I was commiserating recently with recruiter Jeff Lipschultz, a founding partner of A-list Solutions, about how overwhelming the new world of executive job search can be for those facing one.

With fewer jobs at every level, when faced with a layoff or when considering a career transition, executives may find they’re not in demand the way they used to be. In the past, they were probably approached as passive job seekers by recruiters who slid them into their next great gig. They can no longer rely so heavily on recruiters to place them.

So much has changed in just the past year or so. Several factors deeply impact landing an executive job today − personal branding, the need for a strong online footprint, the rise of social media, the fact that recruiters and hiring decision makers source candidates on social networking sites such as LinkedIn, and, of course, the current state of the economy, resulting in much more competition in the job market for fewer top-level jobs.

Jeff shared his advice on connecting and working with recruiters in a Q&A with me on my Executive Resume Branding Blog, “Working with Executive Recruiters”.

Senior-level executives who come to me for help are all at sea when it comes to understanding what they need to do first, what they shouldn’t do, and that they need to build a different kind of job search strategy.

Here are 6 tactics that will help you get a handle on and excel in today’s new world of executive job search:

1.  Personal branding to differentiate and strategically position you.

In brief, personal branding links your passions, key personal attributes, and strengths with your value proposition, in a crystal clear message that differentiates your unique promise of value and resonates with your target audience.

One of the many powerful things about branding is that it generates chemistry for you and helps hiring decision makers connect you with and see you in the jobs they’re trying to fill. Branding shows them how you make things happen.

2.  Portfolio of career marketing communications for your personal brand toolkit.

An executive resume, career biography, covering letter or email message, and reference dossier are must-haves.

But you may need other documents such as a Leadership Initiatives Profile, Achievement Summary, One-page Networking Resume, Performance Milestones, Product Launch Chronology, Project Management Highlights, Technology Skills, Training & Certifications, Speaking Presentations, Publications, Patents, Commitment to Community Service, etc. Name the document to fit the content and target.

Get ready to transform these documents into your online identity-building strategy.

3.  LinkedIn profile and strategy.

Did you know that recruiters and hiring decision makers routinely search LinkedIn for talent and even have special applications designed for that purpose?

If you do nothing else online, you have to have a great LinkedIn profile. But don’t stop there. Get busy making connections, joining clubs, and leveraging all this site boasting over 45 million professional members has to offer.

Go back to your executive resume and career biography and copy relevant content into the appropriate sections to create your LinkedIn profile. Download a copy of my FREE E-book, “Executive Branding and Your LinkedIn Profile: How to Transform Your Executive Brand, Resume, and Career Biography into a Winning LinkedIn Profile”. The book takes you through building a branded profile, step by step.

Optimize your profile and make it searchable using the relevant key word phrases hiring decision makers will be looking for in candidates like you.

Once your profile is together, be sure to include a link to it in your email signature and at the top of your resume, along with contact information.

4.  Tap into the hidden job market with targeted industry and company research.

Take advantage of all that’s available online about your target companies and industry. Go to the websites of companies of interest to you and spend some time on sites such as Hoovers Online, Forbes lists, and Dun & Bradstreet for a wealth of in depth data.

Track down warm leads at companies, identify the challenges they’re facing, learn about the company culture, and pinpoint how you can have an impact.

Circumvent the gatekeepers by identifying and connecting directly with top decision makers at companies through LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and other online social networks.

Your research also arms you with market intelligence, serves as your due diligence for companies, and positions you as an informed, engaged candidate in interviews.

5. Face-to-Face Networking Strategy

Along with online networking, in-person networking is still one of the best ways to land a job. This strategy is not a “new rule”, but one that can be approached in a new way.

Many executives neglect their networks when they’re not job seeking − a serious mistake. You’ll need to revive your connections and once again start practicing “give to get” networking.

Leverage the Internet employment portal Job-Hunt.org to connect or re-connect through professional associations & societies, company, military & government alumni groups, and networking & job search support groups.

6.  Online personal brand-building and online brand identity management.

What will recruiters and hiring decision makers uncover when they Google “your name”? Checking out candidates’ online presence before even considering or contacting them is pretty much standard practice now.

If they find nothing about you online, you probably don’t exist to them. Conversely, if they find information that discredits you, you’ll probably be out of the running. You’ll need to run damage control and start building up accurate, on-brand results to push down the negative ones.

Here are a few places to build a presence online and increase the number of positive search results associated with you:

■ Create a Google Profile and other online professional profiles.

■ Blog in some way − your own blog and/or guest blog and comment on other relevant blogs.

■ Create key word-rich profiles on Twitter and Facebook and get busy leveraging all they have to offer.

■ Write book reviews on Amazon and other online book sellers.

■ Publish articles and/or white papers online.

For more strategies, see my series of blog posts, Top 10 Best of C-Level Executive Job Search Strategies

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Spend just a few minutes on Meg’s Executive Resume Branding Blog (http://www.executiveresumebranding.com) and there’s no mistaking her crackling writing, marketing savvy, and talent for personal brand positioning. Meg’s blog reflects her personal brand and is a vibrant platform for her to offer advice and share trade secrets, gained over 20 years in the careers industry.

© Copyright Meg Guiseppi, 2009. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

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With the job market so tough, we constantly encourage our readers to distinguish and promote themselves in unique, innovative ways. We tout personal branding and social media as ideal methods to get your message and qualifications out to the right audience. Does it work? Do people listen? We like to think  so, but it is always reaffirming to see concrete examples.

Like many recent grads, Al biedrzycki was having trouble finding opportunities. When he exhausted all traditional techniques, he decided to create a viral cover letter. Since then, he has been interviewed on CNN and employers are now reaching out to him. I recently spoke with Al. Our interview should be encouraging and helpful to young job seekers everywhere.

Like many graduates, you were having trouble finding any opportunities. What methods were you initially employing?

At first, I was trying the basic networks– eRecruiting, Monster.com, CareerBuilder, LinkedIn, etc. I would look for entry-level marketing positions with qualifications that matched my own, write a cover letter and send in my resume.

How often were you getting responses?

The only responses were basically from the auto-mated “do-not-reply” email bots. It was really depressing writing so many cover letters (some were creative!) that most likely got tossed away or not even noticed.

Were you tapping into any of your networks (parents friends, alumni, etc)?

Yes, before I made “Hire Me” I asked some of my professors to see if they knew of any open positions. Also, I asked my employed friends if they knew of any open positions at their current jobs. But, with the economy so tough they couldn’t guarantee anything, especially since most of them just started working at their respective positions.

What was the breaking point. What finally made you say I NEED to try something and make “hire me”?

I just wasn’t getting any responses. I really wanted to convey to employers that I can be very creative–something that’s hard to display in the typical resume. If all the applicants for a specific job say they’re creative, then how do you make yourself stand out? I thought a musical rendition of my qualifications might break the ice a little more easily.

Describe what happened after you posted the personal branding video?

My initial goal was to just show my friends and send it off to prospective employers, but it spread relatively quickly. The media got a hold of it which was good for my exposure, but the viral aspect of it really reduced contact from employers. Sure, people viewed it, but since I didn’t anticipate it spreading so fast and so far, I never really made it accessible for employers to contact me. I still had to take the initiative in sending it to companies I was interested in. But this wasn’t an issue once I sent it in– people liked it so much that they forwarded it to co-workers and people higher up. As a result, I’ve gotten lots of referrals and contacts who are volunteering to assist me in finding a job. It’s really great.

So when do you anticipate any offers in the near future?

Hopefully in the next 2-3 weeks. I have several more interviews lined up and I’m positive more are on the way. I’ve just got to keep up sending out the video and reaching out to employers.

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You just walked out of that long-awaited interview, you rocked the difficult questions, and asked even better ones, but unfortunately your work is not done.  I know that the last thing you want to do is walk out of an interview and hand-write a thank you note to someone from Human Resources; no one enjoys doing this. Well, it is time to change your view on the dreaded thank you note.  We are going to look at the thank you note as an opportunity to set yourself apart from your competition, because that is what the job search is, a competition.

Think about it, you have a blank card and you can write anything you want on it.  This is your last opportunity to win over your interviewer and you are going to rock it.

Here are the essentials of a thank you note:

Do not send an email! If you want to look lazy, then send a thank you note by email.  You will not get the job.

Focus on how you can make an impact The company you are interviewing for wants someone to step in and play an integral role in the operations, so express in the note how you are going to accomplish this.  If you can’t think of anything, then this job is probably not the right fit.

Be an outlier Your interviewer will receive an enormous amount of thank you notes, so you must separate yourself.  Definitely thank her for her time and the opportunity, but also add something that makes you different.  This interviewer is not going to remember every aspect of your conversation, so be sure to reiterate how and why you are a perfect fit for the position.  Also, if you remember anything specific about the interviewer, such as his/her College then mention it.  People love for things to be centered on themselves.

Perfection If you misspell a word or write the wrong phrase, please do not cross through it and continue.  Get a fresh card and start-over.  Yes, it is horrible and incredibly time-consuming, but think of this thank you note as an investment in your future.  Do not let your brief moment of laziness effect yours.

By putting the right amount of time and energy into your thank you note, you will have a much greater chance of getting a second interview, which is really the ultimate goal of the thank you note.

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Brendan Wales is a co-founder of StarvingFreelancers,com, a site dedicated to bringing together talent and opportunity.  He studied Finance at the University of Georgia and enjoys working with small-businesses.  Two of his favorite authors are Jack Kerouac and Ayn Rand.  Wales’ goal in life is to wake up in the morning and be excited about going to work.

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You’ve made it past phase one, the cover letter and resume submission.  Now it’s time for the phone interview.  More and more employers are questioning potential employees over the phone to cut costs and help weed out candidates.  Use this opportunity to shine and earn face-face time with the employer.

Avoid these simple (and common) phone interview blunders:

1. Do not stammer or use excessive slang. Uh, um, and like are horrible fillers in speech.  It is better to pause momentarily to collect thoughts than it is to explain that you were the, uh, like, uh head, uh cashier.  Practice answering potential questions with a friend or family member to help weed out these unnecessary (and unprofessional) words.
2. Do not reply in all yes’s and no’s. Answer with some personal experiences that are relevant to the job in question.  Yes/no answers do not help sell your personal brand to the interviewer.
3. Do not lose focus. Remember this is an interview, not an exposé.  Keep answers pithy and to the point.  Go to an area where there will be limited distractions and both people can hear each other clearly.
4. Do not volunteer information. This is hopefully a preliminary interview, so there’s no need to commit to a salary requirement at this point.  The salary the company is prepared to offer may be higher than what was expected, or, likewise, your requirements may be a bit more than they can afford.
5. Do not just roll out of bed. Since the caller cannot see you, it is tempting to appear disheveled.  Getting up early, eating a good breakfast, showering, and dressing (does not have to be business attire) will relieve stress and make you more prepared and alert.
6. Do not be a robot. Show the interviewer that you are excited about the position with specific references to what is fascinating about the company.  The energy and excitement will be apparent in your voice.  Have an upbeat, positive attitude, and smile.  It is surprising how much one can hear the change in a person’s voice when he or she smiles.
7. Do not wing it. Prepare ahead of time with some traditional questions and have your resume and the job description handy as well as any additional information about the company.  Have a list of your attributes with situational examples that would be considered important for this job.  Write down important questions that you have for the interviewer beforehand (focus on learning more about the specifics of the job, money can be discussed in person).
8. Do not have a hurried interview. When you are already running late for a meeting at your current job, or are dashing to pick up Jimmy and Janie from school is not the time to interview.  While one would ideally be in a quiet setting with no other pressing engagements when the potential employer phones, sometimes it’s just not possible.  Politely ask if it would be alright for you to call him or her back later and suggest a time (the sooner, the better).
9. Do not forget to thank the interviewer. After working diligently to answer questions, showing passion for the company and job offered, and standing up and smiling at someone who cannot even see your face, do not blow the interview in the last five minutes.  Be certain to leave a positive final impression.  Thank the caller and state that you are eagerly looking forward to the opportunity to discuss the position with him or her further face-face.

Relax and don’t let the idea of a phone interview overwhelm you.  Remember that the employer was once in the same position.  It may even help to have a short list handy of things that need to be discussed.  Most importantly, stay confident and be prepared.  Keep these tips in mind, take a deep breath, and ace the interview.

Bethany Stringer is a graduate of Texas A&M University (class of ‘08) and has her B.A. in English Literature with minors in History and Psychology.  Writing her first story at the age of 5 (with help from Mom), Bethany still enjoys writing and researching about everything from business and history to travel and fiction.  Enamored with languages, she plans to teach English in Russia in 2010 as a CELTA certified teacher.  She owned her own business working horses when she was 17, and still loves riding her horse Romeo.  Always appreciating a challenge, she loves sea kayaking and prefers Rachmaninov to Bach.

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