Mistakes You Should Avoid During an Executive Job Search

Mistakes You Should Avoid During an Executive Job Search was originally published on Ivy Exec.

Being a high-level professional in the modern job market doesn’t guarantee immediate employment, even less so if you’re looking for your next job to be your ideal career choice. 

Taking on a c-level role requires exceptional leadership abilities as well as a wide array of soft skills, no matter the industry. Even with nothing else to consider, companies are now far more likely to opt for someone who exhibits stronger capabilities in any of the mentioned spheres. Despite your knowledge and experience, you also need to be able to “read” the situation in a company in order to adjust your approach and land the job you want.

In such a competitive pursuit, executives can make a range of different mistakes wanting to land a new role, some of which can cause them to settle for a smaller salary, and others can cause them to miss out on an amazing opportunity altogether. That’s why in this article, we will be taking a look at the key mistakes that executives tend to make and how to avoid them.

Not Building or Nurturing Your Personal Brand

In an executive position, you are not just an employee that can be easily replaced by another equally qualified person in the industry. You are, and you should be considered a brand in and of itself. Your managerial role and your deep ties to each company you choose to work with are often based on much more than experience and qualifications.

To be more specific, your future employer will want your values to align with theirs. They will often determine that based on a variety of sources, from your resume and cover letter, but also your website, your previous work experience, LinkedIn content, and so much more. If you’ve been busy building your career, chances are you might have neglected your own brand.

It might be time to consider rebranding your business and your personal presence in the industry. That might mean upgrading your LinkedIn game, updating your details, asking for a few more testimonials to publish, and slowly establishing yourself as the leader that you are.

Applying for Any Exec Role

Some c-level experts take a break from a corporate role from time to time to reconsider their career path and their future. If you have done something similar and it’s time to get back on the proverbial job-hunting horse, you might want to take a closer look at your professional goals before you start applying for any and all open exec roles out there.

Are you looking to get started in a new role as fast as possible, or would you like to find a position that is also a good fit for your long-term career path? Would you like to give a completely new industry a go in order to diversify your own resume a bit? How about mastering some new skills before you apply for your dream job?

It’s worth noting that much like your employer will want your values to align with theirs, it’s also your responsibility to pick a business that resonates with your own views and beliefs. That will help you surround yourself with the kind of people who will always challenge you in the best possible ways and help drive your career forward more than ever before.

Not Being Visible and Vocal in Your Community

Once again, we go back to values, or to be more specific, the kind of values and impact you can only build over the long term. For example, more and more employers are actively building diversity recruitment strategies that transform the workplace into a more inclusive, empowering space. 

That said, while you might not necessarily tick any of the inclusivity boxes, it’s crucial to show that you, as an executive, are not biased. Your history of employment, previous work experience, and your work in your community speak volumes to that effect. Especially if you will be expected in your new exec role to contribute to choosing new team members, be sure that you understand the diversity and inclusivity goals of the company you’re applying to work for.

Not Reading the Contract in Great Detail

Most job ads, including those for executive positions, are fairly transparent and detailed in terms of setting expectations, workload, dedicated time, and much more. However, job ads and verbal agreements are a leap from what the contract might state.

If you’re applying for an executive role in an industry you’re not too familiar with, or you’ve decided to switch to a hybrid mode of work, it’s crucial to understand exactly what your new employer expects from you from the get-go.

Most companies nowadays use contract templates that are the basis for every employee agreement. However, every employer will add specific details such as work hours, benefits, potential risks, and responsibilities on their own. Despite all the experience you’ve accumulated, always read the contract in front of you, even if you’ve worked with the company before. 

Thinking You Don’t Need to Prep for Interviews

A healthy dose of confidence is a must for any executive applying for a new role. However, that confidence should not serve as an excuse for you to skip the interview preparation process. If you feel that most employers are looking to overcome the talent shortage and would be lucky to have you considering the circumstances, remember that hiring for executive roles often involves much more scrutiny.

That means that your resume, as brilliant as it may be, won’t be enough to have someone decide to hire you on the spot. Even if you come highly recommended, the multi-layered hiring process for an executive role requires one-on-one talks with the company leadership, and you will stand a far better chance to land the job if you prepare beyond the resume. 

Preparing yourself for the interview to impress your potential employer will definitely elevate your chances of success. No matter your years of experience and the number of interviews you’ve had over the years, leave nothing to chance. Practice, and prepare by learning as much as possible about the business in question, and prepare some of your own questions to see if you would be a good fit. 

Believing You Know Everything There Is to Know

Perhaps you’re amazing at your job, you’re highly qualified, and your education speaks for itself. Given today’s recruiting processes and potential employees out there eager to grab the same exec opportunity as you, you need to remember one very important thing: you are not perfect, and there’s always room to improve yourself if you’re looking to grow and secure your career.

Even, or perhaps especially in executive roles, the willingness to learn is perceived as a great trait to have. For instance, you might have developed effective leadership communication, but you could work on your time management. Before you present yourself to your future employer as a flawless candidate, make sure to take a closer look at yourself and show that you’re eager to further advance your abilities as an executive.

Over to You

No matter how skilled you are within your area of expertise, you, too, can fall prey to these mistakes if you’re not careful enough to focus on their prevention. When it’s time to apply for your next job and present yourself in the best possible light, it would be ideal to avoid these and similar mistakes. 

Finally, even if you’re not on a job hunt right now, you should focus on building up some of the listed ideas (such as your personal brand and how active you are in your industry and community) so that they don’t end up affecting your search when the moment comes.

By Ivy Exec
Ivy Exec is your dedicated career development resource.