I just finished reading Thad Greer’s book, Executive Rules. The book is an excellent resource that can help job seekers effectively navigate their searches and negotiate potential land mines. Here are a few of Thad’s key takeaways:
- Have a professional resume writer craft your document. As an executive recruiter, Thad sees a lot of searches come to a grinding halt because candidates don’t have resumes that create a compelling value proposition.
- Forget the video resume. HR departments are required to pay strict attention to EEO (Equal Opportunity Employment) laws. A corporate recruiter legally cannot make a decision to interview a candidate based solely on a video resume unless the information presented in that video is relevant to a specific job.
- Blogs are great marketing tools. While Thad doesn’t anticipate that blogs will replace the resume anytime soon, he does remind us that adding a link to your blog on a resume can elevate your candidacy and improve your chances for making stronger inroads with a hiring company. Blogs can pick up where the resume ends and since they are a fluid medium they give your reader an opportunity to visit frequently and learn more about you.
- You can’t hide from Google. Thad again validates what many recruiter surveys report…recruiters and hiring authorities are performing Internet searches on candidates before calling them in for interviews. Candidates need to make sure that their online identity is relevant and squeaky clean.
- Recruiters don’t work for you. They work for the companies that pay their fees. They are not your agents and they do not guarantee you interviews until you land a job. Forge relationships with them but understand what they can and cannot do for you.
- Small companies offer more flexibility. You have a greater chance of negotiating a flexible compensation package with a small company. They are frequently more likely to listen to requests for salary, vacation time, and benefits/perks.