Executive Resumes, Personal Branding & Executive Job Search

Are You an Entrepreneur Seeking a Job? Reinvent Your Personal Brand

Posted by Tyrone Norwood

Nov 30, 2010 8:33:00 AM

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LinkedIn is having a great discussion about personal brand reinvention based on an article in the Harvard Business Review. Most comments have to do with someone changing dramatically from a software engineer to an artist, etc. But there's another kind of career reimagining that needs to happen for entrepreneurs who want to transition within their own industry.

Here's the scenario in which a job seeker MUST change their personal brand even if they're not changing their industry or even changing their chief competency: they've been running their own business for a number of years and now want to transition to being an employee of a company. It's doable, though not an easy sell.

Usually they can demonstrate extensive knowledge of the industry and superior capability in one or more functional area (usually more). But the hiring authority has concerns about whether a CEO / entrepreneur would be happy or committed over the long haul to working in a situation in which the org chart has clearly defined boundaries between jobs. Employers may have concerns that the entrepreneur would be reporting to someone else for the first time in a long while.

The imperative for entrepreneurs is to infuse their personal brand with elements that assuage those concerns while conveying an irresistible value proposition and even exalting their entrepreneurial experience as a competitive advantage in certain cases.

1. Brand Reassurance: Some of the elements of the new brand might be extensive experience consulting within companies, working with internal and external teams, reporting to program managers or other managers / executives, interfacing and interacting comfortably up and down the organization etc.

2. Value Proposition: The value proposition would depend on the function and industry. For example, an independent sales rep might be able to report having an extensive database of C-level contacts in Fortune 100 companies and a strong closing ratio. Both would be highly valuable to the right company.

3. Turn Your Liability into an Asset: Entrepreneurs may also find that the very fact that they have a mindset of taking a great idea and commercializing it in the form of a viable long-term business is valuable to the right kind of company - a mid-sized to large company that has institutionalized an intrapreneurial approach in some or all of its groups - or - an early-stage company or startup that is looking for proven entrepreneurial talent.

Because it's a harder sell than making a move as an employee, the entrepreneur must nail these new aspects of their personal brand - both in their networking and in their resumes, cover letters and other marketing materials.

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Topics: personal branding, executive resumes, technology executive resumes, interviewing, executive resume writing, executive resume, CIO resumes, career management, career planning, Get a Job, career services, personal brands, reputation management, IT resumes, careers in retirement, job interview

The ONE THING Boomers Have 2 Get Right in Job Search!

Posted by Tyrone Norwood

Oct 27, 2010 10:43:00 AM

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Of course boomers have to use up-to-the-minute best practices in resume writing, job search and interviewing when looking for a job. But there is one overriding factor they have to nail: their value proposition. Often boomers have an advantage in this, because they have already had accomplished careers and a strong track record.

What's a value proposition for a job seeker? It's the benefit they can (often uniquely) provide to the potential employer that matches the needs of that employer. How do you use it? At a minimum, in your resume, cover letter and LinkedIn Profile. How else must you leverage it? In your networking and interviewing.

One of my clients was 62 and had been out of work for a year when he applied to a Director-level job. Despite a strong competitive field of younger applicants, he got the offer. Why? Because the value he offered was so clearly and boldly spelled out in his resume. And because he interviewed keeping the value prop as his central message. How could the company resist? He was offering the exact value that they needed to solve the "pain" they were having.

So, don't neglect this critical value messaging as you go about your job search. It will override any concerns employers may have about age (even if that concern is not expressed because of possible legal ramifications). But only if clearly, powerfully and consistently expressed on paper and in person!

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Topics: personal branding, executive resumes, interviewing, personal brand, executive resume writing, executive resume, technology resumes, career management, Get a Job, career services, IT resumes, careers in retirement, Retirement Planning

What Are You Doing Now?

Posted by Tyrone Norwood

Apr 8, 2010 6:12:00 AM

 
Twitter, with its tiny tweets (140 character limit), has quickly morphed from being a site where you can announce what you had for lunch into a professional forum. Twitter can do a lot more than blather on about inconsequential events. Twitter can establish you as a player in your field, either as a thought leader or as an involved contributor. In fact, in my opinion, Twitter eats Facebook’s lunch in terms of job search.
Twitter allows you to search for the content that’s relevant to your industry and/or function as well as to search for jobs, recruiters, and job search advice. You can follow just a few tweeters or thousands to find out what’s happening. People will ask permission to follow you.
Although you just have 140 characters, you will have the opportunity to communicate valuable information by leveraging the links within your tweets. You can link to online articles, blog postings, and other sites that you think would be useful to your followers.
Recruiters and hiring managers watch Twitter. You want to be sure your participation is professional in content, because anything that is in poor taste (!) can rule you out, just as a consistently professional brand can rule you in.
If you want to proactively search for jobs advertised on Twitter, you can do that. You can also go to websites that aggregate job openings found on Twitter. Sample tweet: “Go towww.TwitterJobSearch.comwww.twithire.com, or www.tweetmyjobs.com to see if there is a job for you.”
Make Twitter part of your daily diet to build your brand and find job leads.
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Topics: job search, personal branding, executive resumes, career services, reputation management

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Tyrone Norwood