Worldwide Executive Job Search

FAQs

Careerpath international executive job search, outplacement, Asia, Middle East, Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, Australia

How many resumes should I mail?

Resume Mailings typically fall into a range of 500 to 10,000+ letters per individual. Our experience with hundreds of targeted resume mailings has shown that an international job offer is secured, on average, once for every 2500 resumes mailed. Some executives targeting a very specific job sector or geographical location may wish to send our minimum resume mailing of 500 letters. Executives targeting a large geographical location and several industry sectors should take into account the 1 in 2500 average and try to secure at least 3 or more offers. This will enable you to leverage the offers thus securing a strong package.

Our resume mailing costs are far lower than the majority of our competitors and outplacement firms. You should take advantage of this price differential to send more letters. Mailings to the US often run to several thousand letters. There are tens of thousands of corporations in the US who hire executives on US$150K - US$750K+ packages. Executives who can easily cross industry barriers i.e. financial, legal, HR, sales and marketing, IT etc. should allocate at least one months salary to an international executive job search. The potential savings in accelerated earnings alone could easily cover the cost. Individuals who manage their own executive job searches can take 9 months or longer to secure a position and often experience a period of temporary unemployment. A slow executive job search is very expensive, frustrating and stressful both for the executive and his family.

If you are searching for an international job, in a region that you have not previously worked in, you must send a large number of letters.

Does Posting Your Resume On An Online Job Site Work?

A leading on-line job bank recently admitted that out of 250,000+ resumes in its databank only 70 individuals had been offered a position! These odds of 3500 to 1 will grow even longer. Resume databanks are bombarded by potential candidates worldwide. Most have no chance of securing a senior international appointment but the job banks do not filter them out. Soon some of these sites will have 1million+ resumes on hand. Recruiters soon give up as they are over whelmed by a mass of unsuitable candidates and out of date resumes. Yes it's cheap to send out resumes by email that is why some candidates in third world countries send 100s every day. We know we receive them every day! It is their only possible chance so who can blame them?

Many corporations will not download a resume as they are often infected with a virus. Recent trojan viruses have included one disguised as a resume. This particularly nasty virus wiped out all files and then resent itself through the address book of its victims. Why would a corporation print out hundreds of unsolicited email resumes? They will not. They will delete it!

Submit your resume by email but do not sit back and wait for an offer. You may save money on postage but you will delay your executive job search and lose thousands of dollars in the process. Senior executives need to consider other careerpath alternatives.

Are your fees expensive?

Careerpath's fees are very competitive and we are able to offer a superior service which is often priced 40% or more below our competitors. We invest heavily in our database and in the latest technology. When comparing the cost of an international executive job search you should relate it to your expected monthly salary. Often the cost is well under one month’s salary and should be seen as a valuable investment in your future careerpath. Please also remember that what we can achieve in a few weeks would take you many months, if you had the time. The potential savings in accelerated earnings alone could easily cover our charges.

Individuals who manage their own executive job searches can take 3-6 months longer to secure a position and often experience a period of temporary unemployment. A slow executive job search is very expensive, frustrating and stressful both for the executive and his family.

BENEFIT ANALYSIS - An average cross border job search for a US$150K+ position takes 8-12 months. Our clients average 4 months with a 20% salary uplift. RETURN ON INVESTMENT on mailing cost can be as high as 2 times.

For unemployed executives the costs are usually recovered in just one month of accelerated job search. RETURN ON INVESTMENT is often as high as 5 times.

What are your success rates?

Firstly, it is necessary to differentiate our service from that of outplacement consultants who regularly quote success rates of 90-95% over a 12 month period. This is nothing remarkable given the fact that few executives join the ranks of the permanently unemployed. Outplacement encompasses many services including resume/cover letter preparation, interview coaching, targeted mailing, research, office/secretarial facilities and career counseling. The cost of an outplacement service can easily be US$20,000++ with some U.S. based services charging more than US$25,000. Outplacement is usually utilised by senior executives (US$100,000+) and by corporations who are retrenching executives. It is an important and effective executive job search service however, not everybody wants to or can afford such a high level of fees.

We have taken two critically important elements of outplacement, resume/cover letter preparation and targeted mailing, and made them available at a greatly reduced price. In addition, we do the work for you. Typically an outplacement firm will give you access to a desk and a lot of books and computer files and you will undertake the research under their guidance.

Careerpath will market your skills and help you to generate positive contacts. It is of course a numbers game but we can increase the odds because we research and choose the targeted companies and we have local and cultural knowledge that will prove invaluable to you. Finally though the more letters you send the more interest you will create. Once you receive a positive response you follow up and make contact with the potential employer.

We work with a broad spectrum of clients, they come from all over the world, often they are searching outside their current location, some are Ph.Ds some are MBAs some are professionally qualified and some are none of these but are qualified by experience. Given such an interesting mix it is not surprising that results vary greatly.

Like any direct mailing the overall result is linked to the size of the mailing. If you achieve a response of 0.5 -1% you should consider this a good result. That is to say from a 5,000 letter mailing you receive 25 to 50+ leads. Remember it only takes one of these leads to change your career path. From time to time clients whose skills and background do not correspond with the qualities demanded by employers in the geographical location they are targeting will encounter a poor response. In such a situation it is important to supplement the targeted mailing with networking and other executive job search methods.

You will receive a small percentage of mails being returned due to incorrect address details. Like all databases we rely on input from the target companies and this can sometimes be incorrect. In addition, some companies/executives will move between database updates. Our returns however typically average under 1%.

We do not make unrealistic promises. If anybody in the executive job search business does then they are probably more interested in the fee than in helping you find a new job. Ultimately your success is heavily dependant on your own efforts (Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained), we are here to provide you with the exposure that you cannot achieve alone especially if you are in employment or searching overseas. A positive mind is one of the greatest attributes a job searcher can have. Occasionally we are approached by individuals whose whole perspective is negative, caution is understandable but always remain positive and proactive otherwise you will not succeed. Take the first step toward a successful executive job search: