Executive Job Search: Be Different From the Rest
Thu, August 2, 2012 at 12:00 Tweet
The UK labour market remains extremely competitive and not many submarkets are as competitive as the executive job market. With many executive-level professionals still trying to bounce back from redundancy or deciding they want a change of career, each precious executive job vacancy is fiercely competed over. What can you do in your executive job search to stand out from the crowd and give yourself a better chance of success in this saturated market?
1. Be specific
A lot of us go into our executive job search without being truly clear on what we want, beyond an executive job. When you get specific on the type of work you want to do, what kind of organisation you want to work for and the criteria your chosen role will have to adhere to, you can be that much smarter in your job search than the individuals who are less clear on these things. Our eBook How to Get the Job You Want suggests steps you can take to get to the core of what you specifically want.
2. Be a person of action
Although planning what we want and how we’re going to get it is a must, many of us get stuck in the planning stage indefinitely and never actually start doing anything to move our job hunt forward. Be willing to do what a lot of us aren’t and take bold but informed actions towards your goal. Motivate yourself to do so by focusing on what you want from your target role and how your life and career will improve and regenerate once you have it.
3. Be honest with yourself
Being honest with ourselves is one of the hardest things to do and, as a result, very few of us are always candid with ourselves, especially when it comes to finding a new job. If you’re one of the few individuals who are truly honest about what they really, really want and realistic about their capabilities, you’re more likely to identify job openings that are suited to you, rather than wasting your time applying for roles that are just going to get given to a more suitable candidate.
4. Be continuously learning
Although you’re already at a very senior stage in your career, it’s never too late to learn new skills. You’ll not only equip yourself for a broader range of jobs, you’ll also impress anyone who looks at your CV and sees you’re not too proud, complacent or arrogant to want to keep on learning and improving yourself and your skills set. This kind of CV, the kind that includes recent training courses or voluntary work you’ve undertaken, stands out from the biggest of piles.
5. Be self-disciplined
Many executives are trying to find a new job whilst still working. This, of course, makes it hard for them to stick to their job search schedule. For example, they may schedule in a few hours in the evening to call up old contacts that could help them in their job hunt, only to not bother in the end because they’re too tired after work. If you can keep your energy levels up by living a healthy lifestyle, you’ll find it easier to discipline yourself and stick to your job seeking commitments as well as your work ones.
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