Executive Career Insights

Avoiding Job Search Blues: Pushing past the depression

I have been hearing lately from recent clients that the job search is taking them much longer than anticipated - companies are slow in making decisions and in some cases, they have opted to advance an internal employee after interviewing several candidates.

It's hard to not get depressed in circumstances like these...yes, depression - the big "D" word that everyone knows exists, each of us have experienced it at some point in our lives, but no-one really likes to talk about too much.

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About Abby, Executive Career Architect

Ask yourself these questions:

-- Are you launching an executive job search for first time in 10+ years?

-- Are you puzzled about whether executive recruiters, online job boards, personal contacts or LinkedIn is the best strategy for you?

-- Are you still marketing that "write-it-yourself" executive resume that is getting no results?

-- Has the personal branding buzz gone over your heard because you still don't know your value proposition?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, take real action today and schedule your complimentary, career/resume strategy session with Abby Locke.

Why? She is an executive career architect who helps senior-level executives who struggle with self-marketing to increase their brand reputation, become sought after leaders so that they can earn the salaries they deserve and achieve their dream careers.

5 Secrets to Regaining Momentum In Your Job Search

Wow...how did we get to the month of the May? I swear, it was just March and I was busy planning my father's birthday party. Well, if you know me, you know that I always look for the positive side of everything. So I am grateful that the month of May has started off right with bright sunny days.

In today's article, I want to address some of the challenges and emotional struggles that come with any job search. The majority of the executives I work with are very driven, have built successful careers and have always been pursued for key leadership roles.

When they contact me, they are concerned and anxious because they are not getting the results as usual. In addition, they are not sure if it's the wrong resume, too many years at one company, age or other employment barriers that might be hampering their job search. It's hard to go from being sought after to being ignored in your career.

I wish I had a simple answer in a nutshell, but so much has changed in our world. Technology, offshoring, economic instability, glut of qualified, talented executives and much. So, it's easy to get discouraged and lose focus in an executive job search...more importantly, how do you get back on track?

1) Pay attention to the resume revolution and don't get left behind

Resume Revolution - What's real, what's hype?

2) Don't jump on the bandwagon without knowing your destination

Why you need a job search GPS system

3) Know your personal brand and don't let someone else define you

Five quick steps to identifying your personal brand

4) Understand what your target companies need - your qualifications alone is not the answer

It takes more than qualifications to land your dream job

5) Get prepared to show proof in executive interviews

Don't tell me, show me - the new rules for acing executive interviews

 

Have you identified where you are stuck in the process? What steps can you take today to get moving again?

 

About Abby, Executive Career Architect, Job Search Expert, Master Resume Writer

Ask yourself these questions:

-- Are you launching an executive job search for first time in 10+ years?

-- Are you puzzled about whether executive recruiters, online job boards, personal contacts or LinkedIn is the best strategy for you?

-- Are you still marketing that "write-it-yourself" executive resume that is getting no results?

-- Has the personal branding buzz gone over your heard because you still don't know your value proposition?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, take real action today and schedule your complimentary, career/resume strategy session with Abby Locke.

Why? She is an executive career architect helps senior-level executives to who struggle with self-marketing to to increase their brand reputation, become sought after leaders so that they can earn the salaries they deserve and achieve their dream careers.

 

 

Why You Need a Job Search GPS?

I am finally coming out of oblivion. I attending a business marketing conference last week in Delaware with my business coach, Darnyelle Jervey.

Talk about a learning experience! Nothing like getting practical, hands-on tools and strategies to transform your business and your life.

Ideas are great, visions are inspiring, but without goals and a strategy for success, we can all remain in Wonderland.

Are you one of those executives whose idea of a good job search means trying every strategy and tactic available to you?

Are you in a job search and finding that some strategies are just not working?

Has your enthusiasm for finding a new executive search waned over time?

No surprise here. If you did not map out a job search strategy plan, your best intentions can fail you miserably. So what are some things you consider before developing your job search strategy plan?

1. What is your job target or ideal new leadership position?
2. Are you seeking a career advancement, lateral or bridge job opportunity?
3. What kind of companies are you interested in?
4. Where do you want to work in terms of geographic location? Would you consider working overseas?
5. What is your timeline for landing a new job? Three months? Six months?
6. What are your salary and compensation requirements? Can you accept the same or lower salary if needed?
7. Can a series of consulting engagements and contracts help you achieve your career goals?
8. Are you fully qualified for the positions you are targeting? Do you need a job that will provide you with training?
9. Are you being pursued for opportunities that don't match your immediate career and job search goals?
10. Have you been a job search for more than six months, but with no real prospects?

Hmm...look at all those questions...and you thought that a good job search just meant that you were sending out resumes everyday. Relax, I have written a lot of this topic and it's time that you paid attention:)

Six steps to successful job search

 

About Abby, Executive Career Architect, Job Search Expert, Master Resume Writer

Ask yourself these questions:

-- Are you launching an executive job search for first time in 10+ years?

-- Are you puzzled about whether executive recruiters, online job boards, personal contacts or LinkedIn is the best strategy for you?

-- Are you still marketing that "write-it-yourself" executive resume that is getting no results?

-- Has the personal branding buzz gone over your heard because you still don't know your value proposition?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, take real action today and schedule your complimentary, career/resume strategy session with Abby Locke.

Why? She is an executive career architect helps senior-level executives to define their brand differentiation, overcome self-marketing fears and command higher salaries in their fields.

This is not a free coaching session or disguished sales call, but an opportunity to engage with a leading executive career expert who can take you from stuck to stellar in your executive career.

 

 

 

 

 

How To Get A Date With A Recruiter

By now, you should know that to land a job in today’s highly competitive market, you will need to do more than send out resumes online. Maximize and leverage as many job search tactics and strategies that will connect you with key decision makers.

If executive recruiters are on your list as part of your job search plan, you should know a few quick tips on how to grab their attention and form a new relationship.

However, before you jump out there and start calling or emailing every recruiter listed on the Internet, you should at least understand their work world and some other challenges they deal with. Here are some for starters...

• They spend about four to five hours a day on the phone
• They make contact with at least 500 people every week
• They can receive anywhere from 500 to 1,000 emails every day (with social media communication at an all time high, that number can be much higher)
• They rely on their network for current industry information and market trends
• They are compensated for finding the right candidate for their client (companies)

 Keeping that mental picture of a recruiter’s daily challenges, which of the following strategies do you need to beef up to get a recruiter’s attention?

1) Have specific job targets

Most recruiters will be specialized by industry and/or function. For example, a recruiter may only work with healthcare professionals while another may specialize in placing executives in all industries. A recruiter’s primary goal is to make a placement, so if you are unclear about your job targets or you are open to any opportunity that comes up, a recruiter is probably not your best option.

2) Be clear and consistent in your marketing message     

Whether your first contact with a recruiter is by telephone, e-mail or a quick note through LinkedIn, you must be able to quickly articulate your core competencies and qualifications, the value you bring to the table and have evidence of your career achievements.

In case you're wondering, yes, yes...take the time to prepare and practice your 30-second elevator pitch.

3) Develop a comprehensive resume

If you want recruiters to work for you, you need to tell them everything and I mean everything about your career background - the highs, the lows and everything in between.

--Your resume should have the dates for every position (starting and ending) and the graduation years in the education section despite your age.

-- Top tier degrees should be listed on the first page of the resume and use a bulleted format to highlight your quantifiable accomplishments.

Tip: If you are concerned about revealing too much, you can create a separate resume that is just for recruiters only.

4) Get creative in your cover letter or direct email

Saw a recruiter-listed job opportunity? Grab their attention by inserting a table with two columns that compares your qualifications against the job requirements - make it easy for the recruiter to see whether you are match. With the overwhelming amount of candidates competing for the recruiter’s attention, don’t leave anything to chances.

5) Make your email subject line catchy

A compelling subject line message may prompt recruiters to open your e-mail right away. Use something to make an immediate connection - if you were referred by someone or met the recruiter recently at a networking event, mention that in the subject line.

6) Think twice about massive e-mail blasts

Technology can be both your friend and your enemy in a job search. The high volume of email have caused many recruiters to utilize email filtering and bulk mail programs. While you may have the opportunity to send your resume and cover letter to 500 recruiters, there is no guarantee that it will be seen.

In addition, there are some recruiters may choose to ignore resumes sent through bulk mail as they view the candidates as being unfocused.

7) Honesty counts

There are consequences to lying, omissions and misrepresentations made to recruiters. First of all, a majority of recruiters use Google, LinkedIn, ZoomInfo and other business and social networking sites to learn more about candidates. Consequently, being dishonest and hiding critical facts are the fastest ways to ruin a relationship with a recruiter.

For those who are executive recruiters, what other suggestions do you have?

 

About Abby, Executive Career Architect, Job Search Expert, Master Resume Writer

Ask yourself these questions:

-- Does your executive resume accurately describe your management style and leadership capabilities?

-- Is your executive resume rich with compelling Challenge-Action-Results success stories that indicate your value contribution?

-- Does your executive resume convey enthusiasm or energy motivating employers to contact you?

-- Has your executive resume been generating a stream of employer responses for the right jobs?

If you have answered no to any of these questions, you should be talking to Abby Locke. She is an executive resume writer helps senior-level executives to achieve career success through cutting-edge, brand-focused career documents and proactive career management strategies.

Her distinctive executive resume samples have been published in 14 national career publications...click here to schedule a resume consultation.

Conduct A Targeted, But Smart Job Search

It's Friday! The weather in DC has decided to give us a break, it was close 60 degrees today...tonight it drops the 34 degrees, but in the winter you have to live for the moment, right:)

After reading the WSJ article about how an employee believes he was fired because he took his job search public on LinkedIn...while the real reasons are up for debate, the issue still remains. How do you conduct an effective job search while you are employed?

It goes without saying that unless you are unemployed, your company is going out of business or you have been served a layoff notice, your executive job search should be kept confidential at all times.

In the end, your boss and colleagues may be supportive of your new job once you have submitted an official resignation, however in the interim, if your job search is exposed - well, that's never good.

So how do you maximize your visibility to employers, hiring managers and recruiters without spilling the beans? Well, I wrote a blog on the same topic last year and it still applies today, so I decided to recycle it.

Here's good food for thought as you consider your 2012 job search.

1) Don't Get Addicted to Online Applications

Take your left hand and slap your right hand - go ahead, do it now. That is your reminder to to avoid sending your resume everytime an online job opportunity looks good. Save your online activities to researching companies, identifying key contacts, and locating relevant professional networking events.

2) Use Social Media Tools Wisely

I swear that Facebook and Twitter have become the online diary for too many people. A hard day at work, an unbearable boss, a difficult client, a tiresome co-worker, disobedient children..you name it, they all end up on social media status updates.

What you need to remember is that the Internet creates digital footprints and it stays out there for a LONG time.

Now, you may not be guilty of outrageous status updates, but sharing private information or even mentioning that you are looking for a new job can show up in Google searches despite the "security" settings in these social media tools and keep in mind that Tweets are real-time data...if it's out there, it's easy to go viral.

3) Don't Broadcast Your LinkedIn Profile Updates

Okay, picture this. You are finally ready and going full steam ahead with your job search. You recognize that your LI profile needs improvement and you start making dramatic changes. Great move for your online brand, bad move for confidential job searches.

See, there is a feature on LI (which can be turned off) that announces all your updates and changes to your connections - these activities can send signals to people that you are in or preparing for a job search.

If you are like me, you might have forgotten who you are connected to on LI - most likely all your colleagues or even your boss...hmmm...think about it.

4) Screen Executive Recruiters Before Trusting Them With Your Job Search

Now before you get the wrong idea, understand that I highly respect executive recruiters and refer my clients to them all the time - HOWEVER, I have heard some horror stories from jobseekers - imagine your resume being accidentally sent to your own boss from a recruiter! Trust me, it happens.

You will get legitimate emails and calls from recruiters who are seeking candidates with your background - take the extra time to do your due diligence. Find out the recruiters' specialty areas, top clients, industry expertise, geographical markets and even ask for references.

 5) Increase Privacy On Your Resume Without "Hiding" Your Identity

There are subtle ways to avoid mentioning your current employer on your resume, but still have a career marketing document that works in your favor. For example:

1) Create an email address specifically for job search - so your personal email address used for FB, Twitter or even LI should be different.

2) Contact information: Simply list your name, (or first initial and last name, first initial, middle name and last name) email address and your cell phone number or explore getting a Google voice number that syncs with your cell phone (it works, I use it all the time)

3) Say so - at the top of resume, indicate "Confidential Search"

4) Try these techniques to address high-profile companies or top degrees

Before: SVP, Business Development, North America - Microsoft Company, Seattle, WA

After: SVP, Business Development, Confidential Company, USA or

SVP, Business Development, Global Technology Leader, USA

EDUCATION

Before: BA / MBA, Harvard University

After: BA / MBA, Ivy League University

Note: I am not suggesting that you play down your degree or where you work, but when have a strong, updated online brand, it is not hard for people to link your name, degrees, email address, phone number or even one company name to determine it's you.

Maximize your job search efforts effectively and aggressively, but just be smart about where and who you are sharing information with...you never know who may see it.

 

About Abby, Executive Career Architect, Job Search Expert, Master Resume Writer

Ask yourself these questions:

-- Does your executive resume accurately describe your management style and leadership capabilities?

-- Is your executive resume rich with compelling Challenge-Action-Results success stories that indicate your value contribution?

-- Does your executive resume convey enthusiasm or energy motivating employers to contact you?

-- Has your executive resume been generating a stream of employer responses for the right jobs?

If you have answered no to any of these questions, you should be talking to Abby Locke. She is an executive resume writer helps senior-level executives to achieve career success through cutting-edge, brand-focused career documents and proactive career management strategies.

Her distinctive executive resume samples have been published in 14 national career publications...click here to schedule a resume consultation.

Don't Shoot The Career Messenger!

Recently, I have been encountering very angry, frustrated jobseekers and unfortunately, I am often the recipient of their bad attitude and verbal outburts - and you thought being an executive career coach was a piece of cake, right?

Seriously, I COMPLETELY understand, sympathize and empathize with what they are going through...early in my career right after graduate school, I went through a very elongated job search before getting to the right opportunity. Ironically, it was after that experience that I started to transition into resume writing and eventually career management/development overall. (Read my career transition story here)

The sudden loss of employment or the pending threat of losing your job especially in today's economy opens up the doors to anxiety, fear, depression and so many other negative emotions. The real challenge is trying to stay focused, positive and motivated when you keeping about the rising unemployment numbers....jeez, can we get a break already?

You muster up enough courage and sacrifice your financial resources to invest in executive resume writing or career coaching - that's a smart move, but remember to manage your expectations. As career service professionals, we are challenged to be open, honest and brutally but compassionately truthful with you regardless of your situation. So often, we have to give you realities that you must be ready to receive no matter what. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

If you are seeking a career change: NO resume writer, career counselor or career coach will be able to take a quick look at your resume and TELL you what you should do for a living.

Reality: We can use a variety of personality, values, interests and strengths assessments that give suggestions about career options that can be explored together. However, at the end of the day, you know yourself best and can better determine if a career/profession (based on research, informational interviews, job shadowing) will work for you.  

If you need a job in a hurry: A resume writer can be effective in creating a strong career marketing tool to support your job search efforts and a multifaceted job search campaign.

Reality: Resumes don't and will never come with guarantees. To offer a guarantee is to somehow suggest that we have control over market conditions, the pool of candidates you are competing against, the availability of jobs in your field and your individual fit for those target positions. Resumes don't get jobs, interviews can lead to job offers.

If you want to advance to higher level: Whether your career move is upwards, downwards or even sideways, you still have to be qualified to compete for the job. A resume writer cannot create a document that highlights your leadership strengths, if you have never managed or led anyone.

Reality: Simply being confident that you can do the job, is not enough to get the job. Think about it, there are a lot of very qualified executives still hitting roadblocks in their job search, so you are not going to slide through with less. So when your resume writer keeps pressing you for more details and more proof, please understand why.

If you are looking for a bridge job: Sometimes, your personal situation requires you to deviate from your intended career path - it could be a sick parent, enrollment in school or even change in financial needs. A bridge job is simply one to hold you over for a temporary period of time so that you can get back on track later.

Reality: You will need more than one resume to support different job search targets. You cannot use your high-level executive for a lower-level position especially when your intention is to be there for a limited time. A PhD applying for an assistant level job will raise a lot of red flags; I am not suggesting lying on your resume, but instead focusing on the relevant information that shows you are qualified for the position.

 If you are an entreprenuer seeking full-time work: You have to lose the lofty job titles and put in relevant job titles that are in line with industry standards based on similar experience.

Reality: It's okay to trim back your President and CEO job title to Senior Manager or even Senior Vice President if it's appropriate. Why? Trying to explain going from a CEO to Senior Manager opens up a can of worms because some companies are leary of hiring entrepreneurs for many reasons. On the other hand, if your intent is to pursue other CEO-level roles, this is a non-issue:)

Related posts:

Turn the negative into a positive

You cannot sue anybody for your job search results

 

Does Your Job Title Have Too Much Ego?

Recently, I was conducting a leadership seminar and was a little peeved when a participant arrived one hour late and without any apology or humility, he attempted to take over the session - asking unrelated questions and interrupting the flow of the session. 

Being a skilled, but professional trainer (smile), I brought the session back on track and the "loud mouth" (smile again) calmed down....never a dull moment in the career development world:)

Now, whenever  I meet someone who goes out of his/her way to be the center of attention - I get curious - I want to know the person's story, his/her career background and learn exactly why he/she is making such a fuss. Well, I decided to do a Google search on my participant to find out more about him and well, let's just say that there was a great disparity between his real and perceived job titles.

Let's be honest for a moment, which of these title sound more impressive and grab your attention right away?

Chief, Recruitment Services vs HR Training Manager

Senior Sales Representative vs Regional Sales Director

Project Manager vs Marketing Associate

In most cases, a more "impressive" sounding title is accompanied by wider range of high-level responsibilities and leadership contributions - nothing wrong with that, right? The issue I am bringing to your attention today is the error of using puffed up, over-exaggerated, misleading job titles when conducting a job search.

If you are calling yourself a Director or Senior Manager when you have line or lower-level responsibilities, sooner or later that will be exposed to employers and recruiters. I recognize that there are times when your job title does not accurately reflect your tasks - for example, your title may be Business Development Coordinator, but you actually oversee a team of employees and have managerial responsibilities. However, the best approach for communicating your role without inflating your job title is as follows:

Business Development Coordinator (equivalent to Regional Manager)

OR

Business Development Coordinator, American Tech Systems

-- Hold managerial-level responsibilities with complete oversight and supervision of ten sales representatives in the Southwest Florida region.

Either way, you get your message across without putting too much ego on your job title...do you have an unusual job title that you have trouble communicating on your resume?

Related posts:

Don't miss the resume boat

 

Shhh! My Job Search Is A Secret

It goes without saying that unless you are unemployed, your company is going out of business or you have been served a layoff notice, your executive job search should be kept confidential at all times.

In the end, your boss and colleagues may be supportive of your new job once you have submitted an official resignation, however in the interim, if your job search is exposed - well, that's never good.

With so much job search and recruiting activities being doing online - how do you stay visible to employers, recruiters and hiring managers without blowing your current job situation? Not easy, but it can be done.

Avoid The Online Resume Blasts

Take your left hand and slap your right hand - go ahead, do it now -  to avoid sending your resume everytime an online job opportunity that looks good. Save your online activities to company research, identifying key contacts, and locating relevant professional networking events.

Don't Broadcast Your Intentions Through Social Media

I swear that Facebook and Twitter have become the online diary for too many people. A hard day at work, an unbearable boss, a difficult client, a tiresome co-worker, disobedient children..you name it, are all popular topics that get referenced on social media status updates.

What you should know is that once you put something on the Internet, it's out there for a LONG time. (There are some strategies to correct that, but I'll save that for another blog post)

Now, you may not be guilty of outrageous status updates, but sharing private information or even mentioning that you are looking for a new job can show up in Google searches despite the "security" settings in these social media tools and keep in mind that Tweets are real-time data...if it's out there, it's easy to go viral.

Adjust Your LinkedIn Settings When Making Changes

Okay, picture this. You are finally ready and going full steam ahead with your job search. You  recognize that your LI profile needs improvement and you start making dramatic changes. Great move for your online brand, but not a great strategy if you want to keep your job search confidential.

See, there is a feature on LI (which can be turned off) that announces all your updates and changes to your connections - these activities also signal to people that you are in or preparing for a job search.

If you are like me, you might have forgotten who you are connected to on LI - most likely all your colleagues or even your boss...hmmm...think about it.

Screen Executive Recruiters Carefully Before Trusting Them With Your Search

Now before you get the wrong idea, understand that I highly respect executive recruiters and refer my clients to them all the time - HOWEVER, I have heard some horror stories from jobseekers - imagine your resume being accidentally sent to your boss from a recruiter! Trust me, it happens.

You will get legitimate emails and calls from recruiters who are seeking candidates with your background - take the extra time to do your due diligence. Find out the recruiters' specialty areas, top clients, industry expertise, geographical markets and even ask for references.

Protect Your Resume Details Without Overly "Hiding" Your Identity

There are subtle ways to avoid mentioning your current employer on your resume, but still have a career marketing document that works in your favor. For example:

1) Create an email address specifically for job search - so your personal email address used for FB, Twitter or even LI should be different.

2) Contact information: Simply list your name, (or first initial and last name, first initial, middle name and last name) email address and your cell phone number or explore getting a Google voice number that syncs with your cell phone (it works, I use it all the time)

3) Say so - at the top of resume, indicate "Confidential Search"

4) Try these techniques to address high-profile companies or top degrees

Before: SVP, Business Development, North America - Microsoft Company, Seattle, WA

After: SVP, Business Development, Confidential Company, USA or

SVP, Business Development, Global Technology Leader, USA

EDUCATION

Before: BA / MBA, Harvard University

After: BA / MBA, Ivy League University

Note: I am not suggesting that you play down your degree or where you work, but when have a strong, updated online brand, it is not hard for people to link your name, degrees, email address, phone number or even one company name to determine it's you.

Have you ever had your job search ousted before you found a new job? How did you handle it?

Related posts:

Use social media to boost your job search

 

whose job search was busted because the recruiter he/she was working with ended

Show Me Proof - Why Your Career Story Needs Substance

About a week ago, I was contacted by a mid-level marketing professional who needs assistance with his career marketing and job search process. Fully understanding what is occurring in our economy, I am not surprised to hear frustration, worry and concern in jobseekers' voices. Often a successful, fruitful job search can take more than six months and sometimes even as long as a year - not what you may want to hear, but it's the truth. There are no guarantees, it comes down to the right time and the right opportunity meeting with your preparedness.

So back to my worried and concerned job seeker - well, he saw the importance of investing in services that would better market him for new opportunities, but I guess he needed more proof. Proof that I am who I say I am, proof that I really have the certifications as mentioned on my website, proof that his life will really change magically if he retained my services. Proof, proof, proof!

Why am I telling you all of this? You will find yourself in similar situations where employers and recruiters will ask you for proof and evidence about what is written on your resume and what you are saying in your interviews.

Here are a few recommendations on how you can do an outstanding job on "selling" yourself rather than just "telling" the facts of your career:

-- Create a Career Highlights or Critical Leadership Initiatives document that showcases three to five top career achievements written in the Challenge-Action-Results format...make sure to use it as a leave-behind document after interviews and networking meetings.

-- Use VisualCV.com to upload samples of your work, video clips, articles, press items, notable mentions, third-party endorsements and other favorable data that cannot go on a two-page resume.

-- Update your LinkedIn profile to include recent, relevant and positive recommendations and endorsements from former colleagues, bosses, clients, vendors and anyone who can directly comment on your work performance.

-- Properly prepare for interviews (job-related and informational) so you can respond to behavioral-style questions with quantifiable, realistic stories and examples that demonstrate your skills, knowledge and abilities.

-- Conduct extensive companies, understand industry challenges and develop your own "how-to" examples of potential business solutions you can bring to the table - remember to tell them the "what"and not the "how", so that no-one else steals your ideas:)

Channel your energy and your response not on why you should get the job, but demonstrate why they (the companies) need you...show that you are the perfect solution and the missing link on their team.

Related posts:

 Don't underestimate your career worth?

Find achievements in your treasure chest  

Want job search success? Make sure you have these 5 D's

How Journalism Strategies Can Help Your Job Search

When someone tells me a story, I like to get ALL the facts...I mean you have to tell me who, what, where, when, why and how before I can appreciate what is being told.

No good journalist would release a story without getting (and giving) all the facts and more importantly, getting (and giving) all the right facts.

Think about this, when you are "selling" yourself to an employers, doesn't it make sense that you give them (and get) all the facts, too?

Now, let's apply that this strategy to your executive job search.

WHO - Who are you? Who are you selling to?

WHERE - Where are your key contacts hanging out? Where should you go to connect with critical decision makers in your industry or market?

WHAT - What do you bring to the table? What solutions do you have to offer employers? What is your value proposition?

WHY - Why should an employer hire you? Why should a recruiter be interested in talking to you? Why are you different (hint: better) than colleagues with a similar background?

HOW - How can you support your claims? Do you have significant achievements or Challenge-Action-Results stories to "wow" employers?

WHEN - When are you going to launch your search? When is the right time for reaching your target companies?

 Sometimes, it only takes a simple formula...yes, it's that simple.