back of your mind to master – you know the one I’m talking about! Check with your employer’s ongoing education benefits to find out if your training might be a covered expense.

Establishing mini celebrity status doesn’t mean you have a gigantic ego. It’s simply a wise business move that opens doors of possibility for you. You will be amazed how putting these simple tips into action will quickly change up your career status!

A Saratoga Institute survey of more than 1,000 U.S. workers asked employees to identify factors that would make them more likely to remain with their current employers. The top three responses were:

1. Training and mentoring
2. Earnings potential
3. Positive work relations

If you love your job and your company but there are management issues that bring you down, consider sending your human resources or operations director a complimentary copy of the “manageBetter Insider.” This little newsletter is packed with positive tips and tactics that the best companies in the U.S use to keep their employees happy. I personally love it and would recommend it to any company.

The post Career Management – How to Create Mini-Celebrity Status in Your Industry appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

You’re a seasoned professional and it has been at least 3 years since you needed to look for a new position, and the last time you changed jobs you were either recruited for the position or referred by someone you know.

Fast forward to the present; you’re unemployed, recruiters are not returning your phone calls, and today many of the people who recommended you for jobs in the past are your direct competition.

Sound familiar?

You have done your homework, gotten outplacement advice, and read every book there is, however I think you may need to hear this one more time to get it right, because there is no margin for error in conducting a job search in today’s economy.

So here is some strategic advice on how to kick your job search into high gear.

1. Don’t go fishing: Target where you want to go. Before you do anything you need to know what positions you qualify for in this new economy and make some tough decisions. Do you want to stay in the same field, or, better yet, can you? Where are you going, is your next job a step up, a step down or a lateral move. What do you want it to be and what is realistic financially, emotionally and career wise?

2. Define and promote a Personal Brand: Your job search is worthless if you cannot see your value to a new employer and devise creative ways to get this message across on paper, in person, and through all means of new social media. What is your specialty? Is it making money, saving money, is it your soft skills, like leadership and management style, your contacts, or hard skills like accounting, closing deals, or strategic planning? Get a tag line that describes you and make it your brand. Here is an example:

Senior Executive l Business Operations – Distribution – Logistics

‘Expert in driving a business from where it is to where management wants it to be’

3. Get a Marketing Document instead of a Resume: This is a document that showcases and validates who you are and why it pays for a recruiter or decision-maker to pick up the phone and call you to schedule an interview. It should be produced in a style and format that is best suited to your field, your level and your personality without looking like a boilerplate document, and it should contain a mission statement, and at least 2 solid endorsements that will verify that you are as good as or better than you claim to be.

4. Round out your Portfolio: You should have a One-Page Networking Bio; a social media presence that lets people see the total package you can deliver, and establish yourself as a subject matter expert on numerous topics within your field and industry.

5: Take your job search seriously: This means being honest with yourself and others about where you are willing to make compromises and where you are inflexible. It means trusting others to help you and not being a Lone Wolf. It means investing in your future and not being shortsighted about what you can and can’t do on your own.

6: Talk to an expert: Get advice advice and assistance in evaluating where you stand at this point and what it will take to get on the right path.

The post Executives BEWARE: There’s No Margin for Error appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

The demand for finance-executive talent is slowly reviving.

After more than a year of dormancy, the job market for finance executives is showing signs of life. “The market is definitely coming back,” says E. Peter McLean, chairman of the financial officers practice at Korn Ferry International. “There are a good number of high-level, big positions in the market that weren’t around last year.” Walter Williams, a finance recruiter at Amrop Battalia Winston, says his firm won more assignments in March than in any other month going back more than a year.

As the open positions are filled, the usual domino effect should kick in, says McLean, as other finance chiefs move into newly vacated positions and leave more open slots in their wake. Still, as with so many other aspects of the economy today, the road ahead for the CFO market is not entirely clear. Williams says a large number of finance executives are not ready to jump to a new position yet, even though they may be unhappy.

And confidence among executive recruiters has slipped in the past few months, according to a survey by ExecuNet, an executive-networking company. While 64% of recruiters in the January survey said they were confident or very confident that the executive-employment market would improve in the next six months, only 53% reported such confidence in the most recent survey, conducted in March.

But it’s still a far cry from the period between December 2008 and October 2009, when the market for CFOs was “totally dead,” says Williams. Some firms, anticipating a return to growth, are starting to look for fresh talent to lead them through the recovery. Whether a company will switch finance chiefs will depend in part on the way its current CFO approached the recession and the belt-tightening that went with it, says Williams. A company whose finance chief was forced to make overly draconian cuts “may need someone without that legacy,” he says.

One item on the résumé that will help finance executives land new roles when they are ready to look around — in addition to a strong track record of thoughtful leadership during the recession — is a background in mergers and acquisitions, says Williams. With many firms looking to scoop up weakened competitors, deal-making skills will be an important qualification for finance chiefs.

What will ultimately give CFOs and boards the confidence to make a change? “We need to see new top-line growth,” answers Williams. “We’ll see what happens this earnings season.” With many CFOs feeling overworked and underappreciated, he says, “when the dam does break, there will be an awful lot of turnover.”

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Business Week’s CEO Guide to the Tech-Job Outlook raises hopes for an industry turnaround by 2010, with senior executives reporting that hiring at small, VC-funded firms is increasing.

According to the article, these are the 10 best and 10 worst cities for salaries in the Tech Sector (averaged across at least 15 reports from each company surveyed).

BEST CITIES (1 being the highest average salary):

1. San Jose
2. San Francisco
3. Seattle
4. San Diego
5. New York City
6. Washington, DC
7. Boston
8. Raleigh
9. Los Angeles
10. Austin

WORST CITIES (1 being the lowest average salary):

1. Kansas City
2. Cleveland
3. Pittsburgh
4. Madison (WI)
5. Orlando
6. St. Louis
7. Columbus
8. Cincinnati
9. Minneapolis
10. Philadelphia

This has been the worst tech sector recession since the dot.com bubble burst. Among the first fields to begin job recovery are cloud computing, computer security, business analytics, and IT services for government and health care. CEOs indicate that they are gradually and carefully lifting hiring freezes in an effort to bring in the best-of-the-best employees before the economy recovers and the competition for talent heats up.

A piece of good news is that after elimination of more than 118,000 tech jobs in the first half of 2009 (the highest number in 7 years), “two-thirds of senior technology executives recently surveyed by audit, tax, and advisory firm KPMG said they thought their industry would fully recover from the current economic crisis ahead of the overall U.S. economy.”

After a long and dismal dry spell, this may be the time for technology executives to polish up their executive resumes and begin testing the waters.

The post CEOs: VC-backed Tech Firm Sector on Road to Recovery appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.