Don Straits - Dragon Slayer

This post was orginally meant for my alumni group at Washington University.  I was responding to a question from a fellow alumnus who asked about the different services.   I got a nasty dialogue box saying my post was too long.....so I am posting this to my blog for all to see.  So here it is.  Hope it is beneficial:

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Good Morning,

 Just read this article by Rachel Silverman, that appeared in the Wall Street Journal last week.  I loved it.  It is a total reflection of what we do. 

 For senior executives, it is a new ball game.  If you don't adapt, you will face massive problems in driving your career.  If you fail to connect to a new leadership position, don't blame it on age or the economy.  You need to take a hard look at whether or not you are contemporary as a business leader and possess an in depth understanding of all the new business paradigms.

  Warning, almost every exec who lands a new job falls into a comfort zone and is not proactive in positioning themselves for new positions.  Are you one of those executives?   Are you waiting for the axe to fall again?  Don't make that mistake. 

 Your job search never, never, never stops....even if you are employed. 

SmartBrief on Social Media [www.smartbrief.com] 

BtoB Research [www.BtoBonline.com]

Sales & Marketing Alert [www.topbizresearch.com]

Countless senior level executives face an extraordinary challenge in trying to secure a new opportunity. They have had exceptional careers but now discover the search is not producing results. One of the major factors is that executives have not remained current and contemporary in a business envirnonment that is changing at warp speed. Execs must adapt to social media, new communication tools, new software advancements, mobile app technologies, business video technologies and much more. This video will address some of those issues....but it only scratches the surface. I would love to have you comment on the video and post your insights as well.

Good Afternoon,

Did you know that in 2011, 89% of companies will use social media to hire which is up by 6% over 2010 as illustrated in the graphic below.  The graphic was developed by Joshua Waldman.  Joshua is the founder of CareerEnlightenment.com and the author of the new book, Job Searching with Social Media for Dummies.  Sign-up for his newsletter today and get access to his exclusive training videos for free.  Just click the thumbnail to view the graph.

Did you know that the last people to adopt social media strategies to drive their search are senior level executives?  Executives hate social media. It is a whole new world that they have to learn. They deny that it works.  This morning I even had a senior exec show me "research" that said it doesn't work.  The research seemed faulty....and for every piece of research like that....I can show you 100 more that say the opposite.

Face it, execs are trapped in yesterday’s comfort zone. They always had a staff to do this stuff. Now they are forced to adapt or become a Timex watch in a digital era.

Everyday I hear execs say to me: “But I am on Linkedin!!!” Yes, you and 200 million other executives. But you have only scratched the surface in using social media strategies.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is your Linkedin configured properly to drive traffic, showcase your talent, optimize SEO, and generate executive level inquiries from recruiters?

2. Are you on Twitter? 45% of all companies use Twitter to find talent.

3. Do you have a Thought Leadership Blog that you post to at least once a week?

4. Have you shot any expertise videos and posted them to YouTube?

5. Have you written any articles on your area of expertise or leadership that have been published to the internet within the past year?

6. Have you engaged in any social media strategies to expand your “active” network?

7. Have you signed up for Google Plus and do you have a Google Profile?

Did you answer YES to at least five of these? If not, then you need to rethink your social media strategy. Here is a great article I just read that will get you started in the right direction.

It is a different world out there for driving a senior level search. Just because you have had a great career up to this point, doesn’t mean recruiters will be beating down your door or that landing a new challenge will be easy. You will probably discover the “ole boys network” just isn’t what it used to be.

Take the time and energy to learn and apply these new technologies. They are here to stay. They are the new road map to success.

If all of this is frustrating to you, then give us a call and we can help you through the maze.

Just read a story on AOL about a CEO of a small construction company. (Actually two stories...the original and her update).  Link at the end of the post. 

Even though she doesn't acknowledge it....or maybe even recognize it, within her stories there is a message for how to survive and find the next job.

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