Do You Know What Part of Your LinkedIn Profile is Viewed Most Often?

I’m a talent management consultant that has been helping companies recruit, assess, and develop leaders for over a decade.  I also provide executive coaching to individuals seeking to advance their careers and lately these customers have become increasingly focused on identifying and securing new opportunities outside their current employer as opposed to internal opportunities.  Because of this I’m doing a lot of work to help individuals write resumes, cover letters, and even LinkedIn Profiles, so I ran a Poll on LinkedIn to better understand which part of the LinkedIn Profile is the most important for a good first impression.

Advice for Job Seekers on How to Find and Qualify a Reputable Recruiter

I’m often asked by executives who do not work in the industries I focus on how to find an executive recruiter who can assist them in their job search.  This question usually comes from someone who is actively looking, so I feel obligated to tell them that most recruiters work for the company and only want to talk to you if you fit their client’s needs.  But, after this disclaimer, I offer the following advice.

Advice for Career Switchers

I know lots of people who get frustrated when they hear, “You’re a strong candidate, but not a fit for what my client is looking for.”  What some people fail to recognize is that executive search consultants like myself get paid to find the best candidate in a specific market and convince them to consider a specific opportunity, not to find the best candidate actively on the market.  Companies can do this on their own quite easily.

Almost always my clients seek someone who has already “successfully” dealt with the problems currently facing their organization.  As such, people looking to change their function (i.e. CFO who wants to be CEO or COO) or change industry (i.e. investment banking to CPG or high tech to pharmaceutical) find it hard to get positive responses from executive search consultants like myself.  However, it is possible to make such a switch (although I’d advise against trying to switch function and industry at the same time, which in my experience is almost impossible) and here is how I recommend people do it.

CorDell’s Resume Writing Advice

I have been asked numerous times for my advice on resume writing over the course of my career, which makes sense given I have been in the world of executive recruiting and talent management for over a decade.  Lately this type of inquiry happens multiple times a day, so to ensure I can provide this advice to everyone who cares what I have to say on this subject I have summarized my advice below.

First, create a resume title.  Where most people would include the words “Summary or Professional Overview” (just below personal contact information) you should write the job title of the position you want, such as “Vice President Software Sales”, or write the job function you are interested in, such as “Software Sales Executive”.  This immediately lets the reader know what job you are seeking and/or qualified for.