10 Mistakes Executives Make While Job Searching

During my experiences as a career coach I’ve advised executives of all description. My clients are typically high-performing executives looking for greater challenges or simply something different. Some are dissatisfied with their current role within an organization, while others want to achieve a higher sense of accomplishment (and financial reward!) before they wrap up their careers with a well-earned retirement. A growing category are GenXers still early in their careers but determined to move up by having a well-defined game plan to follow.

In virtually all cases the executives I coach have an idea of where they want to go and what motivates them but aren’t sure how to get there. That’s the challenge I take on with every new engagement. As you can probably sense, I love the process and am passionate about delivering the optimal results for each unique circumstance.

My job is multifaceted. I play a lot of different roles, depending on what the client needs. To keep my skills sharp, I’m constantly interacting with people deeply involved in HR and recruitment, and the businesses that serve those industries. My ongoing research ensures I’m on top of the latest in applicant tracking systems (ATS), search software, hiring practices, career management, and the ever-evolving world of DISC certification and standards. To clarify, DISC is a human resources and career development methodology used widely by HR professionals and career counsellors. Its principles are based on communication styles and behaviors going back to ancient times, and most recently developed in 1928 by William Moulton Marston using benchmarks he defined as Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance.

As a Certified DISC Practitioner I’m an expert at helping people with their careers. I use a variety of DISC tools, including a personalized Career Management Report, which is highly tailored to their individual needs and objectives. It takes into account their unique behaviors, soft skills, values, and morals to help us figure out together which type of work best suits them.

Although much of what I do is provide advice and strategies to help meet career objectives, I also am on constant vigilance to ensure that my clients avoid pitfalls during the interviewing process and don’t make missteps in how they present themselves to prospective employers. I encounter many easily avoidable mistakes so often that I’ve compiled them into a “top 10” list. Regardless of where you are in your career journey, I hope you find this enlightening and a helpful resource.

10. Letting a bad interviewer distract you

Even as an executive you can come across an inept or inexperienced interviewer during the hiring process. Don’t let their lack of experience or what you perceive as a bad attitude deter you. Just concentrate on using your Personal Power Language to demonstrate your leadership impact. You can succeed even if the interviewer doesn’t!

9. Relying only on personal connections

Sometimes executives tell me that they have all the personal connections they need to land their next job … and then they come back to me and say, “Oh, I guess I do need LinkedIn ...” As you may already know, LinkedIn, with all its flaws and annoyances, is still the best free networking tool available to you. With 850 million users in 200 countries, I recommend using LinkedIn in addition to personal connections to help you find your next great opportunity.

8. Having a resume filled with tasks and responsibilities

I see horrible executive resumes all the time. Sometimes the resume is jam-packed and crowded with useless information, like the summer job at The Gap in 1986. Most of the time, the resume is simply filled with tasks and responsibilities, and when you do this, you look like all of your colleagues, instead of standing out. I recommend that, in addition to all of your technical skills, that you add leadership impact and value-add statements. Look like an achiever, not just a “doer.”

7. Being unable to talk about your impact

Some executives, no matter how accomplished, are unable to give examples of how their leadership skills brought value. One finance director told me, “My work is complicated, and I work hard!”. If you as an executive are unable to enumerate and demonstrate how your unique leadership skills impacted other companies and brought value, you are not going to get very far in the hiring process. And you’re not going to land the job you want.

6. Letting age be a barrier

If you ever say during an interview, “I know I’m older, but ...” you have already lost the job. If you are older than 50, the value-add you offer based on your expertise is your greatest asset. Use it! Illustrate your impact and all the benefits that your expertise has brought to companies. That will eradicate any worries about your age. If you are able to demonstrate specifically how your expertise will solve a problem for the hiring company, the hiring team simply won’t care about anything else.

5. Considering inappropriate jobs

You can reduce your job search time as much as 90% by narrowing down opportunities and offers to only ones that you think truly suit you. You’re a good fit for the job if you match the needs of the job in skills, tools, and experience. But also take into consideration the tone of the job description. If it resonates with you, that’s a good sign. If you are only reading job titles and using them to determine which jobs you should apply to, you are wasting a lot of time. If you are applying to more than 5 jobs per week and not hearing anything back, you are either applying to the wrong jobs or your resume needs work. Or both.

4. Using common descriptors like “good communicator” and “team player”

On a resume people tend to say that they’re awesome at everything. This means that most people put “good communicator” and “team player” in their summary and/or skills section, even though the science of human behavior tells us that there is no “good” or “bad” communication, just different forms. And not everyone is a team player, despite what they claim. These adjectives are too general anyway, and they are not attractive to the hiring team. For better descriptors use a data-backed behavior and communication assessment like DISC to scientifically determine your strengths. If you must use one of these descriptors, then at least please exemplify it with how this skill made the company better.

3. Presenting a resume that’s hard to read

A surprisingly large percentage of executive resumes are almost impossible to read. This means that the resume contains useless information (see #8 above) and words like, “helped with” or “developed” or “assisted with” or “Used X tool” without any additional information or context. Or the resume is literally hard on the eyes due to bad font choices and confusing design or document corruption. Do you feel comfortable having an executive recruiter guessing about your credentials, work history, career accomplishments, and other information? Or knowing they must attempt to read between the lines and infer what you’re trying to convey? Be aware that recruiters are making a decision to invest their time getting to know you entirely based on your resume. Make it the best possible representative of you!

2. Having a poor LinkedIn profile

I can’t tell you how many executives come to me with empty LinkedIn profiles. Your LinkedIn headline automatically defaults to the title of your first position listed, so instead of putting energy into the profile, many executives simply have that title in their headline. Do you know how many Vice President of IT listings there are? A huge number, all highly similar unless yours stands out. LinkedIn is your promotional tool to the world. There are 850 million people from 200 countries on LinkedIn and any one of them could view your profile at any moment. But they won’t be interested if you simply have Vice President of IT in your headline with a few skills listed in your About section.

By far, the #1 mistake that executives make when applying for a job is …

1. Using one resume to apply to all positions

Recruiters call this “spray & pray” and it’s totally ineffective. It’s also a waste of time for you and the hiring team, which comes off as disrespectful and lazy. You’ve already learned from #5 above that you want to be very discerning about which jobs you apply to in the first place. But that won’t be as effective if you send the same resume to those limited number of highly targeted job opportunities. It only takes a few minutes to read the job description carefully and then adjust the top parts—not the entire resume!—to each job posting. Focus the top parts of the resume to each position (remember, only 2 to 3 per week) and you will see more results. Guaranteed.