As a career coach, I have worked with hundreds of executives who were seeking top-level positions. In analyzing the struggles that most of these executive job seekers had before coming to me for help, I found that there were only a handful of reasons this was happening.
But, let’s face it -- landing a new executive role can be difficult. There aren’t as many of these positions available. It is difficult to find and talk with the hiring managers for these types of executive positions. Sometimes the top execs and board members can seem more guarded than Fort Knox.
The fact that executive job seekers all suffer from just a small number of the same issues in their job search may surprise you. Everyone feels that their situation is unique, and so one would think that the list of complications for the C-level job search would be endless. But, surprisingly enough, the reasons that potential candidates for executive positions were frustrated and struggling in their job searches keep coming back to just a handful of the same issues.
Your situation is really not that unique.
Many executive candidates feel that they have earned their stripes and that the rules don’t apply to them. In today’s job market, that perspective is completely wrong. You still have to sell yourself for a position just like others who have positions further down the chain of command. Talking with various recruiters uncovered that executives were coming into job interviews much less prepared because they felt their past credentials spoke for them and they didn’t need to sell themselves. As it turns out, things don't work out so well with that mindset.
This comes down to the same problem for all executives who had this mentality: They simply mismanaged their job search. And, if you look at this from the hiring side of things, if an executive job candidate can’t manage a job search, would you hire them to manage your company?
Are you an executive with a plan?
The next thing I uncovered is that executive job seekers dive right into the search without a strategic plan. Shocking, I know. They certainly wouldn’t dive into company projects without a cohesive plan, but when it comes to the job search, many do. Most will head straight to the job boards to look for new executive positions, and they will focus the majority of their time here.
Execs should be spending the majority of their job search time networking to find jobs in the hidden job market and a much smaller amount of time on the job boards. The best way to go about this is to brainstorm a list of at least 20 companies that you would like to work for and find the hiring managers or recruiters for those positions. Next, reach out to those hiring managers, network with them and find out about those positions that have not been advertised on the job boards.
How do you stand out in today’s job market?
The other part of the job search plan that gets left out is that you need a strategy for applying for positions when you do find them on the job boards. If you just fill out the application like everyone else, you go into the big pile and you don’t stand out. In today’s job market, potential employers are often getting hundreds of applicants per position, so you need to stand out from the crowd.
The executive job seeker today needs to be proactive and reach out to a hiring manager (the person who would be your boss) before they apply for a position. You can do a company search on LinkedIn and easily find people who work at the company by job title and location. LinkedIn is a great resource for finding hiring managers and recruiters for any company.
Are you sending out mixed messages?
Because executives normally have a large skill set, they have a hard time narrowing down the skills they want to optimize their job search for. They present a jumbled and disjointed resume and LinkedIn profile without even realizing it, leaving the hiring manager unsure what the job applicant does best.
Many top-level candidates have a wide variety of skills and make the mistake of trying to list them all. While this may make them look important and educated, it can also make them look like a jack of all trades and a master of none. I have seen this more often than you would think. For example, they list operations, marketing, business development, finances, etc., under their areas of expertise, and while they may have had experience in all of these areas, it's unclear what type of position they are truly looking for.
While you might think you look like a shining star with very broad experience, you are most likely putting out a message of plain confusion. And, in today’s job market, where hiring managers have a large pool of candidates to choose from, they aren’t going to try to figure things out for you. If you don’t get it right the first time, you won’t be considered for the position.
The Best Strategy
Go over your job search materials and make sure that you have made a clear statement of your intent and optimized your resume and LinkedIn profile with keywords for skillsets that match the position you are seeking (not simply what you have done in the past). This not only sends a clear message to the hiring managers for positions that you are applying for, it also allows you to be found by others who have potential job positions that would be a good fit for you.
Be proactive and reach out to potential hiring managers and recruiters before applying to jobs to make yourself stand out. Learn all about companies of interest and prepare for each interview individually. In summary, you need a complete job search plan with an overall strategy to win at the executive job search.
