Executives – Delegate for Job Search Success

If you are an executive, senior manager or a well-paid professional, you should consider delegating all the key job search tasks out that you can.

Depending on your background, the job search process can take anything from 1 month to 8 months or more. Generally, the higher-level positions such as a C-level job takes longer than job seekers looking for a gig in retail or hospitality.

The reality of a modern job search is that it is time-consuming and often a very frustrating experience.  You need to search across a multitude of job boards, repetitively upload resumes; complete online applications; dig up networking contracts and manage comprehensive research. It can be quite a burden if you are doing all of this and working 40 – 80 hours a week as an executive. 

Job-hunting is currently so time consuming, that it is estimated that a job seeker can average 40 hours per month searching for a new job. So, if you are a busy executive or professional, it makes sense to delegate out what you can. 

The benefits of delegating could be significant to your overall job search success.

Now, when I say delegate, I’m not saying you should delegate tasks such as networking or nurturing and building contacts. What I am suggesting is the following:

All Career Marketing Documentation

If you are serious about your career, delegate the writing of all your career marketing and individual branding documentation to a top career professional (resume, curriculum vitae, LinkedIn profile, cover letters, bios, thank you notes and especially government applications).

While the initial process of employing a career-writing expert will be time consuming, (namely feeding back information to the resume writer), in the long term, you could save yourself bucket loads of time, if they write all your cover letters, adjust your resume, and respond to government selection criteria on your behalf. 

In addition, the top resume writers WILL do a better job than you could ever possibly do. They are experts and high-impact documents can make a huge difference in terms of how you will be perceived (and how quickly you could potentially land your next gig).

However, buyers beware! When delegating out this task, work with ONLY suitably qualified career professionals.  There is no regulation governing this industry and the quality of resume writers do vary enormously.  Top resume writers are generally in demand, qualified and many have industry awards. You will be able to locate some of the top resume writers globally at Career Directors International.      

I am on that list and one of only 41 Certified Master Resume Writers worldwide (considered by many to be the elite resume writers).

Use a Virtual Assistant

Most entrepreneurs understand the principle of delegation, so by applying the same mindset to your job search campaign, you could dramatically cut out the time you spend on job-hunting tasks.

As an executive and professional there is a large list of tasks that you could delegate to a Virtual Assistant (VA), including:

• Uploading resumes and applications
• Searching for relevant job openings
• Undertaking research of relevant industry and networking contacts
• Tracking your job search efforts
• If you have a personal blog, managing all your blog updates, including uploading to LinkedIn.

If you are used to delegating and leading teams this is a very viable option. Not only will you shave potentially hours off a traditional job search, but you will also have more time for strategic planning and networking opportunities, which is vital for job search success.

Now delegating is not necessarily cheap, but in the long term you should view it as an investment that could potentially reap large rewards, including shortening the time it takes to secure your ideal job or a significant pay rise. It could reap large financial rewards!