LinkedIn Profiles and Your Executive Resume - Whats the Difference -

LinkedIn Profiles and Your Executive Resume - Whats the Difference -Guest post from Laura Smith-ProulxTheres no doubt about it LinkedIn is one of the greatest job search tools available today. Not only can you advertise your availability and bildschirm career endorsements, but being viewable on LinkedIn is a boon to executive recruiters that may need your skills.However, building an effective online profile is something few people address in detail. You may spend hours preparing your resume, only to be confused about which components to use when building a Web presence.Here, Ive outlined some key differences to be aware of when building both your executive career marketing documents and a profile that can get you noticedand HIRED1 Dont just dump your resume into LinkedIn without modifications.Even if you wanted to add your entire resume (and see the next point for reasons to avoid doing so), LI contains specific character limits that you must heed. This is where looking at your resu me for ideas will help (assuming that it is written correctly and reflects your executive brand). Think of your LI profile as a Web site, and youll have the right idea. Most online and resume writing styles use sentence fragments, which you can lift to fit into defined text areas on LI. However, I recommend putting together a strategy first that allows you to build the profile without just popping it into LI. Instead, write out sections using Microsoft Word at first, keeping an eye on the character counts. Check document Properties and then Statistics to get this information. This method will allow you to both proofread and tweak the copy prior to inserting it into the profile.2 Be aware of Web space limitations and styles.There are key differences between Web site information and what would appear on a traditional document. Your LI profile, when viewed as fruchtwein people will read it, shows just a few pieces of information that must grab the readers attention quicklyor they wont read further. If you think of the profile as being similar to the top, summarized section of a resume, youll have the right idea. Spend some time tuning your Name and Professional Headline, in particular. Between these, you have 160 total characters in which to express your brand. Contrary to popular belief, your Headline is NOT intended to be your current job title, unless you find this to be very descriptive of your status. Instead, I recommend adding a composite brand tagline and keyword-rich phrase that sums up your abilities and goals.For example, Director of Sales or Operations might be Sales and Operations Executive Multi-Billion Dollar Producer Six Sigma Green Belt, while Real Estate Developer can be changed to CEO and President Real Estate Investment Development.Beyond that, most readers will take a quick glance at some key points about you, including your executive career history, education, personal website or blog, number of connections, and any recommendations.Keep the Summary and Experience sections limited to brief, bulleted descriptors of major achievements and the scope of your responsibility in various positions.Remember that a LinkedIn profile expects input in basic text format, so this limits the type of characters you can use. Insert spaces as needed to preserve readability, and use asterisks or hyphens as bullet points.3 Keyword strategy is imperative.Youll notice that LI has some great categories that can be filled with keywords representing your brand, competencies, and skills.This is where to unleash some creativity, as well as classic search engine optimization techniques.The Summary, in particular, can be loaded with job titles that fit your goals. A real estate developer and investor, for example, could add CEO, COO, President, Real Estate Investment Executive, Director of Real Estate Development, Operations Director, Asset Management Executive in this area to reflect titles and positions of interest.Again, tuning this section while being aware of space limitations is critical. Be koranvers that the achievements that you add contain keywords specifically related to your area of expertise and leadership brand.In addition, the Specialties section can be used as a keyword list of specific skills commonly found in job descriptions that match your career goals.To find keywords, review several job postings for positions related to your background, and insert these terms in a straight list, with line breaks between each word for readability.In summary, youll find that much of your resume information CAN be used in LinkedIn.However, its best to spend extra time tuning your online presence in order to build a great profile that supports your ultimate goals, leadership brand, and ultimate job search success.A unique executive resume writing authority, Laura Smith-Proulx, CCMC, CPRW, CIC, principal of An Expert Resume, has achieved a high success rate landing executive positions for her clients at Fortune-ran ked companies. A credentialed and published resume writer, her work has been nominated for global excellence in personal branding techniques.

Resume Skills Examples Effective Vs. Ineffective Options

Resume Skills Examples Effective Vs. Ineffective Options When writing a resume, it is important to showcase your skills to let employers know your true value propunkt. However, it is also important to know which skills and work experience you should highlight and which are bedrngnis key skills and wont help you stand out to kompetenz employers.As you probably know, you should only highlight the key skills that will get you an interview. I usually consider these a job seekers top skills and qualifications and include them in a separate skills section on a professional resume. This can help you target your different skill sets to individual lages with the job descriptions that complement both the positions and your own experience. Lets take a look at how your skill sets matter on your resume and ultimately, in your job search.Why Editing Your Resume MattersWhen applying for jobs, it is important to have a resume that fits each job description. While you probably dont relish the though of writing and re-writing your resume with different professional skills, its not as difficult as you might think. In fact, the process is really quite simple.Consider where you are displaying your value proposition, usually found in your summary and skills sections. By editing those sections for each job descriptionensuring that your objective matches the goals of the hiring manager and positionyou can use them for targeting, which will increase the likelihood you will receive an interview.If youre worried about how tedious it might be to tailor your resume to invidual positions, remember that each hiring manager wants someone who fits in with the company and the role. Im not just referring to a great company culture, salary, or benefits package. I am referring to your hard skills list. elend every employer may need to see specific tech skills she wants to see job-specific skills that are relevant to the role at hand. Thats why it is necessary to edit this section to fit each job d escription. It is also essential to edit your summary and resume objective to discuss your skills and qualifications for each job description.Lack of editing shows a lack of care and attention to detail to potential employers, and you dont want to give you a reason not to hire you. If youre not great at editing, try to find someone who is and can assist you with that process of highlighting your best professional skills. Ignoring that crucial step and sending out the same resume isnt the best way to display your technical skills, experience, accomplishments, and other qualities.Ineffective Resume Skill ExamplesOften, people are confused about which skills bolster your resume for potential employers and which ones should not be included.Remember, always be honest on your resume. Dont ever list a position that you never had. Getting caught in a lie will cost you the job before you even knew that you had a chance. Do not ever include skills you dont have or embellish your qualification s. I realize that it may be tempting. but it will only hurt you in the end. Besides, if you dont have the skills to do the job, then how would you function if you were to get hired? Stick with honesty when it comes to the job searching process.The following is a list of ineffective sample resume skills. Dont ever list any of these on your resume Obsolete Skills.This one may parteicularly apply to technical skills. Old technologies that dont apply to the position or have become outdated within the industry also do not belong on the resume. If youve been out of the workforce for awhile, it is important to ensure that the skills listed on your resume are still in-demand by potential employers. It may be time to update your skill set prior to updating your resume. Unrelated Skills.Unless it is a necessary technology, hard skill, or soft skill (such as leadership skills) for the position , it does not belong on your resume. I have spoken with plenty of job seekers who are afraid that if they dont list everything, then they wont look qualified enough to get an interview. The opposite is true. Recruiters find it painful to read through a resume if it isnt well-suited to the job description. Skip the Overused Buzz Words.Words like strategic, specialized, passionate, and focused are not necessary because they just add extra fluff to a resume rather convey your actual value proposition to a potential employer. Expected Skills.There are skills that employers expect employees to have, such as the internet, Windows, email, and Microsoft Office. unterstellung do not need to be listed because employers will assume you have them.These skills are considered to be ineffective and a waste of space. Only include pertinent skills, facts, and alike. You also do not need to fit everything onto your resume. Remember your LinkedIn profile can help fill in the gaps. A potential employer will not be impressed by a resume that lacks a clear strategy. In other words, if youre not putting enough effort into it to understand the skills and other factors that do not belong on there, youre showing the potential employer that you would be unwilling go the extra mile for them either if they were to employ you.Effective Resume Skill ExamplesSo, what are examples of effective resume skills? Soft skills.When people think of soft skills, they think of people skills. However, there are many other types of soft skills that are important to include.Soft skills are important to potential employers because they provide them with a feel for your personality and values. They also give them a feel for what you may be like to work with on a daily basis. These skills are harder to quantify, but that doesnt make them any less important. If anything, soft skills are more important in some situations because they also provide a feel for how you get along with others. These skills are the skills that often cant be taught or trained.Soft skills are particularly important when youre transiti oning between industries or seeking leadership positions. Leadership positions require individuals to have their soft skills dialed in, particularly with regard to their communication and emotional intelligence.Resume skills examples of soft skills includeCommunication SkillsInterpersonal skillsVerbal communication skillsListening skillsNonverbal communication skillsPersuasion skillsEmotional intelligencePresentation, storytelling, and public speaking skillsWriting skills, including writing reports and proposalsCritical Thinking SkillsFlexibilityAdaptabilityInnovationResourcivenessProblem SolvingLogicWillingness to LearnLeadership SkillsManagementConflict Management and ResolutionDelegationDecision-makingAbility to provie well-defined, understandable feedbackMentoringCoachingTalent ManagementProject ManagementTeamwork SkillsAwareness and Acceptance of OthersEmotional IntelligenceAbility to CollaborateEmpatheticSocial SkillsTeam-Building SkillsNetworking SkillsTechnology SkillsArchit ect SkillsBig Data SkillsData AnalyticsDeveloper SkillsGraphic entwurf SkillsDigital Media SkillsWeb DevelopmentEngineeringITSoftware DevelopmentScrum MasterTech SupportTechnical WritingUI/ UXIts also important to consider what type of job youre applying for. If youre applying for a customer service position, the skill requirements would be a bit different than a more technical position. For example, you would be required to maintain skills such as communication, leadership, assertiveness, self-control, listening, positivity, empathy, humor, taking responsibility, conflict resolution, and depersonalization.Hard Skills Your QualificationsHard skills are also very important for your resume. These are the qualifications that enable you to do the job. Hard skills show your experience and accomplishments. This is where it is important to employ action verbs.A mistake that job seekers often make is just stating that they accomplished something successfully. I emphasize the necessity for d ata and proof that it was accomplished. For example, if a job seeker saved their department money, Id want to know how much. Or, if your work involved sales, use figures to show what youve accomplished.Use action verbs to actively demonstrate what you have accomplished over your career. Using these verbs also keeps you from using the passive voice, which wont help. Action verbs demonstrate a job seekers value proposition best.Marketing Yourself is StorytellingIt is best to let your resume tell the story rather than trying to cram keywords into it. The resume skills examples listed above are skills that potential employers are consistently seeking, but a job seeker doesnt need to list every single one to show up in the ATS ordnungsprinzip just highlight a few that are really personal skills of your .Also, avoid writing a duty-driven resume. By using your skills and keywords to tell the story, it becomes much easier to understand the targeting and how to market yourself to potential e mployers. Highlight skills that you can demonstrate through a proven track record with past employers. For example, if you work in design, thinking about the computer-aided design skills you need and demonstrate how that knowledge is important to other employers. You can also prove those skills within your past employment.When writing, do not forget how your education and any certificates or professional training have played a role in your career, as well. The factors that play a role in your growth and development have ultimately aided you in the development of your skills. As your career grows, your value proposition also tends to grow because you acquire more knowledge and skills. These hard skills are the most important on a resume because they are the ones that can be proven and/or measured throughout your career. Think of the certificates youve earned to acquire more programming skills or the course you took to learn graphic design.You can highlight your skills in other aspect s of your resume, such as your work history and accomplishments. Also, you can mention some of your skills in your cover letter as you are discussing why you would be a good fit and are qualified for the job. Cover letters should also be targeted for each job description to match your resume.Your skills are what make you marketable to potential employers. They are part of your personal branding. Personal branding is a must in a job search because it is the strategy that can segue into a larger brand. For example, a personal brand can become part of a larger strategy for a startup later in your career.Building a personal brand requires time and commitment. It can become a platform for relationship building, business development, and landing your dream career. It also is a part of your professional development and helps you enhance your skills throughout your career.Like marketing on a corporate level, marketing yourself is storytelling. You are trying to engage the readerthe recruite r and ultimately the potential employerwith your story. Your story includes your hard skills, tech skills, soft skills, work experience, and accomplishments. This is also why personal branding is so crucial. Having a strategy for promoting yourself through your resume helps you connect with potential employers, recruiters, and in professional networking.