The Rules of the Executive Job Search Are Different: Are You Using an Old Playbook to Win a New Game?

I talk to countless executives who find their job search to be much more difficult than they expected it to be. And this is for good reason, as most of our clients have built amazing careers through earning promotions, getting recruited, or through their network. But at some point, they need to take themselves to market for a new role and hit a wall.

A perfect example is a senior leader I spoke to a few weeks ago who was frustrated in his job search because he'd been applying for months with no luck.

When we dug into his search to determine where the process was breaking down, it was clear he was making the same mistakes we see a lot of leaders make:

He was trying to land a senior-level job using the same tools and playbook he used earlier in his career.

• Resume—He was using the same resume he had when he graduated from business school by just adding new roles to the top each time. However, this resume didn't explain his qualifications, unique value, or leadership qualities necessary for the new roles he was looking to take on. It was just a list of everything he'd ever done.
• Go-to-Market Strategy—He was applying to countless jobs online, hoping to land interviews. But because he was trying to transition to a new function, he couldn't compete with hundreds of other applicants with more direct experience.
• Job Search Channel—He was reaching out to executive recruiters and getting rejection after rejection. But that wasn't because he wasn't a good candidate, it was because he was trying to make a career transition, so recruiters weren't the right job search channel for him. Working with recruiters is most effective when you are looking for a role similar in function, title, company, etc, as your most recent work.
• He was reaching out to his network, but he didn't have a clear, actionable ask so people were unsure of how to help. People typically want to help you, but you have to make it easy for them by giving them a clear outline of your ideal next role and company.

Do any of these issues sound familiar in your own job search?

If so, the same may be true for you as it was for him:

He's a great candidate with a ton of value to share, he just needs new tools and a new strategy to help him get to where he's trying to go.

If you need to level up your job search, reach out to us at D&S Executive Career Management for help with your executive resume and LinkedIn profile, job search strategy, recruiter introductions, interview preparation, compensation negotiation strategy, and more.

Schedule a call with our team here .