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#6 – The continuing stigma of being in transition

December 15, 2008 By

Every resume is on best behavior.  Everyone is a leader that contributed to growth through strategic thinking, built a team, and earned the company millions.

In short, 100% of resumes present people in the top 10% of performers.   Of course, we know that’s not true.  Problem is you cannot always tell who is telling the truth.

Sadly, some people deserve to be in transition, while others had no choice (sale of firm, etc.).    Problem is you cannot tell when you read the resume or meet them.

Expectation setting #6:  The risk-averse will simply avoid any one in transition.  Not wanting to chance it, they go for those still employed.  If you run into those folks, don’t invest too much time.

Two ideas to help overcome the stigma:

1.       LinkedIn recommendations from your peers and bosses at your last firm – there’s something to be said when people make them so public

2.       Find people who know you well to make introductions or call on your behalf

Filed Under: A. 12 Search Expectations Tagged With: ,

Disorganized Search = Disorganized Employee?

December 15, 2008 By

Your search is a reflection of how you organize projects, handle adversity and communicate.   These are things we see in everyday jobs.  So treat a search like a job, not something you have not done before or very often.   There is no free pass just because no one likes to be in a search.

If you trouble making meetings on time, being prepared for a meeting (e.g. research on the individual or company) or following up, then what does that say about your ability as an employee?

It will be difficult to get someone to give you their A-list networking contacts if you don’t give them you’re A-list attention.

The better you take care of yourself, the better impression you will give that you can kick ass when you get on the job.

Filed Under: D. Organize Your Networking Tagged With: ,

20 minutes early is not on time

December 15, 2008 By

Whoever came up with that rule that you should arrive twenty minutes early obviously never spend twenty minutes trying to make idle chit-chat with a receptionist who had other work to do.  

Repeat after me:  Show up on time.

If the appointment is at 2 p.m., then arrive at 1:58.  You just have to be on time.  How often when you were working did you show up at someone’s office 20 minutes early?   If someone wants to meet you earlier they’ll call.  Trust me.

More importantly time is a key commodity, especially as you ramp up the networking.  20 minutes is a couple of phone calls to confirm meeting, make an appointment to your hair done, ring up a friend to arrange a beer (if you’re in transition, you’ll need one).

Filed Under: F. Getting Out There Tagged With:

Networking Groups – Limits

December 15, 2008 By

I belonged to four regular networking groups and attended others occasionally.  Two of my regular groups were related to my profession.  My other regular groups were smaller with a limited number of members served as each other’s board of advisors.

Belonging to different types of networking groups was very useful as groups can have limitations:

·         Single industry – Can be limitations to network as you often know the same contacts

·         Single profession (e.g. Finance) –  This can be good networking, but I always joke it’s ‘competitively cooperative’ as you tend to be looking for the same role

·         Uneven attendance or similar attendees

·         Too broad of attendance – difficult to networking with people with whom you want to network

Trying ExecuNet (www.execunet.com) or a similar networking meeting, so there is a mix of professions, so it gives you a broader set of people with whom to network.

Filed Under: G. You're Rolling Now! Tagged With: ,

Using LinkedIn Groups

December 15, 2008 By

LinkedIn Groups connect people who have a common history/interest:

·         Former colleagues from a specific employer (e.g. Arthur Andersen), colleges, etc.

·         People within a state

·         Same profession (marketing, sales, teaching, etc.)

·         On-line communities (e.g. ExecuNet) or Professional Groups

·         Entrepreneurs

·         Non-profit/Charity

A LinkedIn Group is essentially an on-line networking group – the tools for the group (discussions, etc.) allow you to begin to connect with individuals.  Also, as you look at the profile of an individual within the group, LinkedIn provides how you are connected.

Many people in a group will allow other group members to contact them.   This openness is great for networking and researching a firm or person. 

I am amazed at how many people I rediscovered by paging through the group members.   For yourself, these groups may lead to finding people with a vested interest in you.

Filed Under: G. You're Rolling Now! Tagged With: , ,

The Out-of-the-Box Candidate

December 15, 2008 By

Occasionally, a recruiter will say they are including an “Out-of-the-box” candidate – which is usually someone from outside the industry.  

Why do recruiters put in someone like this – there’s lots of reasons (client request, recruiter knows the person being submitted very well, etc.)

After being submitted as one of the candidates, someone asked me “How often does the out-of-the-box candidate get hired?”.   My response was simple, “More often than the candidate who never got in front of the client”.

Filed Under: M. You & The Recruiter Tagged With: , ,

Begin with what you need. Listen for what you want.

December 15, 2008 By

Every business plan starts with what need a company will fulfill.  Based on the need identified, the rest of the business plan builds from there.   For a search, it is defining the role you seek.

I had the good fortune to meet with numerous companies and contacts to help me define the need before I truly engaged my search.   Once I defined the goal, I could build a plan to fulfill that goal.

Without a role or roles in mind, it is difficult to plan and articulate your contacts on how they can assist your search.   People who agree to network are agreeing to help you, so give them what they need to help.

Now, about what you want.  Be mindful of comments/feedback about your goal.  People can give you an objective view of what they see and hear about your plans for a job versus a career.   They are telling you what you want, not just what you need.

Don’t be afraid to refine the role you seek as it may be a better fit for you.

Even if your situation requires you take a ‘job’ – it does not mean you cannot work on your career once you start working, so listen to what you want.

Filed Under: B. Getting Started - Your Story Tagged With: ,

LinkedIn Groups – For ‘hidden’ jobs

December 15, 2008 By

LinkedIn Group – Watching the Discussions

Once you join a group, be sure to monitor its discussions, I have been amazing at how many companies and recruiters have discussions seeking people.

The beauty of about the group is that you will likely someone who works at the company seeking to fill a position.

LinkedIn Groups – Specifically for job searchers

There are local, state and national groups for people that specifically looking for work.  So again, there is lots of sharing of leads within the discussions.

For those of you on ExecuNet, there is a job lead board in the “Discussions” section that is primarily where leads can be found as well.

Filed Under: G. You're Rolling Now! Tagged With: , ,

#7 – Expect the reject

December 15, 2008 By

No matter how strong the referral or relationship, some people will simply not respond.     They are too busy, do not think they can help you, do not like to network, or maybe they do not really like the person referring you, etc.   There are a myriad of reasons over which you have no control or no knowledge of when you reach out to them.

So be professional and persistent, but if they do not respond after three tries, just move on.

Expectation setting #7: Expect the reject, just don’t take it personally.

Filed Under: A. 12 Search Expectations Tagged With: ,

My BIG Networking Mistake

December 15, 2008 By

Here’s one of my biggest mistakes.  When I was targeting firms for CFO roles, I initially focused on networking contacts who would ‘hear’ about opportunities – generally lawyers, bankers, etc.

My big mistake was not initially talking with fellow CFOs.   At first, I thought “Why talk to that firm, they have a CFO”.   What a bonehead.

Q: Guess who gets the call when CFO role comes open?  

A: People who are currently sitting in the CFO chair.

People who hold a role today get the call to see if either they are interested or know people that are interested.

Guess what.  If I had met with these people, they would know I am interested.

Filed Under: F. Getting Out There Tagged With:

The Stealth Resume – Your LinkedIn profile URL

December 15, 2008 By

When sending your initial networking e-mail, be sure to add your LinkedIn profile URL to your e-mail signature (e.g. name, phone number, etc. – at the bottom of an e-mail).

Here is why I like adding this to your e-mail signature:

·         Gives your networking contact a simple method to look at your background

·         Your LinkedIn profile is dynamic – you can change it daily to reflect where you are in your search

·         Your profile can include more than work history, but also your targeted role and key skills

With the wide usage of LinkedIn, the URL to your profile is becoming more commonplace – so put it to use for you.

You can change the LinkedIn URL – www.linkedin.com\in\stevesmith

Filed Under: E. Meetings: Before, During & After Tagged With: , ,

The Value of a Recruiter’s Database – Why you want to be in there:

December 15, 2008 By

If you meet 50 people at a party, church or work function, how many of their names will you remember in a month?  Six months?  In one year?  Now use the same timeframes, but make it how much of their personal history will you recall?   The answer is probably not much.

Recruiters will generally meet several hundred people a year.   That’s why they have databases.  So when they get a search, the first step is to search their database.

So even if you really had a great meeting with the recruiter, the better way to get your name into the search results is to have a very complete resume that provides company name, industry type, position titles, functions overseen, etc.  – all the items that a search might be conducted on for the position you seek.

Filed Under: M. You & The Recruiter Tagged With: ,

1st Person in the Chain Versus the 5th (or 6th or 7th…)

December 15, 2008 By

You start networking with people who have a vested interested in you – as they will be strong advocates in getting your name out there and will look for opportunities.

I met over 400 people in my transition, so I went well beyond my crew of vested interest contacts.  I learned something very important:

The strength of the relationship between the person who is referring you and the person receiving the referral is a major factor in determining the strength of the networking.

My friend, Fred Borstad from UBS, was 4th in the chain.  The connections he made were like gold, because he has a long history of building mutual beneficial relationships.  So the people I met went out of their way to help me along.  More than one person commented that they took the meeting so quickly because Fred was sending me.

Try to get a sense of the strength of the relationship with person you are being connected.   It will give you a sense of what to expect.

Filed Under: G. You're Rolling Now! Tagged With: ,

Say ‘thanks’

December 15, 2008 By

The title says it all.

Once you land you will be very busy, so at a minimum send out a note to your strongest networking contacts before you start your new job.  

When you land having those strong contacts in your network will come in handy.   I use mine all the time.

For the rest of your contacts, set aside an hour or so each weekend to let people know.

Filed Under: N. Post Search Tagged With: ,

The story of the foul-mouthed CFO – A lesson in sales

December 15, 2008 By

Over a six-month period, I heard multiple stories about a foul-mouthed CFO who openly dressed-down employees with language that would make a longshoreman wince.

With each telling of the story, the CFO’s behavior got more dramatic.  I could not help to think how this person’s name got dragged through the mud – because none of the people who told me the story worked at the company.

I soon began to wonder if this person could get hired again.  If I said to someone “I’ve been told this story about a CFO who swore at employees”, about 90% of the time, they would reply “Do you mean __________, at ___________”.  

I am not surprised a story like this spread so quickly.  Here’s what’s surprised me.  With the same volume, I heard stories coming out of networking meeting where the candidate was “forced out by their boss”, “needed a mental break”, “is only looking to move overseas”, etc.   Most often the statements were made by the candidate.

Remember, a search is like a sales process.  The product is you.  So be sure to present yourself in the best light by planning your networking meeting and being cautious with the statements you make.  

Unlike Vegas, what happens in a networking meeting does not stay in the networking meeting.

Filed Under: H. Watch Out - Curves Ahead Tagged With: , ,
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