If you have been reading this blog regularly, you know that a resume and cover letter are no longer adequate to get you to stand out with potential hiring managers and recruiters. You need a full arsenal of marketing tools that you can strategically use to present your personal brand, highlight your expertise, and open new doors. That’s why we have asked Ross Macpherson, president of CareerQuest and a recognized authority in resume writing and job search strategies, to address “The Top 5 Critical Marketing Tools for Executives: What Works Today!” at our next Experts Connection teleseminar scheduled for April 28.
This is an important topic for everyone, so I wanted to share a little bit of what Ross will be talking about here as a sneak preview. Ross has identified five basic tools you need as part of your personal marketing arsenal, but these tools are only the foundation for a solid personal marketing kit:
- A LinkedIn Profile – Everyone needs to build a solid online presence, and LinkedIn is the best place to start building your online brand. Recruiters and hiring managers are looking on LinkedIn for talent, and they are Googling candidates, so you want to make sure you can be found, and that you have a compelling LinkedIn profile to highlight your skills. And remember, that a LinkedIn profile is different from your resume.
- A Resume and Cover Letter – Although some pundits keep preaching that the resume is dead, hiring managers still want to see your credentials presented in a resume format. And at the executive level, you need to be sure your resume is compelling, well-written, and polished.
- An Executive Bio – A bio is different from a resume. Where a resume should be chronological, the executive bio allows you to present yourself any way you want. This makes it easier to highlight your strengths and emphasize those points that will help you demonstrate your value for a potential position or to make a career change. An executive bio is typically a one-page document that gets a different level of attention and can be used to make an introduction without making it look like you are seeking a job (which is what happens when you start with your resume).
- A Brag Sheet – Like a bio, a brag sheet lets you emphasize your strengths and value by cataloging the real value you had in different jobs and the results you generated in different roles. You can organize your credentials as you want and show the real value behind your job title and activities.
- A Brand Statement – Some like to call this an elevator pitch, but your brand statement should be more than that. It needs to capture who you are and what you have to offer a prospective employer. Once you create your brand statement, you can use it in other branding documents, like your resume and bio, as a differentiator.
Each of these marketing tools can be used in different ways to move your job search forward. Ross will offer greater insight into how to develop and use these tools in his Experts Connection presentation. You can register at www.experts-connection.com.
