The executive job search checklist

Senior searches stall for predictable reasons: the target is vague, the materials are generic, and the search is squeezed into evenings. This checklist is the structure we use with clients. It works whether or not you work with us.

1. Decide before you apply

• Two or three target job titles, written the way employers write them, not the way your current company does.
• Sectors and company stages you want, and ones you will not consider.
• Locations, remote or hybrid limits, and whether you would relocate.
• Your salary floor, including the total package you need, not just base.
• Employers to exclude: your current employer, its group companies, clients, and anywhere you would not accept an offer.

2. Prepare one master record

• A master resume holding every role, date and achievement you can evidence. You tailor from it; you never rewrite from scratch.
• For each achievement: the situation, what you did, and a result you can back up if asked in interview.
• A short positioning statement: who you are, the problem you solve, and the level you operate at.
• An up-to-date LinkedIn profile that matches your resume on titles and dates. Recruiters check.
• Two or three referees who have agreed to be contacted.

3. Tailor every application

• Read the full job description and pick out the four or five requirements that matter most.
• Put your most relevant evidence first. Reorder; do not invent.
• Use the employer's own language for skills and titles where it is accurate, so screening software and people recognize the match.
• Write a short cover letter that answers one question: why you, for this role, now.
• Note any requirement you do not meet. Decide whether to address it or skip the role.

4. Run it like a project

• Keep one record of every application: role, date, the version of your resume sent, and any contact.
• Set a weekly volume you can sustain and tailor properly.
• Review weekly: which roles got responses, which did not, and what that says about your targeting.
• Follow up once, politely, around a week after applying where you have a named contact.
• Change one thing at a time, so you can tell what made the difference.

5. Protect your discretion

• Set LinkedIn so your network is not notified of profile changes.
• Use a personal email and phone for every application.
• Never apply to excluded employers, including through recruiters. Ask recruiters to confirm before submitting you anywhere.

If you would rather not do this alone

Everything above is what a dedicated assistant handles for you in a done-for-you search: the targeting, the master record, the tailoring, the applications and the weekly review. You keep the decisions and do the interviews.