Jun 27, 2017 | Resume Writing Tips
When you’re seeking a C-suite level position, you’ll need to bring more than your resume to the table.
You’ll also need a carefully crafted executive bio that speaks to your ability to perform at this level of leadership.
Though similar to a resume in that it should include some of your background and experience, the bio offers you a chance to truly sell yourself as someone who belongs in a company’s driver’s seat.
Today, we’re taking a look at what makes a great bio, so you can be sure to stand out for all the right reasons.
Ready to get started? Pick up your pen and let’s go!
1. Let Your Voice Be Heard
When creating a resume, you’re working within an organized format — and for good reason. An impressive, clear resume is one of the top five reasons employers hire the people they do.
Thus, though you can be creative to an extent in a resume, your executive bio is the place where more of your personality can shine through.
The bio can include personal anecdotes, moments that defined you as a leader, important events on your career path, and much more. As such, it often takes a more narrative form, allowing you to more easily express your style.
While it’s critical to remain grammatically accurate and professional, your tone should be engaging enough to sustain the reader all the way to the last line.
2. Start Strong
Humans now have an eight-second attention span. As such, it’s more important than ever to catch their eye immediately.
The best way to do this with your executive bio?
Start with your strongest, most compelling recollection. Grabbing them at the onset will help ensure they’ll stick with you — and that you’ll stay on their mind.
3. Think Three-Dimensionally
Sure, employers want to know about your professional interests, your skill sets, and your challenges — and how those translate into company culture and brand identity.
They also want to know who you are when the clock strikes 5:00.
In your executive bio, be sure to leave some room to establish yourself as a three-dimensional person, not just an office professional.
Do you volunteer at a non-profit? Are you involved in your local community? If so, mentioning these activities indirectly speaks to your leadership skills, and your desire to help.
You may also want to include your hobbies, family life, and other interests. When doing so, try to find a way to link them back to the company you’re applying to join.
4. Make it Readable
When you’re finished crafting your bio, print it out and take a look at it. Or, if it’s online, sit back from your computer and examine it.
Is it full of long paragraphs in blocks? If so, make a few formatting changes.
First, break the paragraphs apart where it makes sense, trying to keep each one to just a few sentences.
Then, see if any sections could benefit from subheadings. These can give the reader a head’s up that a new topic is about to be introduced.
Research reveals readers only read between 20% to 28% of the content on a particular web page. Make sure they stick with you for the long haul this time.
Perfecting Your Executive Bio: Start Here
Are you applying for a C-suite level position and need a compelling bio? If so, we’d love to help.
Our career coaches are skilled in helping you get the job you want, and they’ll help formulate the bios that get you there.
We’ll help ensure that your document is the best representation of you, taking into account your career history — and your vision for the future.
Interested in learning more? Feel free to contact us and let’s get started today!
Apr 3, 2017 | Career Coaching
The type of career you choose is a significant decision. It affects every aspect of your life. Pursuing a career that you find meaningful, enjoyable, and allows you to have the time you need with those you care about is important. Sadly, many individuals are unhappy with their current employment. This could be for a variety of reasons ― perhaps they don’t see the point of what they’re doing, or they come home exhausted, overworked, and underpaid. Others may want to advance in the field they’re already in, but their current job provides no opportunities for promotion. The good news is that you don’t have to remain discontented with your employment. If you’re in a career ‘limbo,’ with circumstances similar to these, career coaching can help. At Elite Resume Writing Services, this is one of our specialties. Here are 5 ways you’ll benefit from career coaching:
1.) Career coaching can help you gain clarity, identify strengths, and reveal areas that need improvement.
A good career coach will help you gain clarity, identify strengths, and reveal areas that need improvement through use of common assessments, such as the MBTI, Keirsey, or DISC models. The results are essential to helping you pursue a career you will enjoy. There are likely abilities and experience you already possess that a future employer will find valuable. On the other hand, by strengthening areas that could use improvement, you will be better-equipped to reach your full potential.
2.) Career coaching can motivate you.
We’re confident that you can achieve your career goals. We will work closely with you every step of the way, and develop a reasonable action plan for you to follow. As your career coach, we’ll also serve as an accountability partner.
3.) A career coach provides guidance.
If you’re unhappy with your current job, but don’t know how to make a change, contact us today to schedule a free telephone consultation. We will get to know you and discuss suitable career options. We can steer you in the right direction, and give you specific instructions to help advance your career. If additional experience and/or training is needed to fulfill your ambitions, we’ll provide the guidance needed to accelerate your career goals and make steady progress.
4.) Career coaching can help you get ready to compete.
By providing you with valuable information and instructions, you will be prepared to succeed with confidence. We’ll also help rework your resume in a professional manner so that your experience, skills, education, and qualities stand out to potential employers. We can help formulate other career documents as well, such as a career marketing plan, value proposition letter, executive biography, reference dossier, or other tools needed to highlight your skills and expertise.
Additionally, we can help polish your interviewing skills and give you tips on how to skillfully negotiate salary. Your goal should be to find a position that’s a good fit and compensates properly.
5.) Career coaching can maximize your job search.
With our assistance, you will save time and effectively channel the effort you expend reaching out for employment opportunities. You will be more capable of pursuing good job prospects, and know how to avoid making costly errors.
Our aim is for potential employers to see you as unique and valuable. We want you to be able to utilize your experience, education, and talent to the full, and find a position where you can reach your potential. We have a high success rate among our clients, and have helped many kick-start their careers and find job satisfaction.
These are just some of the benefits you’ll experience with career coaching services provided by Elite Resume Writing Services.
Mar 27, 2017 | Resume Writing Tips
Your resume and cover letter are what get you in the door in this increasingly competitive job market. During your job search, you may be tempted to write your resume and other career-related content, but this is usually a mistake. Investing in a professionally written resume can quickly position you ahead of competitors, catch the eye of the right hiring manager, and drastically reduce your job-search time. Here are five reasons why you need a professional resume:
You Resume is a Critical First Impression
For the average job announcement, a hiring manager will receive 100-200 resumes, and significantly more for in-demand jobs. 75% of those applicants will be dismissed based on a quick precursory glance of their resume, without ever landing an interview.
This is why it’s so critical that your resume is polished, concise, well-written, easily scannable, up-to-date, and clearly positions you as the best candidate for the job. That’s a lot to accomplish in a 1-2 page document, which is why you need to hire a professional resume writer.
Professional Resume Writers Create Complementary Documents
Your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile (as well as additional documents like an executive biography and reference dossier) should complement and strengthen each other. A professional resume writer will make sure each document and social media profile are congruent.
Professional Resume Writing is an Art
It takes more than just being a decent writer to develop an interview-winning resume. Professional resume writing is an art that requires training, practice, and expertise. Your professionally crafted resume will flow well, get to the point quickly, highlight your unique skills and experience, and make a great impression in 6 seconds. A qualified resume writer knows how to present your skills in the most polished manner possible, in a way that your friend who likes to write for fun simply will not be able to do.
Your Resume Investment Will Yield Significant ROI
When choosing to invest in your career advancement, it’s smart to consider the potential return on investment (ROI). When you hire a professional resume writer, you won’t spend nearly as long looking for a job, which is worth its weight in gold if you are unemployed. If you’re interested in a job that is more lucrative than your current job, your new resume will pay for itself in no time. Since professionally written resumes are more effective, you can rest easy knowing you won’t have to waste months applying to countless jobs.
A Professional Resume Will Pass Scanning Software
These days, more hiring managers are using keyword-scanning software to screen resumes. A professional resume will carefully investigate your targeted jobs, noting the most prevalent and important keywords. Afterward, they will incorporate these keywords into your resume smoothly so that you can get pass the scanning software, but keep in mind your resume still reads well. If you try to incorporate keywords yourself, the wording may be awkward and obvious. This is another key difference between an amateur and a professional who is current on best practices in resume writing.
When it comes down to it, a professionally crafted resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile will help you stand out from the competition. When you’re ready to launch your career-search campaign, be sure to check out our wide range of resume and coaching packages.