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How to Find an Expert Executive Résumé Writer, Certified Professional Résumé Writer or LinkedIn Profile Writer for Executives, Doctors, Lawyers, MBA, CEO, COO, CFO, CPA, VP, GM, Directors, Sales Executive or High-Income Earners.
By Darrell DiZoglio, Executive Résumé Writer CPRW of http://RighteousResumes.com Copyright 11/8/2022 all rights reserved.
Intelligent executives/professionals already know about the lasting benefits and return on investment that a great Executive Résumé Writer/Certified Professional Résumé Writer offers, but they seldom know how to find them. When you are shopping for a great Executive Résumé Writer/Certified Professional Résumé Writer, your career, starting salary and benefits package (a whole lot of happiness) are on the line.
Step one, know that your executive résumé must impress executive hiring committees, rank in the top 5% to earn interviews, and win in side-by-side comparisons with 500 of the competition's executive résumés. Thus, you must avoid these pitfalls: Shopping for lowest price. Cheap prices are only possible because a business is outsourcing to foreign countries (where American English is never their native language and resume standards are much lower) because corporations only want the lowest labor costs.
AVOID: Fast and Cheap Document Typists – High quality work is never cheap or fast. Typically, cheap and fast typists just use résumé software to mass produce pathetic career documents without caring about your results. Generally, in life you get exactly what you pay for and high-income earner and executive-level resumes need to be excellent in every respect.
AVOID: Automated Résumé Builders/Résumé Software – These websites are always loaded with all sorts of hype/fake testimonials to take advantage of gullible people. Worse, they employed the cheapest software developers on the planet. Why would you ever want to take a knife to a gun fight?
AVOID: Inflated claims without any evidence to back it up – Hype is everywhere on the Internet, so be skeptical, doubting and critical just like a hiring manager. Hiring managers look for genuine talent, intelligence and proof of performance. You should too.
Here is my goof-proof checklist to find a talented Executive Résumé Writer or Certified Professional Résumé Writer/CPRW for leaders, executives and high-income earners who want to earn $90K to $5M per year:
Finally, I highly recommend using PayPal to make all payments to service providers that are not local because PayPal.com offers the best consumer protections. First, they do not even give out your credit card/debit card numbers, expiration dates or 3-digit security code. They only send merchants money digitally, this prevents all sorts of headaches and financial loss from unauthorized usage. Second if a service provider failed to deliver, PayPal’s consumer protections will provide you with a prompt refund. Thankfully, the vast majority of service providers are honest, but it is smart to take precautions when dealing with out-of-state service providers. When you receive a PayPal invoice you can pay that with your existing PayPal balance, your PayPal card, your debit card or a credit card. If you are dealing with a trusted service provider you can pay them with cash or personal check, which will save them plenty on CC fees. They will notice that and give you the VIP treatment.
The bottom line is that highly-skilled and successful Executive Résumé Writers are rare so treat them right and make them a friend for life. Once you have benefited from their expertise, give them a positive online review and help your unemployed friends, co-workers or family out by sending them to your Résumé Writer for professional assistance. Expect to pay between 1%-2% of your next annual compensation package because results matter most at the executive level. Keep your résumé updated. Ideally, you should update your résumé and LinkedIn profile once a year so it's always ready to help you pounce on opportunities.
If you want to be winning from the beginning in your job search, then you only want to have Darrell DiZoglio, Executive Résumé Writer/CPRW write your résumé. http://RighteousResumes.com His office is in North Dallas Texas and he has served clients nationwide since 2004 by phone and email. Let's connect on Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/darrelldizoglio
The Invincible LinkedIn Job Search Success Formula for Executives
By Darrell DiZoglio, CPRW at http://RighteousResumes.com Copyright 01/01/2016 all rights reserved.
LinkedIn is one of the most useful and beneficial websites ever for professionals and executives because they depend on professional networking more than anyone else. I certainly have benefited from free publicity, visibility and nationwide exposure since 2007. I have received countless invitations to interview, all sorts of job offers and thousands of freelance writing and editing assignments because I established that I am an expert in my profession with a stellar LinkedIn profile, dozens of LinkedIn recommendations from my clients, an evidence file and the #1 Ranking Nationwide as a Résumé Writing Expert on LinkedIn from 2008-2013 (check out my profile, my 75 LinkedIn recommendations and connect with me here http://linkedin.com/in/darrelldizoglio). Needless to say, my business went bonkers.
If I can do it, you can do it too. I have detailed the Invincible Job Search Success Formula for the #1 Professional Networking Website in the nation below. It emphasizes professional networking because more people are hired via professional networking (aka personal referrals to hiring managers) than any other method. I know this because I spend quite a bit of time as a Job Search Coach to professionals/executives that need assistance to advance their careers or find suitable employment. Every week I listen to their progress and feedback. In addition, I normally receive tons of good news calls from my résumé writing clients and I always ask them what job search strategy helped them most in their job search. That said, the types of clients that normally hire me are smart professionals and executives who make over $100K per year or want to make over $100K per year.
This Invincible LinkedIn Job Search Success Formula is designed to help you access the 67% of all job vacancies that are filled without using job postings:
This formula works because only people hire people (not job postings, career pages, resume databases or any type of website/new technology). The most powerful way to be introduced to an employer is through a recommendation from an insider within the company, industry or client. Every hiring manager/executive would rather hire a known candidate with a recommendation from a trusted insider (98% success rate) than a stranger from a job posting (50% success rate at best). If you help others first, develop and maintain professional relationships, soon you will have dozens of people willing to help you in return, just when you need it most. So, right now today, make a pledge that you will have at least one productive business lunch each week. Post this guide where you can see it and read it regularly, so you will refer to it often throughout your job search. I promise that this formula will work well for you if you stick to it. Good luck and God bless you.
Would you like to be winning from the beginning in your job search? If you are ready to say YES to success visit http://RighteousResumes.com today. Why not enjoy sky-high return on investment with a genuine High-Performance Résumé Writer?
How to Find Employment Fast When You Are Overqualified
By Darrell Z. DiZoglio, CPRW of http://RighteousResumes.com Copyright 01/01/2016 all rights reserved.
It is a cold hard fact that all employers need a safe, legal and dignified way to say no to candidates, especially today when there are 17 well qualified candidates for every job vacancy. "You are overqualified" is their go-to answer because it is a firm no and an ego stroke simultaneously. It continues to stump 95% of candidates while it keeps them safe from legal liability. Right now there are 75 million people still out of work due to continued outsourcing, automation/robotics and corporate layoffs/cost cutting. Unfortunately, many continue selling themselves short or accepting defeat thanks to the relentless focus on bad news from the main stream media. When in reality, they were only beat out by nepotism (a family member), a candidate with a huge advantage of some kind, candidate who agreed to a significantly lower salary or a favorite internal candidate.
Meanwhile, employers are always searching for hard working employees with intelligence, ingenuity and creativity. Ironically, today a great many of these talented employees are in fact over 50-55 years old. Intelligence, innovation and creativity combined with a tireless work ethic are what were behind such game-changing inventions as the Post It Note, Mac, Search Engine, iPod, iPhone and iPad. Automation, robotics or outsourcing never invented any products that earned US Patents, changed entire industries or earned hundreds of millions of dollars annually. More importantly, the small thinking behind cost cutting initiatives seldom if ever results in new market share or revenue growth.
Employers should know that only talented employees will ever serve as growth catalysts. So, when a potential employer is challenging you with being overqualified, you must recognize they just do not know enough about you. Realistically, when there's 17 well qualified candidates for every one job vacancy, it helps to have a convincing and compelling résumé. Ironically, it never seems to occur to most job hunters that their résumé will actually be compared side by side with résumés from the best candidates.
From now on every time you hear the you're over qualified objection realize it is really an opportunity to prove yourself in disguise. I advise my clients to handle it exactly like this: "I am going to let you down gently Mr. Brown. You are simply overqualified." Mr. Brown's clever response, "Overqualified, shucks. I get that all the time. Well, now that we settled that. Would you be kind enough to inform me for my own education, which category of overqualified do I fit into, the salary too high category, the too old category or the he is so overqualified that he will be bored, dissatisfied and leave category?"
When they respond, "Our budgeted salary for this position is so low it would not even interest you" answer you also have a couple of choices. You can say, "You sure are right $44,000 annually definitely does not even interest me." On the other hand, because we have led them to reveal their true objection, you can say, "Ordinarily that would be true, however I know that because I have switched careers/just returned to health from a car wreck/experienced a significant period of unemployment, I honestly am willing to start at the bottom and work my way up all over again. Fortunately for both of us, I have a knack for training other team members, earning bonuses and promotions. I agree to your offer of $44,000 annually and I am ready to start right away."
If the only thing preventing them from hiring you is the belief that you will soon be bored, dissatisfied and leave, then you only have to convince them that you have more than enough passion for your work to stay on. Better yet, boldly predict you will follow your pattern of earning a promotion/advancing at least once every one to two years. Show them how your enthusiasm and strong work ethic is clearly demonstrated by these examples of above and beyond performance (on your résumé or in your evidence file you brought with you to the interview just for situations like this).
If they answer, "You are too old" you have a couple of choices. First, age discrimination is a crime. You can ask them to repeat that answer because you did not hear it well enough (meanwhile discretely position the digital recorder as close as possible because this could be evidence for the age discrimination lawsuit/settlement). Alternatively, you can use hair dye to remove the gray hair, start an exercise program and dress more in tune with current styles. You will also want to ramp up the enthusiasm, age proof your résumé (and interview) and move with pep in your step. Honestly, low energy levels are very easy to spot and employers are turned off by those who need naps during the daytime hours.
Remember, interviews are supposed to be challenging because they are designed to separate the exceptional from the ordinary. You should not expect any employer to hire anyone but the person they judge the best fit for the position and the most likely to succeed. You should also know that many of the assumptions employers make and interview questions you will be asked will come directly from your own résumé. Because it is much easier to sell yourself into a job as an overqualified candidate, you normally never want to dumb down your résumé (think promotion or advancement via the internal job postings once you are hired).
If salary really was the main obstacle, remember overqualified means you are more likely to: Make high impact contributions, solve problems, perform well in the clutch, save the company money, make innovations, to improve sales, efficiency, production or profit. That hiring manager is more likely to earn a promotion with your help and a fat annual bonus checks to go along with it. Essentially, you want them to understand that delivering above and beyond normal expectations is routine for you.
They have to believe that a passion for continuous improvement in is your blood. You want to get this message across to the employer in your own words as sincerely as possible, so he will first hire you and second increase your starting salary if possible because you are well worth it. The truth is businesses have plenty of money to spare, but they are just reluctant to part with it if you seem merely ordinary. Today, businesses only want to hire top talent (top 5%) period, so their measuring your potential.
If you want to winning right from the beginning in your job search hire Darrell DiZoglio, Certified Professional Resume Writer http://RighteousResumes.com you will be glad you did.
The Missing Ingredients in 95% of Executive Job Searches Revealed
By Darrell DiZoglio, CPRW at http://RighteousResumes.com Copyright July 9, 2015 all rights reserved
By now, most executives who did some research on a successful job search know that you must have a great résumé, cover letter and Linkedin profile to alert hiring managers to your true value and return on investment. You also know replying to job postings is disappointing and that ultimately professional networking is the key to earn an insider referral to a hiring manager in a most admired company. However, it seems few realize that doing a decent job with your job search and career documents is not enough anymore. Today, job searching is a full-time job in itself and it requires your best effort.
Therefore, it is my duty to report to you that momentum and industry relationships with movers and shakers are the key missing ingredients in most executive job searches today. Momentum comes from exceeding hiring managers’ expectations and pursuing career multiple career opportunities simultaneously. This is not going to be easy, because thanks to automation, outsourcing and robotics our nationwide workforce will be reduced for the seventh year in a row. Thus, my best advice is to chip away at it proactively a little bit a time while you are still employed. Here are the best ways to build momentum in your executive job search so you can earn multiple offers, finish your job hunt in one-third the normal time and make your dream job with employers like Google, Linkedin, Facebook, Boeing, Disney, ESPN and Goldman Sachs a reality.
Build and maintain your professional network all year round and do favors for people whenever you can, especially when you are not asked. "People who help other people are the most wonderful people in the world." This way, if you are ever laid off unexpectedly in the future, your professional network will be happy to help. The Golden Rule still applies even in the information age.
Grow and maintain your Linkedin network, just as if they were your local friendly neighborhood network. Hiring Managers prefer well-socialized people that will seamlessly integrate with their existing team. They look for proof that you are outgoing/friendly and have above average people skills. Fortunately, your Linkedin profile was created with that in mind. Employers are looking for an impressive number of connections, connections within your industry and recommendations (e.g. http://linkedin.com/in/darrelldizoglio). Your Linkedin recommendations are very revealing and so is a lack of them.
Prepare three distinct versions of your résumé for career goals one, two and three. Make sure they are loaded with the most appropriate keywords for search engines, advanced Boolean searches and applicant tracking systems. The idea here is to target three different career goals instead of one (if you are versatile and skilled enough to merit this approach that is). This will accelerate and multiply your success when you post your résumé on multiple websites simultaneously. Alternatively, you can use Résumé Spider or Résumé Rabbit to do the same thing for you. Most smart executives do this, so why not you?
Before you waste lots of time, effort and money on the momentum building strategy above, I highly recommend you find a veteran Certified Professional Résumé Writer and ask them to provide you with a complimentary résumé evaluation via email. This service is normally free but make sure you send it directly to a CPRW not a corporation because big firms offer automated résumé reviews to drum up business. Individual CPRWs are normally happy to provide this service because if professional help is needed they will provide you a recommendation and quote in the same email.
When the time comes and you are laid off, terminated or need to leave/relocate for personal reasons, make your entire network aware of the fact that you need help by emailing them the news. Inform them about your new goals and preferred industries. Then tell them how they can help. They will know how to monitor the internal job postings and refer you to hiring managers. Earning insider referrals is something you do well in advance.
Look like a true professional, exude professionalism in your behavior, dress and in your Linkedin professional profile (these are not to be confused with Facebook photos).
If you are in a declining industry where layoffs are the rule rather than the exception, I would recommend that you take the necessary steps to move into a growth industry because what good will it do you to be hired (finally) only to be laid off a few months later?
Guard your reputation and that includes your online reputation. Most employers will do a Google search on your name, review your Facebook account (zero privacy there) and a credit check. When you have a credit score above 720 that will show employers that you are a promise keeper. Expect a comprehensive background check for any job with a better compensation so archive important documents like college diplomas, professional licenses, W-2 forms, official college transcripts and important certifications because you might be asked for them.
Recommendation Letters from former employers, preferably Supervisors/Owners/Executives are a great help. They hold more weight because of the credible source (independent third-party evidence is what hiring managers trust most) and because of the promotions you earned, their knowledge of your performance or the length of time they employed you. Recommendation letters will also help you earn a higher salary because your value just went up in the hiring manager’s mind.
Interview practice and preparedness – Being stumped in interviews is much more common than you might expect. I interview executives nearly every day in my work, so I can verify this is true. Know the employer, prepare for difficult questions and it is a great idea to review the interviewer’s Linkedin profile in advance, so you can dazzle them with something you both have in common. Being likeable is a serious advantage for any job hunter.
Keep a job-hunting journal to ensure you follow up on every opportunity because this is a sign of serious professionalism, intelligence and organization skills. Hiring managers are testing your level of desire to see if you are going to follow up or not. It is obvious that hiring managers and executives are always very busy and need to remain focused on their primary mission. Knowing that, how can you expect to generate enough momentum to produce multiple offers without follow through?
Job search momentum will help you generate multiple offers and when you can go back to an employer and say, “IBM Global Consultants offered me a better starting salary by $20,000, so unless you can beat their offer I will have to say yes to them and thank you to you.” You would be surprised how often employers will up their initial offer to acquire top talent or key employees with high potential. Without the momentum to create multiple offers, double-digit pay increases are rare.
It is also important to have realistic and achievable goals! The honest unemployment rate nationwide is about 15% right now. This job market has 75 million unemployed/underemployed professionals, so you have to realize that you will have to exceed employers’ expectations in multiple categories just to be noticed.
Do you want to earn more interviews and be winning right from the beginning in your job search? Then hire Darrell DiZoglio at http://RighteousResumes.com because High-Performance Resumes and LinkedIn profiles provide sky-high return on investment.
Executive Résumé WriterExecutive Résumé Writer Executive Résumé Writer
By Darrell DiZoglio, Executive Résumé Writer CPRW of http://RighteousResumes.com Copyright 11/8/2022 all rights reserved.
Intelligent executives/professionals already know about the lasting benefits and return on investment that a great Executive Résumé Writer/Certified Professional Résumé Writer offers, but they seldom know how to find them. When you are shopping for a great Executive Résumé Writer/Certified Professional Résumé Writer, your career, starting salary and benefits package (a whole lot of happiness) are on the line.
Step one, know that your executive résumé must impress executive hiring committees, rank in the top 5% to earn interviews, and win in side-by-side comparisons with 500 of the competition's executive résumés. Thus, you must avoid these pitfalls: Shopping for lowest price. Cheap prices are only possible because a business is outsourcing to foreign countries (where American English is never their native language and resume standards are much lower) because corporations only want the lowest labor costs.
AVOID: Fast and Cheap Document Typists – High quality work is never cheap or fast. Typically, cheap and fast typists just use résumé software to mass produce pathetic career documents without caring about your results. Generally, in life you get exactly what you pay for and high-income earner and executive-level resumes need to be excellent in every respect.
AVOID: Automated Résumé Builders/Résumé Software – These websites are always loaded with all sorts of hype/fake testimonials to take advantage of gullible people. Worse, they employed the cheapest software developers on the planet. Why would you ever want to take a knife to a gun fight?
AVOID: Inflated claims without any evidence to back it up – Hype is everywhere on the Internet, so be skeptical, doubting and critical just like a hiring manager. Hiring managers look for genuine talent, intelligence and proof of performance. You should too.
Here is my goof-proof checklist to find a talented Executive Résumé Writer or Certified Professional Résumé Writer/CPRW for leaders, executives and high-income earners who want to earn $90K to $5M per year:
- Start by narrowing down the playing field to Executive Résumé Writers who are "Certified Professional Résumé Writers" who are members of the Professional Association of Résumé Writers & Career Coaches. This is the original, largest and most popular professional association for professional résumé writers and its standards are very high. Frankly, an expert who specializes in Executive Résumé Writing and writes for all types of high-income earners is exactly what you need.
- Next, a genuine Executive Résumé Writer will gladly provide you with an initial consultation where he will review your current resume and LinkedIn profile and learn about your most desire career goals (job titles, income level, industry preferences etc.). This will be enough to give you a written good faith estimate for your new career documents. Next, you can ask to see some fine samples of his executive-level writing from his portfolio. An initial consult meeting like this is normally $49.95 for an hour, and if you engage the wordsmith, that amount is credited to your purchase. This is how you know you are hiring an expert with executive-level skills.
- You can verify how long any CPRW’s website has been online by doing a “WhoIs.net” search and looking for the website’s creation date. This speaks volumes. Example: The RighteousResumes.com creation date was October 2008, later I added HighPerformanceResumes.com. I started writing résumés professionally in 2004, but previously, I advertised in classified newspaper ads since I was already a busy professional Copywriter. I mention this verification because you will notice many websites are only a few days or months old vs. their website’s actual claims. You will also notice many online businesses originate from foreign countries where they have no grasp of American English, American hiring customs, and normal consumer protections do not apply. This eliminates all sorts of scammers, frauds and knuckleheads.
- Actual Hiring experience as a Business Owner/Executive/Director/Manager (hiring managers know the most about hiring because they live with all their hiring mistakes and candidates who washout). Let’s face facts, Professional Recruiting, Hiring and/or Human Resources experience is a must.
- Professional Copywriting (Advertising and Sales Writing) experience is ESSENTIAL because without the words that sell, there’s no convincing or compelling content that unlocks your true value in the minds of employers. This one irrefutable reason why ordinary clerk typists, Writers and résumé builders are not appropriate for executives or high-income earners. résumés, LinkedIn Profiles and Cover Letters are all sales documents that must generate results by impressing executive hiring committees. In my humble opinion, professional Copywriting and Editing experience are mission-critical skills for anyone who provides executive résumé writing services.
- Business Ownership/GM/Management experience is a huge help, especially Sales and Marketing experience since résumés, cover letters and LinkedIn profiles are really marketing and sales documents. Today, you face intense competition to be hired with 17 well qualified candidates for each vacancy and executive-level jobs have far fewer vacancies.
- At least ten preferably 20 years of professional writing, editing and proofreading experience. This is so vitally important, because every day I receive phone calls and emails from professionals and executives with professionally written résumés that are below average to horrible. I normally have to rewrite them from scratch because the content is just that bad. So, remember it's your duty as a consumer to carefully investigate the person your hire to write your résumés, LinkedIn profile and cover letters. This checklist is all about helping you hire the best Executive Résumé Writer/CPRW you can find (hint there's a consistent demand for best resume writing talent nationwide so expect to wait a little bit for an interview appointment).
- At least ten years of full-time executive résumé writing experience serving executives/senior executives and high-income earners. Writers who have this specialized experience proudly show their own résumé, credentials, and executive résumé writing samples. This confirms candidates can think at an executive level (rare).
- Do they offer in-depth personal interviews face-to-face/by telephone to uncover and reveal your hidden value and ROI? If you want to earn more than $50K per year, this is essential to avoid a standard résumé. I have had countless "breakthroughs" materialize while interviewing my clients over the years, most of those breakthroughs were integral in my clients successful outcomes. Also, meeting face-to-face for a real interview gives you much needed interview practice, interview feedback and eliminates all fraudsters/less qualified typists, however a great two-hour phone interview is just as helpful 99% of the time (any in-depth personal interview is just too intimidating for the unqualified).
- They must state that they are “focused on developing superior executive résumés, cover letters and LinkedIn profiles” vs. the norm of high-volume document production, cheap prices with quick turnaround. You only want to hire CPRWs who are committed to being the best.
- They have an impressive LinkedIn profile with plenty of LinkedIn recommendations from professionals, high-income earners, and executives in wide-ranging industries. Unlike testimonials from their website, LI recommendations are 100% transparent testimonial evidence from an independent third-party and we know the source with job title, photo and employment history. Talented Executive Résumé Writers have plenty of LinkedIn recommendations from executives.
- Do they have a College Education, a Satisfaction Guarantee, and a Certified Professional Résumé Writer designation from a credible trade organization like PARW & CC?
- The website of the résumé writer must demonstrate a strong ability to sell with convincing content, credentials and proof of high-achievement or expertise as a CPRW. Why? Well, they must sell you on paper to employers, so if they cannot sell themselves with their writing they are simply not contenders.
- A great Executive Résumé Writer/CPRW always displays his/her own résumé and LinkedIn profile for you to evaluate vs. just a skimpy bio. This is of paramount importance because you do not want a clerk typist to write your résumé since they produce weak typewritten work histories, but they can hire a professional Copywriter to write the content for their website.
- The ideal CPRW has an entire web page devoted to demonstrating expertise with impressive résumé writing samples including executive-level résumé writing samples. Seeing is believing! It is essential to be able to read all the text on the resume samples on display for your inspection. If that is not possible, it was done on purpose and it's a huge red flag. You need proof of intelligence and execution. Example: http://RighteousResumes.com/samples.html
- Great Executive Résumé Writers do welcome phone calls, and they will cheerfully provide résumé reviews with written estimates via email. True professionals gladly pick up the phone because they have the expertise, experience and intelligence to speak to you in person. They also rely on in-depth face-to-face/phone interviews. Weak writers/typists only communicate via email/texts and do not offer interviews (huge red flags).
- Great writers will have evidence (LinkedIn recommendations) to back up their claims because success leaves clues. Pretenders will not. Thus, an evidence file should be presented somewhere to demonstrate expertise using independent third-party evidence. This is so important because hype is everywhere on the Internet. As you probably know, I have 75 glowing LinkedIn recommendations on the bottom of my LinkedIn professional profile from clients who achieved their career goals. https://linkedin.com/in/darrelldizoglio (scroll down to find my LinkedIn recommendations once you're on my LI profile). LinkedIn recommendations are the best because they are 100% transparent, you know plenty of info about the person writing them (click on their name to review their full LinkedIn profile), and they cannot be purchased, they must be earned.
- Self-employed certified CPRW or company? I always recommend selecting a self-employed Executive Résumé Writer/CPRW because they have been baptized by fire and demonstrate impressive business savvy to survive ten years. Wouldn’t you rather hire a self-employed professional writer who sinks or swims depending on their own talent, dedication and work ethic? Or, would you want to hire a for profit company without knowing the background, credentials or education of the writer/writers who work on your résumé, cover letter or LinkedIn profile? You can count on a veteran self-employed CPRW to pick up the phone, answer questions, take full responsibility and interview/consult with you regarding your specific goals. Corporations/companies will reduce all communications to email and you will have no info on the credentials/education, experience or qualifications of your writer. Further, they have a hard time attracting top talent because pay their writers chicken feed since they have larger expenses and normally keep 70% of revenue as profit.
- Transparency and Price range: I have noticed that VP-C-level executives generally need to invest $999-$3300 to engage a real Executive Résumé Writer who will produce a five-star quality senior executive résumé. Clients who have shopped around tell me résumé prices average $499 for Managers, $399 for professionals. Many veteran résumé writers, like myself post their hourly rates or prices on their websites. But, executive résumé writing services are one of the few things in life that you will always want to pay more for rather than shop for the lowest price. That’s because your return on investment matters, competition is fierce for executive-level career opportunities, and every hiring committee has 25% up or down leeway when they determine your starting salary. Good news - All job search expenses are tax deductible.
- Always Choose a Christian Résumé Writer because 90% of the US population has faith in God/a higher being, thus it is reasonable to conclude 90% of hiring managers/executives do too. A Christian Résumé Writer knows how to make you appeal to them in a subtle but effective way. That appeal will benefit you long-term because a Christian boss will treat you better, respect you more and you will bond better because of your mutual faith-based connection. It's a known fact that birds of a feather flock together, thus you should never hide your faith under a rock while in a job search. From my experience every Christian, Catholic or Jew knows this is true in their heart.
Finally, I highly recommend using PayPal to make all payments to service providers that are not local because PayPal.com offers the best consumer protections. First, they do not even give out your credit card/debit card numbers, expiration dates or 3-digit security code. They only send merchants money digitally, this prevents all sorts of headaches and financial loss from unauthorized usage. Second if a service provider failed to deliver, PayPal’s consumer protections will provide you with a prompt refund. Thankfully, the vast majority of service providers are honest, but it is smart to take precautions when dealing with out-of-state service providers. When you receive a PayPal invoice you can pay that with your existing PayPal balance, your PayPal card, your debit card or a credit card. If you are dealing with a trusted service provider you can pay them with cash or personal check, which will save them plenty on CC fees. They will notice that and give you the VIP treatment.
The bottom line is that highly-skilled and successful Executive Résumé Writers are rare so treat them right and make them a friend for life. Once you have benefited from their expertise, give them a positive online review and help your unemployed friends, co-workers or family out by sending them to your Résumé Writer for professional assistance. Expect to pay between 1%-2% of your next annual compensation package because results matter most at the executive level. Keep your résumé updated. Ideally, you should update your résumé and LinkedIn profile once a year so it's always ready to help you pounce on opportunities.
If you want to be winning from the beginning in your job search, then you only want to have Darrell DiZoglio, Executive Résumé Writer/CPRW write your résumé. http://RighteousResumes.com His office is in North Dallas Texas and he has served clients nationwide since 2004 by phone and email. Let's connect on Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/darrelldizoglio
The Invincible LinkedIn Job Search Success Formula for Executives
By Darrell DiZoglio, CPRW at http://RighteousResumes.com Copyright 01/01/2016 all rights reserved.
LinkedIn is one of the most useful and beneficial websites ever for professionals and executives because they depend on professional networking more than anyone else. I certainly have benefited from free publicity, visibility and nationwide exposure since 2007. I have received countless invitations to interview, all sorts of job offers and thousands of freelance writing and editing assignments because I established that I am an expert in my profession with a stellar LinkedIn profile, dozens of LinkedIn recommendations from my clients, an evidence file and the #1 Ranking Nationwide as a Résumé Writing Expert on LinkedIn from 2008-2013 (check out my profile, my 75 LinkedIn recommendations and connect with me here http://linkedin.com/in/darrelldizoglio). Needless to say, my business went bonkers.
If I can do it, you can do it too. I have detailed the Invincible Job Search Success Formula for the #1 Professional Networking Website in the nation below. It emphasizes professional networking because more people are hired via professional networking (aka personal referrals to hiring managers) than any other method. I know this because I spend quite a bit of time as a Job Search Coach to professionals/executives that need assistance to advance their careers or find suitable employment. Every week I listen to their progress and feedback. In addition, I normally receive tons of good news calls from my résumé writing clients and I always ask them what job search strategy helped them most in their job search. That said, the types of clients that normally hire me are smart professionals and executives who make over $100K per year or want to make over $100K per year.
This Invincible LinkedIn Job Search Success Formula is designed to help you access the 67% of all job vacancies that are filled without using job postings:
- Have your LinkedIn professional profile professionally written by a Executive Résumé Writer/Certified Professional Résumé Writer to help you attract opportunity and stand out among the 450 million other candidates there. You should know that some employers only accept LinkedIn profiles now rather than resumes.
- Add a classy professional profile photo that shows you smiling and looking your best in professional attire (no sunglasses please).
- Become a paid member of LinkedIn at the level you think would help you most. Hint – Linked in's Inmails are very useful to communicate with people ideally suited to help you, but who do not reveal their own email or phone number on their profile. There is no substitute for visibility while you are in a job search.
- Ask former Supervisors, Executives, Business Partners and Clients for LinkedIn Recommendations to demonstrate that you are the real deal. This enables hiring managers/executives to hire you with confidence and allows you to outrank others without LinkedIn recommendations. LinkedIn recommendations are a modern recommendation letter and who you receive them from matters (co-workers cannot help you with this because the source matters).
- Target people ideally suited to help you on LinkedIn and add them to your professional network until your network has at least 500 connections. Example – An industry colleague that works for an ideal employer who might recommend you for employment at some time in the future.
- Be selective by looking for them in LinkedIn groups for your industry, in nonprofit LinkedIn groups (people who volunteer are normally kind and helpful), local/geographical professional networking groups, religious LinkedIn groups, military-related LinkedIn groups, college/ university groups, sports related groups, lifestyle related groups etc. Obviously, you want to connect with people who have something in common with you.
- Establish a report, build a relationship with these people and help them out whenever you can, then some day when you are laid off, fired or your employer goes out of business the people in your network will owe you one.
- Show them you care with a give first approach. Take a select few professional connections out to lunch every now and then to get some face time. Send them timely, useful info articles about new developments in their industry or help them out with a charitable fundraiser that they are sponsoring. If your golf/tennis/sailing/fishing/hunting/bowling/gaming partner cancels on your day off and the weather is terrific give them a call and invite them out for golf/tennis/sailing/fishing/hunting/bowling/gaming outing.
- Maintain your valuable professional networking relationships in your spare time by continuing to be of service in some way, even if it is only sending out birthday, Christmas and Easter cards each year (email is free). I decided to be of service to my professional network by writing, editing and publishing valuable job search info articles that they can learn from on HowToFindWorkNow.org (since 2012) and EzineArticles.com (since 2008). I notify my network every time I publish new info articles.
- You must target employers in high-growth industries not declining, depressed or stagnant industries. The chances of you finding employment in a high-growth industry improve by 500% vs. a depressed or stagnant industry.
- Whenever you want/need to find new employment or advance your career, notify your entire network and let them know you would appreciate their help and referrals. It certainly wouldn't hurt to befriend a great Recruiter who specializes in your industry because they often know about unadvertised opportunities. Although, you wouldn't want to rely on them.
- Focus on earning interviews throughout your job search. Make sure your LinkedIn profile link is on the top of your résumé and cover letter. It should also be on your business cards and in your email signatures (full name, title, contact info, address and LinkedIn profile).
- Mention that you were referred by ____________ (ideally a trusted insider within the organization) in your cover letter, this way you separate yourself from the masses. If you are recommended for employment, you will receive preferential treatment vs. all strangers because someone risked their reputation by recommending you.
- Leverage your high-value relationships immediately after you receive a notice of a layoff that affects you by taking them out to lunch and letting them know what type of ideal employment you are looking for and how they can assist you. Friends are normally more than happy to help you. Sometimes all they have to do is pick up the phone and make a few phone calls for you.
- Remain active and continue to be of service in professional associations/groups, church and nonprofits. You must get out of the house and continue to network. At some point someone will be able to refer you to a great employer for immediate employment, it just does not always happen instantly.
- Spend at least one hour on social media marketing per week on LinkedIn to increase your visibility and profile views (use a soft sell or indirect approach that increases your visibility). The more profile views you have the faster you will find employment. Keep in mind that an executive job search requires a professionally written LinkedIn profile.
- Follow up – Once you have sent out a truly impressive letter of introduction and resume to an ideal employer, make sure you follow up with a phone call if you haven't heard back from them in 7-10 days. Executives are very busy and often have a large "to do" stack, so if your serious about making a positive impression the follow up phone call is a great chance to prove you have professionalism, diligence and enthusiasm.
- Every two months send out a Progress Update Letter to your valued colleagues, friends and connections while you are in a job search. It should remind them of you, your goals, valuable skill sets, what they can do for you and how you can be a tremendous benefit to their employers/any organization.
- Always demonstrate that you are an ideal candidate during your employment interviews by showing the hiring managers/executives your LinkedIn recommendations, recommendation letters and evidence file/professional portfolio.
- Make sure your requested salary is realistic and achievable by doing your research in advance. The last thing you want to do is take yourself out of the running when you are a leading candidate.
- Guarantee your success by being organized and planning to win. Before each interview ends ask them, “When can I expect to hear back regarding the next step?” After that date, follow up by email or phone with a positive attitude to confirm that you are still interested in the career opportunity. Use Microsoft Excel to create your own follow up progress report with all the career opportunities on the right and all the steps to securing employment following that left to right. This will organize your job search and ensure you do not forget thank you letters, follow up phone calls or interview appointments.
This formula works because only people hire people (not job postings, career pages, resume databases or any type of website/new technology). The most powerful way to be introduced to an employer is through a recommendation from an insider within the company, industry or client. Every hiring manager/executive would rather hire a known candidate with a recommendation from a trusted insider (98% success rate) than a stranger from a job posting (50% success rate at best). If you help others first, develop and maintain professional relationships, soon you will have dozens of people willing to help you in return, just when you need it most. So, right now today, make a pledge that you will have at least one productive business lunch each week. Post this guide where you can see it and read it regularly, so you will refer to it often throughout your job search. I promise that this formula will work well for you if you stick to it. Good luck and God bless you.
Would you like to be winning from the beginning in your job search? If you are ready to say YES to success visit http://RighteousResumes.com today. Why not enjoy sky-high return on investment with a genuine High-Performance Résumé Writer?
How to Find Employment Fast When You Are Overqualified
By Darrell Z. DiZoglio, CPRW of http://RighteousResumes.com Copyright 01/01/2016 all rights reserved.
It is a cold hard fact that all employers need a safe, legal and dignified way to say no to candidates, especially today when there are 17 well qualified candidates for every job vacancy. "You are overqualified" is their go-to answer because it is a firm no and an ego stroke simultaneously. It continues to stump 95% of candidates while it keeps them safe from legal liability. Right now there are 75 million people still out of work due to continued outsourcing, automation/robotics and corporate layoffs/cost cutting. Unfortunately, many continue selling themselves short or accepting defeat thanks to the relentless focus on bad news from the main stream media. When in reality, they were only beat out by nepotism (a family member), a candidate with a huge advantage of some kind, candidate who agreed to a significantly lower salary or a favorite internal candidate.
Meanwhile, employers are always searching for hard working employees with intelligence, ingenuity and creativity. Ironically, today a great many of these talented employees are in fact over 50-55 years old. Intelligence, innovation and creativity combined with a tireless work ethic are what were behind such game-changing inventions as the Post It Note, Mac, Search Engine, iPod, iPhone and iPad. Automation, robotics or outsourcing never invented any products that earned US Patents, changed entire industries or earned hundreds of millions of dollars annually. More importantly, the small thinking behind cost cutting initiatives seldom if ever results in new market share or revenue growth.
Employers should know that only talented employees will ever serve as growth catalysts. So, when a potential employer is challenging you with being overqualified, you must recognize they just do not know enough about you. Realistically, when there's 17 well qualified candidates for every one job vacancy, it helps to have a convincing and compelling résumé. Ironically, it never seems to occur to most job hunters that their résumé will actually be compared side by side with résumés from the best candidates.
From now on every time you hear the you're over qualified objection realize it is really an opportunity to prove yourself in disguise. I advise my clients to handle it exactly like this: "I am going to let you down gently Mr. Brown. You are simply overqualified." Mr. Brown's clever response, "Overqualified, shucks. I get that all the time. Well, now that we settled that. Would you be kind enough to inform me for my own education, which category of overqualified do I fit into, the salary too high category, the too old category or the he is so overqualified that he will be bored, dissatisfied and leave category?"
When they respond, "Our budgeted salary for this position is so low it would not even interest you" answer you also have a couple of choices. You can say, "You sure are right $44,000 annually definitely does not even interest me." On the other hand, because we have led them to reveal their true objection, you can say, "Ordinarily that would be true, however I know that because I have switched careers/just returned to health from a car wreck/experienced a significant period of unemployment, I honestly am willing to start at the bottom and work my way up all over again. Fortunately for both of us, I have a knack for training other team members, earning bonuses and promotions. I agree to your offer of $44,000 annually and I am ready to start right away."
If the only thing preventing them from hiring you is the belief that you will soon be bored, dissatisfied and leave, then you only have to convince them that you have more than enough passion for your work to stay on. Better yet, boldly predict you will follow your pattern of earning a promotion/advancing at least once every one to two years. Show them how your enthusiasm and strong work ethic is clearly demonstrated by these examples of above and beyond performance (on your résumé or in your evidence file you brought with you to the interview just for situations like this).
If they answer, "You are too old" you have a couple of choices. First, age discrimination is a crime. You can ask them to repeat that answer because you did not hear it well enough (meanwhile discretely position the digital recorder as close as possible because this could be evidence for the age discrimination lawsuit/settlement). Alternatively, you can use hair dye to remove the gray hair, start an exercise program and dress more in tune with current styles. You will also want to ramp up the enthusiasm, age proof your résumé (and interview) and move with pep in your step. Honestly, low energy levels are very easy to spot and employers are turned off by those who need naps during the daytime hours.
Remember, interviews are supposed to be challenging because they are designed to separate the exceptional from the ordinary. You should not expect any employer to hire anyone but the person they judge the best fit for the position and the most likely to succeed. You should also know that many of the assumptions employers make and interview questions you will be asked will come directly from your own résumé. Because it is much easier to sell yourself into a job as an overqualified candidate, you normally never want to dumb down your résumé (think promotion or advancement via the internal job postings once you are hired).
If salary really was the main obstacle, remember overqualified means you are more likely to: Make high impact contributions, solve problems, perform well in the clutch, save the company money, make innovations, to improve sales, efficiency, production or profit. That hiring manager is more likely to earn a promotion with your help and a fat annual bonus checks to go along with it. Essentially, you want them to understand that delivering above and beyond normal expectations is routine for you.
They have to believe that a passion for continuous improvement in is your blood. You want to get this message across to the employer in your own words as sincerely as possible, so he will first hire you and second increase your starting salary if possible because you are well worth it. The truth is businesses have plenty of money to spare, but they are just reluctant to part with it if you seem merely ordinary. Today, businesses only want to hire top talent (top 5%) period, so their measuring your potential.
If you want to winning right from the beginning in your job search hire Darrell DiZoglio, Certified Professional Resume Writer http://RighteousResumes.com you will be glad you did.
The Missing Ingredients in 95% of Executive Job Searches Revealed
By Darrell DiZoglio, CPRW at http://RighteousResumes.com Copyright July 9, 2015 all rights reserved
By now, most executives who did some research on a successful job search know that you must have a great résumé, cover letter and Linkedin profile to alert hiring managers to your true value and return on investment. You also know replying to job postings is disappointing and that ultimately professional networking is the key to earn an insider referral to a hiring manager in a most admired company. However, it seems few realize that doing a decent job with your job search and career documents is not enough anymore. Today, job searching is a full-time job in itself and it requires your best effort.
Therefore, it is my duty to report to you that momentum and industry relationships with movers and shakers are the key missing ingredients in most executive job searches today. Momentum comes from exceeding hiring managers’ expectations and pursuing career multiple career opportunities simultaneously. This is not going to be easy, because thanks to automation, outsourcing and robotics our nationwide workforce will be reduced for the seventh year in a row. Thus, my best advice is to chip away at it proactively a little bit a time while you are still employed. Here are the best ways to build momentum in your executive job search so you can earn multiple offers, finish your job hunt in one-third the normal time and make your dream job with employers like Google, Linkedin, Facebook, Boeing, Disney, ESPN and Goldman Sachs a reality.
Build and maintain your professional network all year round and do favors for people whenever you can, especially when you are not asked. "People who help other people are the most wonderful people in the world." This way, if you are ever laid off unexpectedly in the future, your professional network will be happy to help. The Golden Rule still applies even in the information age.
Grow and maintain your Linkedin network, just as if they were your local friendly neighborhood network. Hiring Managers prefer well-socialized people that will seamlessly integrate with their existing team. They look for proof that you are outgoing/friendly and have above average people skills. Fortunately, your Linkedin profile was created with that in mind. Employers are looking for an impressive number of connections, connections within your industry and recommendations (e.g. http://linkedin.com/in/darrelldizoglio). Your Linkedin recommendations are very revealing and so is a lack of them.
Prepare three distinct versions of your résumé for career goals one, two and three. Make sure they are loaded with the most appropriate keywords for search engines, advanced Boolean searches and applicant tracking systems. The idea here is to target three different career goals instead of one (if you are versatile and skilled enough to merit this approach that is). This will accelerate and multiply your success when you post your résumé on multiple websites simultaneously. Alternatively, you can use Résumé Spider or Résumé Rabbit to do the same thing for you. Most smart executives do this, so why not you?
Before you waste lots of time, effort and money on the momentum building strategy above, I highly recommend you find a veteran Certified Professional Résumé Writer and ask them to provide you with a complimentary résumé evaluation via email. This service is normally free but make sure you send it directly to a CPRW not a corporation because big firms offer automated résumé reviews to drum up business. Individual CPRWs are normally happy to provide this service because if professional help is needed they will provide you a recommendation and quote in the same email.
When the time comes and you are laid off, terminated or need to leave/relocate for personal reasons, make your entire network aware of the fact that you need help by emailing them the news. Inform them about your new goals and preferred industries. Then tell them how they can help. They will know how to monitor the internal job postings and refer you to hiring managers. Earning insider referrals is something you do well in advance.
Look like a true professional, exude professionalism in your behavior, dress and in your Linkedin professional profile (these are not to be confused with Facebook photos).
If you are in a declining industry where layoffs are the rule rather than the exception, I would recommend that you take the necessary steps to move into a growth industry because what good will it do you to be hired (finally) only to be laid off a few months later?
Guard your reputation and that includes your online reputation. Most employers will do a Google search on your name, review your Facebook account (zero privacy there) and a credit check. When you have a credit score above 720 that will show employers that you are a promise keeper. Expect a comprehensive background check for any job with a better compensation so archive important documents like college diplomas, professional licenses, W-2 forms, official college transcripts and important certifications because you might be asked for them.
Recommendation Letters from former employers, preferably Supervisors/Owners/Executives are a great help. They hold more weight because of the credible source (independent third-party evidence is what hiring managers trust most) and because of the promotions you earned, their knowledge of your performance or the length of time they employed you. Recommendation letters will also help you earn a higher salary because your value just went up in the hiring manager’s mind.
Interview practice and preparedness – Being stumped in interviews is much more common than you might expect. I interview executives nearly every day in my work, so I can verify this is true. Know the employer, prepare for difficult questions and it is a great idea to review the interviewer’s Linkedin profile in advance, so you can dazzle them with something you both have in common. Being likeable is a serious advantage for any job hunter.
Keep a job-hunting journal to ensure you follow up on every opportunity because this is a sign of serious professionalism, intelligence and organization skills. Hiring managers are testing your level of desire to see if you are going to follow up or not. It is obvious that hiring managers and executives are always very busy and need to remain focused on their primary mission. Knowing that, how can you expect to generate enough momentum to produce multiple offers without follow through?
Job search momentum will help you generate multiple offers and when you can go back to an employer and say, “IBM Global Consultants offered me a better starting salary by $20,000, so unless you can beat their offer I will have to say yes to them and thank you to you.” You would be surprised how often employers will up their initial offer to acquire top talent or key employees with high potential. Without the momentum to create multiple offers, double-digit pay increases are rare.
It is also important to have realistic and achievable goals! The honest unemployment rate nationwide is about 15% right now. This job market has 75 million unemployed/underemployed professionals, so you have to realize that you will have to exceed employers’ expectations in multiple categories just to be noticed.
Do you want to earn more interviews and be winning right from the beginning in your job search? Then hire Darrell DiZoglio at http://RighteousResumes.com because High-Performance Resumes and LinkedIn profiles provide sky-high return on investment.
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