The days of just having a paper resume and cover letter are over. In today’s digital age that focuses on such sites as Linkedin, Twitter and blogs, executives need to be armed with an arsenal of information to get through the clutter. So let’s look at the career-growing tools that an executive should have in their bag.

Resumes have not gone away so you still need a powerful executive resume that communicates your value proposition, or personal branding statement, to potential employers. This document must be compelling and indicate your core skills, relevant experience and proof-of-skills statements that show your accomplishments in challenging situations.  Consider this your fairly traditional 2-3 page resume which, of course, is supported by a good cover letter.

However, when you are networking with recruiters and colleagues, you will also need a 1-page Synopsis, or mini-resume, that shows who you are at a glance. For example, if you are networking at an industry conference, then giving someone a 3-page resume is overkill if not just annoying. The 1-page Synopsis fills the gap between the business card and the full resume and is intended to whet someone’s appetite and get them to want to know more about you. The 1-page Synopsis fits perfectly in this blackberry, smart phone world.

 Now consider that recruiters and employers will seek candidates online, particularly through Linkedin. Over 80% of them, upon receiving your information, will search the net to gauge your online presence, BEFORE contacting you. That means you need a strong Linkedin Profile and should also be on ZoomInfo.  Here your Facebook, Twitter and blog entries (if you’ve done them) will appear. So smart executives manage their online presence by providing a compelling and theme-consistent profile in Linkedin, complemented by numerous recommendations from colleagues (so employers will see testimonial evidence of your prowess). Even better if you’ve been busy blogging and tweeting to show that you are an opinion-leader or specialist in your field. Needless to say, if there are negative statements out there, you need to deal with that digital dirt.

 There are other items in a good executive career toolkit, including letters/scripts to use when contacting people, project portfolios and so on, but the resume, synopsis and online presence is the bare minimum for today’s savvy job-seeking executive.