Managing a successful executive career today requires  keeping abreast of industry trends, maintaining up to date knowledge of the success and failure of leading businesses and recognizing today’s most aknowledged leaders. Combining this with a job search, networking and the researching necessary to enter into a job interview can sometimes become a little overwhelming. 

The following two sites offer exceptional information sources for those in executive careers or career transition:  

Forbes.com offers a list of top rated Career blogs, Forbes Favorite and Forbes Best of the Web. Without the additional recommendations, Forbes.com’s ”Home Page for the World’s Business Leaders”, provides excellent content on current issues affecting businesses and careers.

CandianBusiness.com is another valuable career resource which provides a wealth of information on businesses, careers, personal development, top leaders, current events; it’s all there!

Use these top resources to acquire information and knowledge and position yourself as a viable candidate in today’s executive world!

To obtain information from Elite Resumes on the many Executive Career Management Services available contact Martin Buckland.

Maintaining a successful career requires a thorough and ongoing analysis. Your success will be influenced by active networking, continued education and a professional online presence. Although all are key elements critical to ensuring your career advancement, there is one task that will have the greatest influence and provide the most important basis for making key decisions in the direction of your career. It is, “Staying Current”. The demise of many businesses, those “left in the dust”, is attributed to their failure to embrace new and innovative ideas and technological advances. New and evolving market trends have had the greatest influence on the success and failure of many business and career initiatives. Staying current with economic, industry and technological trends will afford you the opportunity to effectively manage your career. Competition is fierce and any inclination to hold onto old school ideas or resist technological advances will take you out of the running. An outdated mindset will have as negative an influence as an outdated appearance or an outdated resume.  

Are you prepared? “The mobile device will be the world’s primary connection tool to the Internet in 2020″ This is an excellent video on current and emerging trends. Will this have an influence on your current career path?

The Top 20 Business Women in 2009, share their most valuable advise showing a common thread of passion and goals. Each year Women’s Post selects the top 20 women of the year, noting this year’s selection ”all reflect strength, ingenuity, and confidence while contributing not only to society, but to the success of women in the workplace”.

There is no better advice than that which is offered by those who have experienced much success in their careers. Women’s Post clearly portrays these executives and entrepreneurs including, Bonnie Brooks, CEO Hudson’s Bay, Stacey Mowbray, President, Second Cup Coffee, Jennifer Wright, activist and founder of Green Shift and  Catherine Fennel, founder of Market Yourself Smarter, launching videoBio and SWING Think, just to name a few.

Here are a few snippets of advise from The Top 20 Business Women in 2009 from Women’s Post:

• “…a commitment to being authentic and transparent…”
• “…pleasing customers is the bottom line…”
• “…be the change you wish to be…”
• “…seek out networking opportunities…”
• “…you only get back what you give…”
• “…always be honest, direct, and kind…”
• “…find your passion and you’ll never lack motivation…”
• “…set small achievable goals…”
• “…find your own passion…”
• “…stay motivated by setting short and long term goals…”
• “…be committed to your passion…”
• “…keep your eye on the goal…”
• “…focus on what I love to do…help others along the way…”

Are you a senior executive or an aspiring business leader? Contact Elite Resumes to discover a wide range of executive career management services customized to your needs by a Certified Professional.

Staying current and up to date will likely be the most influential component in the success of your future career. ExecuNet, GRAY MATTERS: Experienced Executives Gaining The Edge, provides an extensive and valuable career guide for ”senior” executives in today’s job market. Despite the aging workforce, age discrimination in the workplace continues to increase. Identifying it and learning strategies to help limit this age-related bias during the job search are critical to managing an executive career.

Last year, employment descrimination claims increased by 15% but specifically, age descrimination charges increased by 29% according to The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. ExecuNet surveyed 287 executives, 71% indicated that age discrimination is a serious problem and in ExecuNet’s 2009 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report, 44% of senior level executives surveyed agreed that their age will affect their ability to land their next position, an increase of 33% over last year.

Dave Opton, CEO and Founder of ExecuNetshares his own personal experience noting age discrimination is alive and well, but not insurmountable. He says, “What does convince employers (at nearly any age is projecting energy, commitment and genuine interest in the opportunity at hand. An up-to-date shirt, good grooming and eye glasses from this century don’t hurt either.”

Further advice offered by ExecuNet members includes, keeping up to date on practices and new ideas, dress in current and stylish fashion, stay fit, look healthy, keep current with the culture, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and technology. Hiring professionals are more likely to hire someone not unlike themselves so if your attire is more similar to what their great grandfather would wear, you’ve never heard of a tweet and you think American Idol is a reference to Marilyn Monroe, don’t expect a second interview.

Martin Buckland has been facilitating ExecuNet networking meetings in Canada since 1999. For upcoming dates and venues visit ExecuNet.

An online presence continues to evolve into the most influential factor in the success of your career! In an article, The Boom of Social Sites and Personal Branding, Chad Levitt writes, “In the next decade, the best opportunities will go to those that have created their personal brands and are seen as leaders in their niche.” He goes on to say, “The most credible and visible personal brands will stand the greatest odds of success in an increasingly online and competitive world. 

If you are still questioning the influence and the power of an online presence, google Gary Vaynerchuk or read his book, Why Now Is The Time To CRUSH IT! Cash In On Your Passion. ABC News called him the “Social Media Sommelier”. He truly understands the power of the Internet and his enormous success is proof of that.

Trust Agents, Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, And Earn Trust, written by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith is another excellent book providing more evidence on the power of the Web and social networks.

If these experts can’t convince you, how about someone who was a complete unknown in April of this year? On April 15th I posted, First Impressions and on that date, Susan Boyle had been viewed on YouTube 5 million times in three days. Today, over 300 million people have viewed her on that YouTube video and sales of her first album release have surpassed all records including topping Amazon’s bestseller list, three months before it was released! Yes, her voice is amazing, but without the Internet, how many people would she have influenced?

The opportunity to embrace the power of the Internet is available to everyone and social media, unlike print or television and radio media is free. Your online presence will be the driving force in the success of your career. Are you utilizing these resources to successfully manage your career?

Contact Elite Resumes for further information on creating your online presence in addition to many other executive, career management services.

If there is one piece of advice you need to follow in your job interview it is to avoid the thought of what is in it for you and concentrate on informing the Interviewer what is in it for them.   

If you’ve made it to the job interview, you have successfully sold yourself in your resume, impressing upon a potential employer that you are a valuable candidate worth interviewing. So don’t stop there! You could just as easily be eliminated in the interview process as in the resume process. Both systems are based on elimination and the goal to find the right candidate is no less important than finding a reason to eliminate you to establish a manageable number of candidates for consideration.

Every aspect of your job interview must be taken into consideration and taken seriously right down to your arrival time! Don’t be too early, as the Interviewer may not welcome the interruption especially if they scheduled a task to complete prior to beginning interviews. Of course if you are late and keep the Interviewer waiting you will probably put yourself at the top of the elimination list. Your appearance and your handshake will create the first impression. If you do not look professional or are unable to put forth a confident handshake, how will you represent their organization? Prepare yourself well. The more knowledge you have about the organization the more confident you will feel. It will also show the Interviewer that you have done your homework and will lend credibility to your assertion that given the opportunity you will exceed their expectations as their new Senior Sales Manager!

What is in it for you does require your consideration but if you want to be considered by the employer, you must convince the interviewer what is in it for them!

If  you see yourself as a rising star and have clearly laid out your career path, you may already understand that your successful career will rely on the support of many other individuals. No one gets to the top without an extensive personal and professional network. As a rising star you must be driven, focused and continually earn respect as a leader. Any delusions about doing it all on your own may cause you to lose your footing while climbing the ladder of success.

It is important to recognize within your personal network, those supporters who are close to you with a genuine and vested interest in your success but equally so, is to steer clear of those who can be a negative influence. Expanding your professional network will be a critical component throughout your career, building relationships in a reciprocal manner by asking what you can do for them and in turn benefiting from what they can do for you.  

Sir Richard Branson accredits many colleagues throughout his autobiography for his renowned success. Executive Recruiter, David Perry, dubbed the “Rogue Recruiter” by the Wall Street Journal, speaks often on his accomplishments but never without attributing his success to the support of his wife. Also in the career industry is Paul Copcutt, an expert on Personal Branding who acknowledges his father in every speaking engagement with respect and admiration for his positive influence contributing to his success. And finally, Barack Obama, President of the United States. Driven, focused, respected as a leader and with the personal support of his family and the professional support of thousands, won the votes of millions.

Do you see yourself as a rising star? Who are your cheerleaders? Your success will be directly attributable to the support of your network of family, friends, colleagues, professional advisors and mentors.

For professional advice from a career management expert contact Elite Resumes.   

Donna Papacosta presents:

Managing Your Career Online

on TRAFCOM NEWS PODCAST, Podcasts for people who care about communicating with employees, customers, prospects and the world, hosted by Donna Papacosta.

“If you want to really take charge of your career, you need a powerful online presence.” Donna Papacosta presents this 23-minute podcast with Master Résumé Writer Martin Buckland who talks about how to establish this presence using a variety of tools. As one of Canada’s leading authorities on highly effective résumés and cover letters, successful job-search strategies and interviewing, Martin Buckland covers all the basics in this podcast to ensure an effective online presence, which has become a mandatory component in managing a successful career.

Who do you know? Who do they know? Who knows you? 

If you have invested the time to utilize the vast number of social media resources available today, you may find the answers to these questions quite remarkable, even extraordinary. The opportunity to create an extremely valuable and influential network of people to establish your “social media status” has never been this accessible! Do you want to be known as “The Smartest Man in the World”? Google it and you will see one man who understood the power of social media to create his personal brand clearly and visibly, establishing his online status. As the smartest man in the world it was an easy decision for Saul Colt to embrace the world of social media with the same passion he exudes in his personal brand. You will find Saul Colt on Facebook, Twitter, Naymz, Plaxo, Vimeo, Friendfeed, LinkedIn, ……and that’s just to name a few.

In the past, allocating millions of dollars to advertising in newspapers, radio, TV and billboards could establish an impressive corporate brand. As an individual, you were limited to creating your personal brand within a small group of colleagues, family and friends, unless you were a movie star or entertainer. Today, you can establish a significant brand, recognized by millions, ONLINE and it’s FREE!   

An individual’s online profile or an organization’s online profile is the starting point to connect with millions of influential individuals and share a brand, share knowledge and establish a notable status to create a world filled with opportunities! It has been described as “an evolution of individual power” as we have never seen the potential to create such a far reaching network of influence as exists today! 

If you are unable to clearly articulate a voice message, how are you ever going to find a job? When leaving a message, do you repeat your name and your phone number? Do you concentrate on the clarity of your message and the speed at which you are speaking? Did it ever occur to you that the reason people don’t return your calls is because you have not given them the resources in order to do so?

Call display sometimes resolves the mystery of an unidentifiable phone number left on a voice message but first impressions do count and if you are unable to articulate a phone message, it will cast doubts on your abilities elsewhere. Whether you are speaking to an automated voice mail or an individual, your message should be relayed as clearly as possible and it should always be repeated.

Begin all messages with your name and number. You may need to say who the message is for and then continue with the reason for your call. At the end of your message repeat your name and your contact number. I understand this sounds pretty basic but more messages are received that do not include the repetition of a name or number than do. Some do not include a number at all and then there are those that are played over and over again in an attempt to decipher the number but to no avail.

Take into consideration the tone and the volume of your voice. Smile when you pick up the phone. If you sound miserable or your message is so quiet or garbled that it’s a major struggle to retrieve your information you may not achieve the result you were looking for – a returned call.

You have an opportunity to be considerate and create a positive impression simply by concentrating on your articulation!