6 Tips for a (Successful) Confidential Executive Job Search

The average executive spends approximately four years in a job. The secret to finding your next great opportunity lies in formulating and executing the right strategy. Make yourself visible while keeping your search efforts confidential. Expand your network in a smart and targeted fashion. Have the right players on your team – and what may feel like a daunting mountain to climb becomes a realistic, reachable goal.

Follow these tips to help ensure success in your confidential executive job search:

Set benchmark targets.

Start with the end in mind. Define your ideal job by considering what kind of position you are targeting – which job, functional role or industry, and any specific employers that pique your interest. Outline your strategy and use your plan to create daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly action items to move you toward your goal.

• Evaluate your progress at regular intervals. Ask yourself: What is going well in my search? What needs improving?

Brand yourself.

Personal branding links your passions, key attributes and strengths with your value proposition. It generates chemistry for you and helps hiring decision makers connect with you. Use branding to differentiate and strategically position yourself.

• Your brand is your trademark. It is an asset that must be protected while you continuously mold and shape it.
• Start with your anchor statement. This is also known as your elevator speech. It is the 60-second distillation of what you want your career to be. Your anchor statement is focused and invites conversation. It also can serve as the executive summary on your resume and as your bio on social sites as well as an introduction to new acquaintances.

Build your online strategy.

Online personal branding and brand identity management are critical to your search success.

• Three-quarters of recruitment experts search LinkedIn for talent. Copy relevant content from your resume and bio and create a complete LinkedIn profile.
• Consider what a search consultant will uncover when then Google your name. If they find nothing, you probably do not exist to them. If they find any discrediting information, you will likely be removed from the running. Do any necessary damage control and build accurate, on-brand results.
• Participate in online conversations relevant to your field and industry. Blog or be a guest blogger and publish articles or white papers.

Actively network.

Personal networking remains one of the best ways to land a job. Revive all your connections and practice “give to get” networking.

• Follow links between people, keep records and follow up on leads. Once your network starts to build, it should snowball and gather momentum every time you give it a push.
• Be visible. Go where the contacts are. Attend conferences and events and take leadership roles in professional associations and nonprofit organizations.

Optimize your portfolio of career marketing tools.

Your executive resume, career bio, reference dossier and support documents are must-haves. They should be tailored to each job opportunity.

• Maintain consistency in content and visual style. Your email account, LinkedIn user name, personal website URL, Twitter handle, blog and any other platforms you use should present a unified front. This includes simplicity and clarity of design.

Find the right search firm.

The right job search consultant will become a trusted advisor who can counsel you throughout your career and connect you to the best, unadvertised positions. The senior practice leaders at BrainWorks offer deep expertise in targeted fields including consumer products, CRM and direct marketing, analytics and data science, and market research and e-commerce. We will assist you in preparing for interviews, offer negotiations, resigning from your current company and managing relocation if needed – all while ensuring you are confidentially exploring new opportunities. Contact us today to learn more about our executive career opportunities!