Stop Calling the 5 Closest Contacts for Leads
A joint MIT‑Stanford‑Harvard study with LinkedIn tracked 20 million users and found that moderately weak ties—about ten shared connections—outperform both inner‑circle contacts and cold outreach in landing new roles. Executives typically rely on their five closest contacts or mass cold messages, but the data shows the sweet spot lies in the forgotten middle of the network. The author shares an AI‑driven Claude prompt that converts a 2,000‑row LinkedIn export into a prioritized call list of those optimal weak ties. The piece reframes networking as the third step in an executive job search, after profile optimization and headhunter outreach.
The InMail That Ended This CCO's Search
A chief commercial officer in MedTech lost a €45,000 (~$48,600) salary boost and 24 months of access to a top retained search firm after bypassing the recruiter with a direct LinkedIn InMail. The article explains that retained firms charge a...
The "Open to Work" Mistake Hiding Profiles
A recent analysis of 1,750 senior LinkedIn profiles revealed that most executives remain invisible to recruiters because they misconfigure the Open to Work settings and neglect daily job‑board activity. The platform’s “high interest” classifier prioritizes recruiter‑only visibility, five‑slot title mixes,...
The 30-Second Mistake Killing Recruiter Calls
Executive recruiters decide within the first 30 seconds whether a senior candidate is worth pursuing, focusing on peer level, sector relevance, and a scale‑defining metric. Most candidates waste that window with a four‑minute, vague career monologue, causing recruiters to disengage...
AI Hiring Tools Just Flunked Every Standard
The Mercuri Urval Research Institute released a 2025 report declaring that current AI‑based hiring tools do not meet professional selection standards or EU AI Act requirements. The study shows AI tools skip essential assessment steps, inherit multiple bias types, and...
🚨 NEW RESEARCH: The 12x Linkedin Signal Most Miss
A new analysis of senior‑executive LinkedIn profiles reveals a hidden "Engaged in job market" tag that increases recruiter visibility by roughly 12 times compared with profiles lacking it. The tag isn’t a toggle; it’s earned through five specific weekly actions—keeping "Open...
Stop Apologising for the Gap on the Resume
Executive recruiter Kristof argues that resume gaps are a mythic obstacle; he observed that recruiters spend under one second looking at any gap and never let it affect a shortlist. What matters is whether the profile’s keywords match the search...
The CV Mistake Killing Senior Exec Searches
Executive boards are now hiring for missing capabilities rather than seniority, with 56% of searches driven by new skill needs according to AESC’s 2025 survey. Traditional CVs that list titles and tenure no longer answer the core question – “What...
Why Many Leaders Fail Without a 100-Day Plan
Many new directors and VPs falter within their first 100 days because they lack a structured plan, not because of skill gaps. The article cites a CFO at a €400M ($436M) medical‑device firm who was ousted after 11 months without...
The PE Board Red Flag Missed in Interview One
The article warns that executives often overlook a critical red flag when joining private‑equity‑backed companies: board composition. It outlines five essential questions—covering investment thesis, board makeup, sponsor‑operating partner dynamics, team turnover, and compensation structure—that should be asked before signing. A...
Delete Every LinkedIn Skill Today. Start at Zero.
The post urges senior executives to delete all existing LinkedIn skills and rebuild the section with 100 hard‑keyword entries. It explains that recruiters rely on the Skills field for Boolean searches, and most executives leave 88 slots empty or fill...
Stop Deciding $400k Career Moves in the Shower
Senior executives often spend weeks agonizing over counter‑offers, yet gain no new insight. The blog argues that the root cause is a missing decision framework, not ambiguous information. It outlines five common mistakes—unweighted pros‑cons, ignoring the status‑quo, over‑focusing on pay,...
The 3-Page Report Candidates Never See
Executive recruiters write a confidential 3‑5 page report within 24 hours after each deep‑dive interview, and candidates never see it. The report, built from the interview transcript, decides whether a candidate makes the shortlist and includes scope, achievements, leadership style, cultural...
Stop Fixing the Resume. Fix LinkedIn.
The post argues that senior‑level executives should stop polishing resumes and focus on LinkedIn optimization, because the $21 billion executive‑search industry sources candidates exclusively through LinkedIn Recruiter. It explains that retained search firms never see resumes; they rank profiles by title,...
7 Things Hidden in Every Job Description
The post argues that most executives treat job descriptions as simple checklists, missing the strategic intent hidden within. It reveals seven recurring signals—company problem, priority skills, culture cues, role timing, red flags, fit score, and keyword themes—that can be decoded...