Each year, many executives across the world are drawn to the elusive world of the boardroom and begin their search for a board seat. Board work can be incredibly rewarding to those who pursue it, both in terms of the stimulating and fulfilling work itself and, of course, the financial reward.

In tough economic times, the need for executives to effectively manage their careers—whether actively seeking employment or not—becomes critical for weathering the storm.

As an executive resume writer, a story I hear again and again from my clients is that they’ve never had to look for a job in their life; opportunities have just come their way…until now.

You’ve been down this road before – looking for a new executive position.

The implications associated with executives allowing themselves to be expatriated to a foreign country are not addressed as part of the targeted executive decision making process. As I have been expatriated by three different Fortune 500 companies, I can provide unique insight as to pros and cons. I also wrote my doctoral thesis directly on the issues and associated implications of expatriation, which required me to directly address published research regarding expatriation. Therefore, the information I have put forward below has emerged from not only my own lived experience, but also from the totality of my research related to this topic.

In my nearly 20 years of executive search consulting, I have seen the frustrations of the job search process from both the job seeker’s and the hiring company’s perspectives – and seen what successful candidates do to get the job. Here are my top 16 tips for getting that job offer this year.

1. Be great at your job. Companies hire specialists who are great at their function. It’s not enough to know what’s entailed in the job. Where do you excel?

Are you doing the same things in your job search today that you did five or 10 years ago and expecting the same results? What may have worked even a year ago may not today, so you need to reassess and retool your action plan to identify your successful strategies and change those that have not been effective.

The points below will help you to audit your job search activities: