Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from the most recent session with Nicola James, Managing Partner of Thomas Brooke International.
Nicola started out this week’s coaching call with some words of encouragement – executive hiring is picking up. That doesn’t mean she is expecting a flood of new positions to open up, but things have been picking up in the last month. She suggests that executive job seekers need to be patient, especially at this time of year. The summer is traditionally slow with parents getting kids ready for college, and it will take some time for corporate hiring to return to a normal cycle. This is all the more reason you need to prepare NOW for opportunities to come.
As part of the preparation process, one caller was wondering if a solid, one-page resume was sufficient, or if he should expand his resume to two pages with more details. Is he hurting his chances for consideration with a shorter resume?
Nicola strongly suggests that a resume should not exceed two pages. If you need more room, then you need to create an executive addendum, an executive biography, etc. The objective is to create a strong portfolio that allows you to mix and match the sections to suit a specific position or company. It also lets you look at your career in a broader sense as well as in detail. You can look back at the path your career has taken and then isolate the high points that need to be presented in more detail. Case studies allow you to look at sections of your career as you would through a pair of binoculars. The result is a tool kit you can use to introduce yourself. Don’t plan to send all your documents at once, but provide what information you need to, and use the case studies and additional information to keep the conversation going.
Another caller asked if career marketing companies are valuable in helping with a transition. How effective are they and are they worth the expense?
As with all such services, Nicola notes that it depends on the firm. There are some great service providers as well as some really, really bad ones. The best thing to do is research the firm to be sure they are credible and the right fit. You want to make sure their style matches yours. Ask if they have ever placed anyone at your executive level. If they haven’t, look elsewhere. Also ask where they have placed other professionals and get names and phone numbers to check them out. You also need to determine how they will work with you; do they provide long-term personal attention or do they hand you the tools and expect you to do everything on your own?
The NETSHARE Forums are a great place to check out different providers. Members will offer their opinions and tell you if they think. Many members suggest saving the $15,000 to $20,000 some of these firms are asking – it’s just not worth it. The NETSHARE team also will be happy to share their experience and any feedback they have from other executives. And you can check out these companies with the Better Business Bureau. But whatever you do, never pay before you check their references with a trusted outside source.
