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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10 Steps to Defining Your Unique Value Proposition

Perceptions and definitions of personal branding vary greatly and misconceptions abound. Here’s my take on it:

“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 from your peers and resonates with your target audience.”

What’s great about branding is that it generates the kind of chemistry that indicates good fit to decision makers assessing whether to hire you or do business with you.

In my practice, I’ve been incorporating what’s now called personal branding in my clients’ career marketing communications for many years. It’s always been my mission to differentiate them from their competition in the job market, breathe life into otherwise flat career marketing materials, and position them for job search acceleration.

But there’s so much more to learn. I continuously tweak, refine, and improve my personal branding development process. To enhance my expertise, I completed the Reach Certified Personal Branding Strategist program. (http://www.reachcc.com/)

The process was intensive and at first overwhelming. Being introspective and digging deep was somewhat painful for me, but ultimately eye-opening, affirming, and energizing.

Uncovering and pulling together all of the following 10 components will arm you with a compelling personal brand message to anchor and weave throughout all your online and offline career marketing communications:

1. What is your vision and your purpose?

Before clearly defining your brand, look externally at the bigger picture of your vision for the world, and then internally, at how you might help the world realize your vision.

2. What are your values and passions?

You have to know yourself and what you want and need before you can move forward. Your belief system and operating principles are at the core of determining whether an opportunity in front of you will be a good fit for you. If the passions that drive you aren’t met, you probably won’t be happy.

3. What are your top goals for the next year, 2 years, and 5 years?

Work on projecting what you intend to accomplish so you can put together a strategic action plan to get there.

4. Do a self-assessment of your top brand attributes.

What 3 or 4 adjectives best describe the value you offer? What words do you use to define your personality? Here are some possibilities, but don’t limit yourself to these:

Collaborative, resourceful, flexible, forward-thinking, risk-taking, connected, visionary, diplomatic, intuitive, precise, enterprising, ethical, genuine, accessible.

5. What are your core strengths or motivated skills?

In what functions and responsibilities do you excel? What things are you the designated “go-to” person for? What would your company have a hard time replacing if you left suddenly? The possibilities are endless, but here are a few suggestions:

Identifying problems, seeing the details, leading, delegating, performing analysis, fact finding, crunching numbers, anticipating risk, motivating, mentoring, innovating, managing conflict, writing, listening, communicating.

6. Get feedback from those who know you best – at work, at home, anywhere.

The true measure of your brand is the reputation others hold of you in their hearts and minds. Notice how they introduce you to others. Ask them what your top brand attributes and core strengths are. How does your self-assessment jibe with their feedback?

7. Do a SWOT (Strengths – Weaknesses – Opportunities – Threats) analysis on yourself.

Don’t dwell on your weak points, but keep them in mind so that you don’t move into a position where that function is the main thrust of the job.

8. Who is your target audience?

Determine where you want to fit in (industry and niche area of expertise). Learn what decision makers in that field are looking for when they’re vetting candidates. Find out where those decision makers hang out and what key words will attract them, and then position yourself in front of them to capture their attention.

9. Who is your competition in the marketplace and what differentiates you from them?

Determine why decision makers should choose whatever you’re offering over the others offering similar value. What makes you the best choice? What makes you a good investment? What value will you bring that no one else will?

10. Remember the 3 Cs of personal branding:

• Clarity – be clear about who you are and who you are not.
• Consistency – steadfastly express your brand across all communications vehicles.
• Constancy – strong brands are always visible to their target audience.

Your takeaway:

The work involved in uncovering your brand may seem daunting, but your efforts can benefit you immeasurably. My own brand development helped me re-focus the way I do business toward the kinds of work I’m most passionate about, and more deeply niche my target audience.

In job search, developing and communicating your personal brand can pre-qualify you as a good fit and  accelerate your search. Your unique brand message differentiates the best you have to offer, gives a good indication of what you’re like to work with, and evidences how you make things happen.

Personal Branding Worksheet Examples:

• Pete Kistler: My Personal Brand
• Phil Gerbyshak: My Personal Brand

Create a Remarkable Web Presence at Brand-Yourself.com

Once you’ve defined your personal brand, it’s time to create a visible web presence around it. We built a platform for you to manage your entire personal brand online from one central hub. Create your Brand-Yourself account today and see how our tools can help you build, optimize and promote a remarkable web presence.

Author: Meg Guiseppi

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