December Executive Recruitment Round Up

Happy New Year! December brought an amazing end to the year for Pinnacle Search Partners! In 2022, we helped many candidates land their dream jobs, and many clients hire their dream employees and we look forward to connecting more incredible people with reputable organizations in 2023. As we look to the New Year, we will continue to share articles, pose thought-provoking questions in our polls, post insider industry knowledge, etc. But, before we jump into the new year, check out the best of what we posted in December!

Polls and Results of the Month

Gaps in Resumes

We asked our network what they thought about gaps in candidates’ resumes. Someone taking a sabbatical to deal with a personal issue or tragedy, support family, travel, or just take a break is not uncommon. Yet, hiring managers often see it as a red flag. Is a gap in someone’s resume something they need to explain? Or should their experience and current situation be the only thing that matters?

27% of voters say it is a “RED FLAG”

28% of voters say it is “NONE OF MY BUSINESS”

45% of voters say it “DEPENDS”

PTO

Toward the end of the calendar year, some people have to scramble to use up the rest of their PTO, while others are stuck in the office wishing they hadn’t used up all their PTO earlier in the year. According to our poll, the majority of our network that participated had not used all of their PTO by the middle of December!

62% of voters said they had NOT used all of their PTO

13% of voters said yes, they had used up all of their PTO

12% said it was not a problem because their PTO rolls over

12% said it was not a problem because they have unlimited PTO!

Tips and Tricks of the Month

7 Ways to Make Your Resume Stand Out with Debbie Wright Welch

1. Using an executive summary rather than an objective statement. An objective demonstrates what you want the company to do for you. An executive summary demonstrates what you can do for the company. Hiring managers usually take no more than 60 seconds to review a resume. Make sure you executive summary qualifications are the first thing they see
2. Use bullet points to convey work experience. Not only are bullet points easier to read and digest, they often help candidates avoid including unnecessary words/ topics. Refer to tip #4 to find out how action action verbs can make your bullet points SHINE.
3. Highlight your accomplishments. When creating your bullet points, DO NOT just list your responsibilities. That is a job spec. Rather, highlight your accomplishments. Include outcomes which have resulted in saved time, money, a percentage, or the implementation of a helpful program.
4. Action verbs! Action verbs give hiring managers a clear understanding of what you did to accomplish a certain goal. Starting every bullet point with one will communicate your qualifications in a concise, persuasive way.

• Management Skills = Allocated, Motivated, Oversaw, Spearheaded
• Organizational Skills = Coordinated, Implemented, Centralized, Assembled
• Communication Skills = Briefed, Educated, Presented, Trained
• Analytical Skills = Detected, Evaluated, Surveyed, Interpreted
• Helping Skills = Aided, Assisted, Supported, Fostered
• Selling Skills = Marketed, Negotiated, Persuaded, Promoted
• Creative Skills = Designed, Devised, Authored, Conceived

5. Use your space wisely. Do away with unnecessary spacing. Every space on the page is valuable real estate. Resumes should be about 1 page for younger professionals, but it is important to expand a resume to AT LEAST 2 pages once you get to a certain point in your career.

6. A – T – S – A – F. Applicant Tracking System Approved Font. Using these fonts will ensure your resume gets past an ATS. PLUS they are easy to read. Check out the best 10 below!

• Times New Roman
• Tahoma
• Verdana
• Arial
• Helvetica
• Calibri
• Georgia
• Cambria
• Gill Sans
• Garamond

7. Proof Read!

• Make sure your LinkedIn address, email, and phone number are correct (Yes. People do get these wrong)
• If one bullet has a period at the end, ALL must have a period at the end
• Use Grammarly and/ or spell check
• Have a friend (OR THREE) review it for you

3 Part LinkedIn Headline Template with Jen Morris

1. Target Job Title – Recruiters search for specific job titles. Include a target job title in your headline to increase the chances of landing in more search results.
2. Value Statement – Share a brief value proposition outlining who you help and how. Tell organizations what’s in it for them to have you on the team.
3. Industry Keywords – Recruiters search for specific industry terminology to find the most relevant pool of candidates. Hint: Look at target job descriptions to identify keywords.

Announcements

Pinnacle was lucky enough to add another amazing Executive Search Consultant to our team in December!

Chase Caldwell brings over 5 years of recruiting and account management experience to our firm. Throughout his career, he has primarily partnered with small to mid-sized companies from a variety of industries to help them identify the best accounting and finance talent in the market. Read more about Chase on our website: https://lnkd.in/dEHEZ44N

Quote of the Month

“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” – Warren Bennis