Sarah Johnston’s Post

I have never met a party guest who said, "Oh my goodness! These quinoa bites are just to die for," or "I just can't get enough of this raw celery." As someone who has hosted many parties and events in my day, I've learned that guests want three things: - Cookies and cakes made with real BUTTER - Dips made with SOUR CREAM - and passed hors d'oeuvre with CREAM CHEESE And I don't care how boujee your guests are; they will sit around a plate of homemade pork rinds and a bowl of Vera Stewart's homemade pimento cheese all night (humble brag: I've got the recipe similar to the one that she makes it for the Master's Tournament!) Party guests just want the good stuff. Recruiters and hiring managers are no different. I'm not advocating that you show up to their office with your resume and a plate of St Louis-style gooey butter cake cookies. That's not what I mean. They want to see RESULTS on your resume. They don't want to be served quinoa...err, I mean fluffy resume content. They want to see numbers. How you impacted the business and bottom line, created efficiencies that saved time or money, and KPIs that support you are a change agent. Here are some real examples: - Increased supplier capacity by 20%, jump-starting category growth ahead of schedule. - Identified cost-cutting efficiencies in marketing & PR: saved $140K by leading 160% increase in digital materials and a 90% drop in print advertising. - Grew EBITDA 18% YOY by developing an effective and disciplined pricing strategy. Positioned the division as company top performer in cost and pricing with record-setting top-line growth results. Drove 20% spend penetration into minority-owned enterprises, establishing long-term partnerships. The other key thing to consider is to KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. If I'm hosting a party for a group of vegetarians, I wouldn't bring out a platter of cocktail shrimp.... even though I love shrimp. Same with writing a resume. You have to spoon-feed your audience what they care about. Your resume--even though it's about you-- is not for you. Write the document to resonate with your target audience's pain points. The key to understanding their needs is often found in the job description. Read it carefully as you're crafting your resume. #executiveresume #resume #ResumeBulletPoints

Know anyone job searching? I'd be grateful if you forwarded them a copy of my free newsletter. It's twice a month, and I have a NO SPAM commitment to my readers. https://lnkd.in/gcJbc7mA

Breaking news. The FTC threw out non-compete clauses…. Text image courtesy of Zachary Busey’s Twitter account. Excited to learn more as this story unfolds. Update: reading now that the FTC does not have jurisdiction over non-profits. Many healthcare workers are employed by 501C3 nonprofit health systems.

So, you're diving into the mystical world of executive search, eh? For my ASK THE RECRUITER series, I am excited to interview Somer Hackley, a recruiter with over 15 years of experience in retained and executive search. She's the founder of Distinguished Search and the author of the bestselling book Search in Plain Sight. We are going to talk about things like: - Do you initiate contact with the recruiter or do you sit back and wait for them to make the first move? - How in the world do these recruiters sniff out candidates? Do they have a secret stash of LinkedIn ninjas or a crystal ball hidden in the HR department? - What do you say when they DO call? Do you go for the classic "Hello, yes, I'm fabulous, hire me!" or opt for the more subtle "Why, yes, I do happen to casually exude excellence in all facets of executive-ness"? Somer is going to give listeners practical advice for navigating executive search and will give you a guide to becoming the #1 candidate recruiters think of when they are hiring. Do you have questions that you'd like for me to ask Somer during the audio interview? Feel free to post them in the comment section below! I will try to include as many of your questions as I can during the interview. If you are unable to attend the live audio event, I still recommend giving Somer Hackley a follow on LinkedIn (and tell her I sent ya!). She's always posting genuinely valuable insights for executive job seekers.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 23rd, is a big day for millions of Americans. The Federal Trade Commission announced that it will be holding a Special Open Commission Meeting on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at 2pm for purposes of voting on its proposed final rule banning non-compete agreements. I am vehemently against non-competes. As a former healthcare and physician recruiter and the spouse of someone in medicine, I think non-competes are bad business. - They block workers from freely switching jobs - They suppress wages and a free market economy - They deprive workers of fair working conditions because employers know that their employees can't easily leave - ....and they are ultimately bad for patient care. There is a documented correlation between provider burnout and patient experience. Lack of control is considered one of the top reasons for physician burnout. In the healthcare setting, a typical noncompete bars a physician from practicing medicine for a certain period of time within a defined geographic area or specific mile radius. I know a hospital-employed OBGYN with a non-compete that prevents them from working for ANY other practice within 60 miles of their current employer (all locations of a multi-site health system) for 2 years after leaving their current position. Their family literally had to move states in order for her to get a new job. What are your thoughts on non-competes? What are you hoping happens tomorrow?

Curious about agency recruiters and the role that they play in the recruitment + job search process? I had the opportunity to interview Benjamin Sheffield last month on a LIVE LinkedIn Audio event. This is a high-level recap of some of the things that we covered during the interview. You'll learn: - How recruiters get paid - How to reach out to recruiters (with a template!) - How many recruiters you should be working with - What to do if you are working with an agency recruiter and you see a job posting on a company website - Scammy things to look out for (Ben is one of the "good guys" in the recruitment world-- he's not doing these things but you need to be aware that they happen) ...and more! #AgencyRecruiters #Recruiters #AgencyRecruiting

If you've never hired an executive resume writer before, here are some things that you should consider: 1. A great resume writer will start from scratch. They will not take your old content and "refresh" it with a new format. They will likely have you send a few examples of ideal job descriptions and will dissect those JDs to figure out the right messaging and content to showcase on your career documents. 2. A great resume takes TIME to write. Job seekers often say, "Just do your magic," and assume we can crank out a new document in a few hours. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. An executive resume can take a writer anywhere between 10 and 25+ hours to write. Great writing involves research (in many cases, pulling annual reports or looking at slide decks), "deep thought" work, and editing. 3. In demand resume writers often have wait lists. Over the years, I've encountered many disappointed individuals who delayed starting the resume writing process until they were fully prepared to begin a job search. They assumed they could engage my services immediately upon reaching out. For most entrepreneurs in service industries, having a waitlist is a desired outcome. Consider the stress of not knowing if you'll have enough billable hours each week as a business owner. 4. Check reviews on Google and the Better Business Bureau before making a decision. Some popular voices on LinkedIn have bad reviews. Personally, I believe it's difficult to satisfy every single person, so encountering a few negative reviews isn't necessarily a deal-breaker for me. However, I would pay attention to any recurring patterns or trends in the comments. 5. New resume writers tend to charge lower rates. When I first started writing resumes, my rates were much lower than they are now. There are two main reasons for this change. First, I didn't know how to properly value my time and I was significantly undervaluing my efforts. As a result, I wasn't making a living wage. Second, the quality of my work back then was not as high as it is now. With experience comes expertise. I'm proud to say that through my business, Briefcase Coach, I've crafted over 1,000 executive resumes. Working with a diverse range of clients has given me a deep understanding of how to effectively position leaders. 6. The ROI of working with a great resume writer goes beyond just a marketing document. Most people report that they have greater career clarity and a deeper understanding of their value proposition. Not only that, great resume writers will give you training in how to tell your story better (and capture results!) for a future job search. #Resume #ResumeWriter #ExecutiveResume

I do a good bit of one-on-one executive interview coaching. Here are the top 5 mistakes that executives commonly make: 1. While sharing STAR stories, executives often excel at describing the situation and actions taken by their team but frequently overlook emphasizing the RESULTS achieved. 2. They struggle with either taking too much credit for the work their team did OR the opposite, forgetting to take accountability for their actions in the team's success. 3. Preparation is key, yet many executives underestimate the importance of thorough preparation for a significant executive interview. They may overestimate their ability to improvise and fail to invest sufficient time in preparing and memorizing STAR stories to navigate a rigorous interview successfully. 4. They forget that "likability" carries as much weight as being well-qualified when it comes to job offers. They don't take the time to engage with every person during the interview process or use humor to build rapport. 💼: Research has found that where backgrounds and skills of job candidates are similar, the person seen as more likable gets hired almost 90% of the time. 5. Dismissing the importance of the final interview can be detrimental. When told that meeting with one last person, such as the Board Chair or CFO, is merely a formality, executives sometimes fail to recognize that this impression matters as much as that of the hiring manager. DON'T TRUST THE HIRING MANAGER WHEN THEY SAY, "𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁, 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱" Many executives have learned the hard way that the final decision-maker's opinion can significantly impact their candidacy. I have talked to many executives who have been burned in that last interview. That final decision maker's impression of you matters as much as your hiring manager's opinion of you. In case you're curious, my average executive client dedicates between 12-15 hours to preparing for an executive interview. At the senior level, the stakes are higher, but so is the potential payoff. #interview #interviewprep #interviewpreparation #executiveinterview

Watching the Masters and cheering against the LIV players has made me think about how I would respond in the same situation. Would you accept a fat bonus check (let’s say $1M) to be the most hated person in your company or industry?