Common Causes of Executive Unhappiness & How to Fix Them

Executive positions often involve a high level of demand and responsibility. Although this is expected at the senior level, it will be beneficial for executives and their organisations to be aware of the common causes of workplace unhappiness, all of which can result in low employee productivity, resignations and unsatisfying career journeys.

1. Low Remuneration

Low remuneration is the primary reason workers become dissatisfied, especially if their workload or responsibilities are increasing or if their salaries are significantly below the industry benchmark.

Solution: If you feel like you are not being paid fairly, then it could be time to ask for a raise and/or promotion. Build a case that describes in detail why you deserve better pay and make sure you have evidence and examples to back up your claims. If more money is not an option, consider asking for additional benefits or perks.

2. No Work-Life Balance

These days, the corporate work environment is an extremely busy place, with workloads getting larger, hours getting longer, and work being done at home more often. If you constantly operate in high gear, it can lead to feelings of stress, inefficiency, unhappiness and frustration.

Solution: To achieve a better work-life balance, try implementing more rigid work hours, delegating junior tasks, leaving work at work and even taking regular lunch breaks. All of these things can relieve the pressure and make your responsibilities much more enjoyable.

3. Lack of Job Satisfaction

People feel greater satisfaction when doing work that is engaging, challenging and that they feel adds value to the organisation. Lack of job satisfaction generally comes from being under-utilised in a role, being unable to grow and learn or sensing that the role is not a good fit in terms of long term career objectives.

Solution: To shake things up, try taking on more challenging duties, mentoring a colleague or expanding your professional skills and qualifications. If you feel your lack of job satisfaction is related to the big picture, it might be time to brush up on your resume writing skills and find a new position.

4. Lack of Resources and Support

A lack of resources or support to get the job done right is one of the most common causes of workplace frustration. As organisations battle it out to keep costs down, executives may find it difficult to either navigate the multitude of responsibilities they are given or implement desired strategies and procedures without the right staff in place.

Solution: If you aren’t being supplied with the resources you need to succeed in your role, then you need to make changes. These might involve hiring new staff or securing new suppliers, giving current staff more responsibilities, improving processes for better efficiency or even reworking budgets to find funds that can sponsor additional resources.

5. Ineffective Company Strategies or Policies

If your company has business practices that you can’t get on board with, then continuing to work for them can create much workplace stress. While you can still give it your all, you might never feel like your priorities and opinions are truly valued.

Solution: Try finding new ways to make your voice heard or coming up with ideas on how to change the vision or policies of the organisation. If this is not feasible (which it may not be if you are not in a senior role), consider moving on to another employer whose goals, policies and values you respect.

6. Frustrating Processes

Workplace bureaucracy – including cumbersome company processes, strict work rules and tangles of organisational red tape – contributes significantly to employee dissatisfaction. As an organisation becomes larger and more established, managerial layers are added and the corporate rulebook often gets bigger. When a company becomes too bogged down with processes, it can lose touch with employees and shut down individual ideas, creativity and innovation.

Solution: If you find yourself bound by corporate red tape, see if you can come up with more efficient ways of working within the given processes or obtaining additional resources (e.g. an administrator) to assist you or your team in managing the work.

If you are unhappy in your current role, Resumes Australia can work with you to find new job motivation, rethink your career plans or secure new employment altogether.

Regards,

The Secret to Successful Career Goals

The secret to a successful career is all about developing a clear vision.

The questions surrounding this might involve what you want from your career, where you see yourself in 10 years time and the reasons why you want to reach these goals.

 

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Yet I’ve also seen many candidates fail in achieving their career objectives and this can often be because the goals they’ve set are misaligned, not properly planned or just unrealistic.

Define Your Idea of Success

We all want to be successful in our careers, but “success” means different things to different people. To begin with, think about what “success” means to you. Is it about achieving a specific salary so that you can live comfortably? It is about having that dream CEO job or is it really about making a difference to others in your community or country?

Consider what you truly want to achieve from your career and what values and factors are important to you. Once you understand what you really want, you’ll be able to develop career goals that automatically grow from your wants and needs and that will eventually bring you much career fulfilment.

Identify Your Strengths

If you are having trouble figuring out what you want out of your career, try thinking about your strengths. They could be technical strengths, behavioural strengths or business strengths.
Creating goals around your strengths and key talents is essential, since many of us gain career satisfaction and happiness from utilising our strengths on the job.

Consider how your strengths can give rise to your career goals; for example, if you enjoy working with facts and figures, your goal might be to secure an analyst position. If your strength is communicating and helping others, one of your goals might be to find employment that involves mentoring, coaching or volunteering.

Want, Not Should

A significant part of career happiness is also making sure you choose goals that you think you can achieve or want to achieve, not goals that you feel you should achieve. While we all face pressure in our lives, such as the need to pay rent and bills, making sure that your goals also bring you fulfilment in one way or another is crucial. If you develop your goals around what you or others think you should be doing, your goals are most likely going to be unattainable; and even if they are achieved, they won’t bring you any satisfaction.

Successful Support

One of the biggest secrets behind successful career goals is also having the right support. Mentors, managers, career coaches, recruiters, search consultants and even resume writers can all form your career support network and many will be invaluable in helping you achieve your goals. These people will ideally possess expertise in certain areas and will be able to assist you throughout the course of your career.

If you are lacking support in some areas, now may be the ideal time to make some great connections and find support from people you trust.

Need help with your career goal setting? Resumes Australia offers comprehensive career consulting services for executives and CEOs, as well as graduates and aspiring professionals.

Regards

Using Keywords In Your Resumes & Profiles

The art of resume writing has changed significantly in recent times, particularly with online platforms and social media technology playing a huge part in the way employers and search consultants work.

In the same way that websites rely on keywords to get to the top of search engine results, job seekers must also use keywords to get their resumes to the top of candidate searches.

Many consultants and employers rely on databases and digital searches nowadays when aiming to fill positions. As a result, resumes and online profiles must be much more keyword driven.

Step 1: Choosing the Right Keywords

The most difficult part about using keywords in your professional resume is understanding which ones will resonate with a particular employer or resume database. Luckily, job seekers can employ several techniques to help them choose the right keywords for their resumes and profiles:

1. Consider the job title: Job titles are one of the most common keywords employers will use when conducting searches. If you are set on a particular job role, include this keyword at least 2-5 times in your resume. A good way to determine if your keyword is effective is to conduct a search using this keyword yourself, either on a job site or via a search engine. If relevant job listings come up, you will know you’re using the right words.

2. Review the job posting: Job descriptions will often contain important keywords in the way of skills, credentials, responsibilities and competencies. Consider what your own ideal role involves and which keywords are being used consistently by employers across various job postings related to your field or industry. For example, if you notice that ‘thought leadership’ is used frequently, you will need to include ‘thought leadership’ as a keyword in your resume.

3. Visit the company website: The website of the hiring company will generally offer industry specific terms that can be used as keywords. By reading through the website content, job seekers will quickly learn the industry terminology or product/service titles that are most relevant to the employer.

Step 2: Using Keywords Properly

Choosing the right keywords is only half the battle when it comes to effective resume writing. Using keywords organically in your resume is important, and will prevent you from turning your resume or online profile into ‘spam.’ My best tips for effective keyword inclusion are:

• Use the most important keywords at the start of your document, such as in the ‘summary’ or ‘profile’ sections.
• Present your keywords in context. That is, write relevant sentences and descriptions that include your desired keywords. Don’t simply list your keywords, as this is ineffective and lazy.
• Using keywords when describing your accomplishments can also be very beneficial. This will draw the reader to your achievements and show them in a clear and concrete way what you are capable of.
• Include the most important keywords throughout your resume or profile, but only when they can be used naturally and relevantly. Many databases and engines will rank resumes/profiles based on how many times a specific keyword is used. However, if you include certain keywords for the sake it, your content will appear sloppy and unprofessional and the recruiter will instantly reject your resume.

Step 3: Adapting Your Keywords

Every resume should be tailored specifically for each different job application, but without compromising the quality or integrity of your experience and achievements. Although your online profile can remain the same, you should tweak each resume application to include keywords that are relevant to that position, job description or employer. This will help maximise your success and means that you’ll stay one step ahead of those keyword-driven databases and searches.

Resumes Australia is a leading resume writing and career guidance firm specialising in executive resume writing and online profile writing. Contact Us to learn more about how we can help you find and use the right keywords during your job search.

Regards,

5 Social Media Mistakes That Will Kill Your Job Search

In the last five years, social media has significantly altered the job seeking and recruitment landscape.

Executive job hunters now have a much better chance of connecting with industry leaders and participating in online activities that can ultimately enhance their careers.

 

Yet while social media sites are considered to be beneficial to job seekers, there are instances when social media can lead to rejected resumes and lost opportunities, which can ultimately affect your chances of employment. Here is best advice for avoiding these social media blunders:

1. Avoid Inappropriate Content

When employers check your social media profiles, they are looking for clues about your personality that will help them decide whether or not you are the ideal candidate for their company. While your profile on LinkedIn should be useful, platforms like Twitter and Facebook can be harmful if inappropriate content (photographs, posts, comments) exists on your profile. While these are only meant to be shared between friends, they can harm your chances of employment significantly if viewed by a prospective employer or recruiter.

To avoid this social media blunder, you should either avoid sharing inappropriate messages or pictures via your profile or set your profile to ‘private’ rather than ‘public,’ so that prospective employers can’t gain access to it. In addition, you may wish to set up a second profile for yourself that is purely professional.

2. Complete Your Profiles

Keeping your personal profiles updated regularly is essential in contributing to your overall professional brand. When it comes to more professional social media sites, such as LinkedIn, failing to update or complete your social media profile can also create a negative impression with employers and recruiters.

It shows that you don’t complete tasks when you start them and that you don’t consider the social media platform to be worthy of your time and effort. This can be detrimental in your job search, especially when so many employers use social media to verify information and connect with job seekers.

3. Write Engaging Content

Consistent and well-written content on social media sites is also expected these days. No matter how comprehensive your content is, grammatical errors or discrepancies in information will leave employers assuming that you are sloppy in your work and that you don’t pay attention to detail.

Both resume writing and profile writing should be given your utmost time and dedication, especially if you are searching for work. If your resume writing skills are not up to scratch, consider utilising a professional resume writing service who can write your profile for you.

4. Sharing Thoughts & Opinions

Participating in social media groups and discussions is a fantastic way to make new connections and improve your professional standing. Yet if your opinions are too strong, one-sided or even biased, you may find yourself alienating potential employers. While it’s great to be passionate about many things, my best advice to those sharing their viewpoints on social media sites is to remain professional at all times. Unethical, ignorant or slanderous comments can ruin your chances of employment on the spot.

5. Badmouthing Employers

Badmouthing their past or present employers is one of the biggest mistakes many job seekers and even current employees make on the social media scene. Negative comments about your company in general or any of your colleagues or bosses should be avoided at all times. This tells a prospective employer that you lack integrity and professionalism and that you don’t respect others around you. Although venting can be useful, make sure that any complaints you have about your past employment are shared in confidence with someone you trust – and not online.

Are you an executive looking for work? Resumes Australia is a full career service firm offering unique resume writing, social media profile writing and career coaching solutions. Learn more today at:
http://www.resumes-australia.com.au/
.

Regards

5 Myths About Search Consultants You Should Know

Search consultants and executive recruiters can be invaluable people to connect with over the course of your career.

They can deliver key opportunities to your door, provide advice on the industry in general and offer you precious insights when meeting with particular organisations and employers.
Yet there are many common myths surrounding Search Consultants and their roles within the recruitment industry.

What are these myths and how can you navigate around them to strengthen and solidify your Search Consultant relationships?

Myth #1: Search Consultants Work For Me

Many job seekers enter into a search consultant relationship under the assumption that they are the only person the search consultant is trying to find work for and that they deserve special attention or regular phone calls.

On the contrary, search consultants will often have many executives they are working with and are usually so busy networking with employers and leaders that they don’t have time to act like your personal assistant. Once you’ve met them, be patient with your search consultant; it can take time to develop opportunities and find the right role in the marketplace that is best suited to you.

Myth #2: Search Consultants Only Care About Their Clients

This is a common myth surrounding search consultants, since a consultant essentially works to fill an organisation’s vacancies. While this is true, it doesn’t mean that a search consultant’s interests are only one-sided.

Building strong relationships with both client companies and quality job seekers is the key to a search consultant’s success and matching the right executive with the right company is something they take very seriously. As a job seeker, they will be concerned about whether the role available is right for you and will want you, as well as the client, to gain much from the placement, both now and in future.

Myth #3: Search Consultants Read Every Resume

Many executives think that because Search Consultants work at such a top level, they pour their efforts into reading every resume that lands on their desk. This is not true.

Like any other agent in the recruitment and HR industries, Search Consultants are extremely busy people and they often don’t have time for hours of desk work; instead, they will simply scan and screen resumes quickly. For this reason, your executive resume must grab their attention quickly and it must highlight the talents, skills and experience you have to offer. Failing to do this will result in your resume being passed over.

If you are not confident about our resume, seek assistance from a qualified resume writer who has experience writing for senior level positions.

Myth #4: Search Consultants Don’t Check Resume Details

If you think a search consultant simply acts as a middle man and flicks your resume over to the employer once they’ve read it, think again.

Search consultants will conduct thorough research into a candidate’s background, scrutinising their skills, salary and other qualifications before recommending them for a position. When they send your application through to an employer, it is also their reputation, as well as yours, that is on the line.

For this reason, being honest on your resume is essential, no matter who you are applying for a job with. Exaggerating your experience, skills or salary is not a smart move and it’s likely a search consultant will uncover your lies or embellishments quickly.

Myth #5: Search Consultants Are Lazy

This couldn’t be further from the truth. However, I have had some candidates approach me with the impression that Search Consultants are lazy or self-serving simply because they don’t return phone calls or respond to emails.

What executives need to keep in mind is that search consultants are extremely busy, with a multitude of meetings, interviews and networking to be conducted each day, plenty of which also takes place out of usual business hours. Search Consultants are also never simply recruiting for only one role or working with only one employer. Instead, they are often juggling a huge volume of clients, positions and executive candidates.

They key to working with Search Consultants is to be patient – they will get in touch with you, particularly if they are making progress with your application. In the meantime, consider expanding your opportunities elsewhere or doing some networking of your own.

Resumes Australia is a leading Australian organisation specialising in job seeking, career management and executive resume writing. For expert career assistance, Contact Us or visit
http://www.resumes-australia.com.au
.

Kind Regards,

Networking From Within: Connecting Inside Your Company

Networking has become an extremely important activity in the business world and the age-old of adage of “it’s not only what you know, it’s who you know” has never been more significant.

From corporate ladder climbers to senior candidates trying to forward their careers, networking has abundance of benefits that positively impact your career.

 
But with all the emphasis on online networking at place (like LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+), has the act of networking a little closer to home been overshadowed? If you currently hold an executive role, the internal world of your organisation presents ample opportunities for networking and connecting with other executives in your industry.

Go Beyond Your Job Role

Internal networking means reaching out to managers or work colleagues who you don’t ordinarily work with as part of your job function; it means stepping outside of your responsibilities and getting to know others who can bring value to your career and vice versa. Making these connections is also about building rapport and strengthening your relationships over the long term, as opposed to simply connecting with someone for short term gains.

Start With Leaders

The leaders and senior executives in your organisation are usually the ones who can offer the most wisdom and knowledge. If you are unacquainted with the leaders in your company, your manager may be the ideal person to ask. He or she will be able to introduce you to a range of leaders and executives you might otherwise not have access to (this is particularly the case in larger organisations) and can act as the mediator for initial introductions.

Choose the Right Connections

Networking outside of your job scope is important, but it’s also vital that you network with the right people. This doesn’t mean making time for one person and shunning another, but your networking strategies should revolve around connecting with people who are relevant to your goals and who can impact your career.

Do More to Gain More

Getting involved in committees away from your job responsibilities can also be advantageous when it comes to networking. You will not only develop your skill set and earn another credential to add to your executive resume, but you will also meet new people who can become valuable contacts.

Be Part of the Team

Demonstrating to others that you’re a team player and who is company oriented is also a great way to network, since networking from within is very much about integrating yourself into the culture of the organisation.

Simple gestures like congratulating others on their achievements, praising hard work or attending company lunches can go a long way. All of these can open up paths for new conversations and meetings. The more positive and enthusiastic about the company you are, the more others will want to network with you.

Looking for further great networking tips? Resumes Australia can work with you to manage your reputation and build your brand, both within your organisation and outside of it. Contact Us today to learn more about how we can help you network for success.

Regards,

Senior Level Job Seekers Missing the Mark, Reports Forbes

As the baby boomers move out and Gen X and Gen Y begin to step up to the senior position plate, the recruitment industry is experiencing many challenges in relation to this change, reports Forbes.

According to the Career Advisory Board in Chicago, US, search consultants are facing the problem of finding quality candidates to fill their senior positions.

Much of this is due to the lack of appropriate competencies in candidates, but Career Advisory Board member, Alexandra Levit, feels the gap can also be attributed to the inability of candidates to effectively express and demonstrate leadership or executive-level skills in their resumes.

“Senior-level job seekers either don’t have or don’t choose to emphasise these abilities,” says Levit. “Instead, they tend to focus on skills that are considered more important at the junior level, such as having a strong work ethic and self-motivation.”

Why is there such a discrepancy in the resumes of these senior level job seekers? Why are they focusing on junior or mid-level talents, rather than leadership abilities in their applications?

“One reason might be that they are stuck in the old model of assessing how available positions fit their background rather than the other way around,” claims Levit. “And when positioning themselves for new opportunities, nearly 60 percent of seasoned job seekers rely on their own judgment rather than seeking qualified advice from their network and mentors.”

While I agree with what Levit says, I also believe that much of the problem between exceptional resumes and senior level candidates rests in two areas: resume writing and the perceived importance of resumes themselves.

Resume writing expertise, which many candidates feel they possess (but actually don’t) impacts candidate success significantly, especially at the early application stage. As an executive resume writer and search consultant/head hunter, I encounter many candidates, even at the senior level, who feel that their resumes or CVs are relevant, well-written and sufficient enough to drive their job seeking success.

However, upon review, many resumes turn out to be very average (or even poor) and are not at all an accurate reflection of the executive’s talents or of their aptitude to understand how their skills fit into the criteria of the job they are applying for. Lack of detail and vague generalisations are two of the biggest culprits.

The importance of resume applications is also greatly underestimated by some candidates. They either feel that their resumes are adequate (despite being brief or vague) and don’t see a need to expand on achievements or responsibilities; or they don’t believe that resumes are worth investing in at all. The reasons behind this are hard to articulate, but can range from sheer laziness to lack of knowledge to the assumption that employers hire people, not pieces of paper.

Egocentric attitudes can also prevail, with thoughts along the lines of, “if they want to learn more about me, they can ask me.” These approaches are all grave mistakes when it comes to resume writing and often these are the candidates who wonder why recruiters and employers aren’t knocking on their doors and offering them employment.

Levit goes on to report that the most desired skills at the senior level include strategic perspective, global competence, business acumen, cross functionality and the continuing desire to learn and grow, even at the top level.

She also states that senior level job seekers need to work on their team management and master technology and social media to secure a high-powered position in today’s modern economy.

When it comes time to put it all on paper, Levit advises “consulting with networking contacts who currently hold senior management titles” and to “look carefully at job descriptions and brainstorm specific examples of how you’ve performed at least 75 percent of the listed responsibilities in past positions.”

As executive roles become more difficult to obtain for candidates in any country, resumes (and digital tools like LinkedIn Profiles) can only continue to become more significant. Producing poor resumes that fail to expose your skills or undervaluing the importance and weight of an executive resume is one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a senior level job seeker.

My advice is to invest in your executive resume today, whether it’s through a professional resume writing service or a dedicated approach to revising your resume for every senior role that you apply for.

Regards,

4 Tips That Will Transform Your Resume in 2013

Today’s high-powered resumes are changing and evolving at a rapid pace. In order to stand out from the crowd, your resume needs to represent your leadership and tactical strengths in a way that is quickly readable, creatively presented and modern.

While there are still many traditional characteristics that work well in resumes, the explosion of new technology is rapidly re-shaping industry demands.

Forcing even the most experienced professionals to re-think the way they present themselves. To get the edge on your job search, here’s how I recommend sprucing up your resume for the year ahead:

1. Highlight Your Social Presence

Savvy job seekers are starting to communicate their unique selling points through social media. Social sites like LinkedIn and Twitter not only provide a way for potential employers to research your qualifications and experience, but also provide you with the opportunity to sell your achievements and reinforce the successes outlined on your resume.

Including links to your LinkedIn or Twitter profiles in your resume can help you come across as a candidate who is keeping up with technology and social media trends. This is even more crucial if your field of expertise exists within the digital industry. To use a social media profile to your advantage, however, you must keep it professional, up-to-date and relevant to your field of expertise.

2.Create Context For Your Skills and Successes

Resume writing is often a challenge in itself and it is important that your resume is not overly functional; a functional resume focuses heavily on skills, rather than emphasising the benefits that your skills can bring (functional resumes only are ideal for graduates, executives changing careers or those who have been out of the workforce for a long time).

When your resume outlines problems you’ve solved and challenges you’ve overcome, your career story and individual value instantly becomes more engaging. For example, you could mention a problem you have faced in the workplace, and what specific skills you utilised to fix the problem and how this brought value to the business.

These types of stories demonstrate how you approach problems and show decisive leadership skills that benefit the company as a whole, rather than simply listing skills and allowing the reader to surmise their own conclusions.

3. Rethink the ‘Objective’

Traditional resume writing techniques have always included an ‘objective’ line that states what your needs are as a job seeker. Objective lines are generally passé and out-dated in today’s recruitment world. Instead, use a headline that highlights the skills and abilities that you can offer to a company based on what you know they are looking for.

4. Flaunt What You’ve Got

If you are the type of executive who participates regularly in the online community, linking to examples of your work can be highly beneficial and can demonstrate to employers exactly the type of results and value you can lend to an organisation.

Personal branding videos, websites, blogs or official publications, for example, can be strong illustrations of the kind of work you do and can create high impact in conjunction with your resume. If you do choose to link to something online, you will need to ensure that it is entirely your work and that it is an exemplary representation of the talents you have to offer.

These tips will all put you on the cutting edge of hiring trends this year and will ensure that you market yourself in a powerful and engaging way. To learn more about Resumes Australia and our resume writing services, visit
http://www.resumes-australia.com.au.

Regards,

How LinkedIn Growth Impacts Job Seekers

It is common knowledge that LinkedIn is one of the world’s most rapidly growing social media and professional networks.

It has over 200 million members across 200 countries, and it boasts 81% growth from Quarter 4, 2011 to Quarter 4, 2012.

 

 

LinkedIn is indeed becoming one of the backbones of the recruitment industry worldwide and it has greatly shaped the way consultants and head hunters fill their vacancies, but what does this mean for job seekers in 2013?

In Australia, LinkedIn has around 3.9 million members. This means the competition to make contacts and secure opportunities via LinkedIn is high, especially when it comes to white-collar and executive roles. Promoting your talents on LinkedIn is something that takes consistent effort and maintenance, yet the rewards can be extremely beneficial, with new career opportunities presenting themselves via contacts and connections.

LinkedIn Has Grown – But What Does this Mean for Job Seekers?

• Job seekers need to ensure their LinkedIn Profile is 100% up-to-date and relevant to the positions they are searching for
• Profiles should target appropriate keywords in the summary, experience and skills sections to ensure they get found in recruitment searches
• Users should update their status or share news and information at least once or twice per week in order to be seen as active on the network
• Users should also participate in industry groups on LinkedIn and make new contacts with industry executives or experts where possible

Profiles should also be enhanced as much as possible by including information and details about beyond basic work history and experience:

• Use the new ‘Projects’ section to list professional projects you are currently working on – this is a great, live way to show employers your skills and talents
• Include links to your website or social media pages (if relevant)
• List professional interests in the ‘Interests’ section – stay away from personal interests unless they directly impact your professional credibility
• Include the names of all groups and associations you belong to
• Include any awards you have won
• Work on building your connections and recommendations
• A professional photo is a must!

On the other side of the coin, LinkedIn’s fast growth is also changing the way the recruitment industry operates. More and more organisations are beginning to search for candidates and recruit for positions via LinkedIn. As they do with resumes, consultants also basing a lot of their first assumptions on LinkedIn profiles and scrutinising these to determine who is really a quality candidate and who has simply jazzed up their profile for the sake of it.

Yet the competition on LinkedIn can also work the other way, with consultants and employers vying to secure the interest and talents of top candidates. As a result, search consultants and head hunters are going to have to focus their efforts a lot more on LinkedIn in order to garner interest from quality job seekers and skilled executives, especially those who are still currently working and not actively job seeking.

Do you need help with your LinkedIn Profile? Contact Resumes Australia today to learn more about our LinkedIn Profile writing and our executive resume services.

Good luck!

Corporate Firm or SME – What’s Right For You?

It is often a question that many job seekers face, especially when starting out in their careers or meeting with a search consultant: Who do you want to work for?

Are you after a role in a large corporate company or do you want a position in a small or medium-sized business?

 

Large Companies and Corporations

Large companies are often defined as having a high annual turnover and a large number of employees. Organisations like these usually find themselves characterised by a highly driven culture, a vision to grow and succeed and a company span across several departments or locations. If you’re keen to climb the corporate ladder and establish your professional career early on in life, a large organisation may be right for you; it will give you the corporate skills you will need to succeed and it also means there is plenty of opportunity for you to move around in the company – even apply for promotions.

Key Advantages:

• Lots of room to move and expand your skills
• Higher salaries, usually packaged with incentives like bonuses, commission and pay rises
• More networking opportunities within the company
• Potential opportunities to transfer overseas (if the company is global)

Key Disadvantages:

• Often highly competitive when it comes to gaining entry into the company
• Can be more bureaucratic, with more stringent policies and processes in place
• Candidates may not enjoy the corporate politics involved in the day-to-day workplace
• Large companies doesn’t always get it right, and as a result, they can suffer from problems with company culture or issues in communication

Small & Medium Businesses

The definition of small and medium businesses differs from source to source, but generally these companies have around 50 employees or less and have a much smaller turnover than larger organisations. Smaller companies offer employees a more relaxed and intimate workplace and the main benefit here is that you will often have more opportunity to gain experience and skills more quickly. Sometimes, you can also have more control over how fast you can advance in the business; you could see yourself moving up to a mid-management position quickly in a SME for instance, while in a large firm, this move could take years. However, the main disadvantage of SMEs is that there can be much less room to move and grow.

Key Advantages:

• Can be more intimate working in a tight-knit group, rather than with a large group of people
• Opportunity to gain more skills and experience at an earlier stage
• Potential opportunities to transfer overseas (if the company is global) – many small and medium-sized businesses are also branching into international markets, giving employees the opportunity to move around on a global scale
• Office politics are usually not as prominent in smaller businesses
• Usually less corporate more casual

Key Disadvantages

• Limited opportunity to move and grow, especially in smaller companies
• Salaries can be lower than those offered by larger organisations
• Pay rises and bonuses may not be available or feasible

Which is right for you?

Your choice will essentially depend on what kind of person you are and where you see your professional career going in years to come. Many candidates may prefer to start off in a small or medium-sized business before moving into a big firm, while other executives may find that after years of working for large enterprises, SMEs suit their lifestyle much more.

Of course, nothing is set in stone when it comes to company sizes; many corporate companies can have the perks of smaller ones, and lots of SMEs offer employees the benefits commonly found in larger businesses. The choice comes down to which position is going to best for you and which role fits in better with your long term career plans. If you require the assistance of a professional resume writer to tailor your resume to suit small, medium or large companies than look no further than the experienced staff at Resumes Australia.

Good luck!