A recent article found on ere.net titled Hidden Executive Job Market Requires New Tactics and Takes Longer than Expected (found at http://tinyurl.com/7jhs2jk) identified five things executive candidates should do to be successful in this job market.  While I will list them at the end of this post, there are items we see with all of our clients that are key as well.  The ere.net article is written with a focus on what 'in transition' executives should be doing.  Our trends are employer-centric - regardless of the employment status of the executive candidate.

Resumes that are really just job descriptions

We receive countless unsolicited resumes - in addition to the ones we solicit, of course.  While unscientific as an actual count, well over 80% are written in terms of responsibilities, NOT results or accomplishments.  The trend we always see - our clients (employers) want people who can hit the ground running.  Writing about (in resumes) what you are/were responsible for tells people little.  Writing about, and as a result, being able to articulate what you have done in the past gets the job.

I speak only sales (or - substitute any single function)

How does HR impact Operations?  How do Sales and Marketing coexist - when in most large companies, they are very separate functions?  How does Market Research work effectively with Engineering?  AND how do all of these functional areas impact the bottom line?  The trend we see, from large or small employers, is they want people who are functional experts AND who also speak the language of business. Stating your expertise in terms of how you impact the business gets the job.

When did you get your degree?

I received my Bachelor's degree in the '70's (1979 - you can insert any age comment you would like here).  Getting that degree was a prerequisite for getting employment.  While that is still the case, continuing education, especially for a person with a degree from multiple decades ago, is much more important.  Our clients always (yes - always) want to know what the person has done to keep up in the 'technology' of their functional area.  Laws, techniques and actual technology impacts all functional areas.  Being able to discuss recent advances in your field because you studied about it (in a seminar or course) gets the job.

The ere.net article: what did recruiters that ExecuNet surveyed say was critical for this job market?

1. Become connected to industry decision-makers and influencers who will refer you.
2. When contacting an executive search firm, offer to be a referral resource for them in exchange for their assistance.
3. When contacting a search firm, offer to be a source of information related to your industry.
4. Maximize your online resume profiles with keywords and industry-specific buzzwords so it will come up in online searches.
5. Respond to online job postings.  (NOTE - this was rated number 5 by recruiters because it is the least efficient.)

Need a new position?  Imagine combining the 'two' items above!