2011 June | CEO Job Network

June 27, 2011

Sit Tight

Filed under: Advice,Interviewing — Tags: career, CEO, executive, interview, salary — Admin @ 5:27 pm

No matter how impressive your resume and prior experience are, the interview is where you are going to close when attempting to become the next CEO of a company. You have to know that this is when you are going to show a room full of executives that you are the person who is best suited to lead the company in to a successful future endeavor.

In addition to the interview, your negotiation skills have to be immensely shape to get all that you are worth once you are sitting in the big chair.

Since most people seldom face a personal negotiating experience, it should come as no surprise that few of us are real experts at negotiating for ourselves. While they may be excellent company negotiators, we have seen many strong people leave serious money on the table when it came to negotiating their own package.

Now, the first thing you need to decide is when to start a negotiation process. Some people mistakenly think negotiation is a continuous selling situation that occurs throughout their interviews. However, before you ever attempt to negotiate, you have to make sure that the employer is “sold on you.” Once an offer has been presented, you can’t negotiate unless there is some hope you can get the employer to offer new terms. You need to sense this on an individual basis. That’s where negotiations begin.

Coming to grips with what should be negotiated is, of course, different for everyone. Not too long ago we handled a marketing executive from Kellogg in Michigan. His primary goal was to have his family move to a new area that met outdoor lifestyle requirements, and he started by suggesting to us that a 20 percent reduction in income would be acceptable.

However, after a three-month search, he accepted a top position in Boca Raton. When we finished helping with his negotiations, his compensation ended up 15 percent higher, and he received a signing bonus, as well. Another executive was with J & J. He wanted out of the major corporate environment. He left his large company career behind when he landed with a venture capital group. His assignment was to oversee ventures that the firm funded by serving as acting CEO. He was to complete the initial setup, find a permanent CEO, and then move on to another assignment, but remain on the board. Based in Castle Pines, Colorado, he will handle two ventures simultaneously for six-month periods—eight over two years. His base of $200,000 was a decrease, but if just one firm goes public, his equity benefit will be in the many millions.

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June 20, 2011

Know What’s Out There

Filed under: Advice,Network,Portfolio — Tags: business, career, CEO, executive, interview, options, salary — Admin @ 5:44 pm

Knowing all that you can do is vital to your success, but knowing all the options and opportunities out is what is going to take you the furthest.

Transition to a new industry is easier than it used to be. Historically, people have overrated the barriers and underrated their abilities to move into new areas. The vast majority of all new jobs are created by small and mid-sized businesses. So, while major employers are still important, you may want to explore positions with startups or emerging companies.

If you choose the right industry, you will have more growth opportunities, perhaps meaningful stock options, an environment that is likely to be more positive, a chance for more regular pay increases and probably advancement.

Identifying new industry options

The first way to do this is to increase your awareness of the fastest growing industries and companies. These firms have to go outside their industry to find the best talent and skills. The second way is to list characteristics of your industries, and find similar industries. We use software to compare your industry’s characteristics with 2,500 others, e.g., 35 industries may be an 85% match.

Keep in mind that projecting some form of an “industry hook” is the next best thing to having industry experience. Group your possibilities three ways:

(1) close industry hooks, easy possibilities

(2) medium industry hooks, next best

(3) far reach or stretch industry hooks.

When changing industries, you also don’t want to overlook your leverage power, the added benefits you may bring by virtue of your contacts or knowledge. You may be able to bring a team with you that helped in similar situations. Despite our recent economic slowdown, new companies have sprung up throughout America. Established organizations are reexamining the way they do business. Medium-sized companies are expanding. New industries exist that are employing tens of thousands.

The more you appear to know about an industry, the easier it is to generate interviews. Virtually all employers look for “common ground” when hiring a new person. For example, do you have experience in or knowledge of similar product lines, distribution channels, manufacturing methods or problems in their industry? There can be other similarities. Consider the scope of operations, the role of advertising and promotion, the importance of the sales organization, the influence of labor, and other items.

Naturally, the harder it is to demonstrate knowledge of an industry, the less likely an executive is to make a move into it. That rule applies to all major disciplines: sales, marketing, finance, manufacturing and operations. It is less importantin staff disciplines.

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June 13, 2011

The Letter

Filed under: Advice,Portfolio — Tags: career, executive, interview, letter, liabilities, resume, salary — Admin @ 3:29 pm

At your level, a resume may not be enough to make other executives see that you are the man they want in the driver’s seat. Yet, an executive letter changes the game for you as you look for that next great opportunity.

Today, the number of resumes in circulation exceeds the imagination. GE receives 800,000 resumes a year, but they only hire about 4,000 people. That’s 1 out of every 200. Other well-known firms say they get over 1,000 resumes for every opening. And, when it comes to submitting your resume to an attractive ad, you should know that employers are now getting hundreds of candidates. Leading recruiters, like Korn Ferry and Heidrick and Struggles, now claim to receive more than 1,500 resumes a work day, 30,000 each month.

Despite the enormous competition, many people create a resume, show it to some friends or family members and then assume it’s fine. Ann Landers is famous for many quotes, but one applies here. “Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.” While many professionals still use traditional resumes, with this amount of competition, the fact is they don’t work very well anymore. The reason is that most of these resumes have common weaknesses that can restrict job hunting success.

Letters, along with a resume, will show you in a different light. Certain people who must avoid revealing liabilities should use personalized letters, but they need to be focused and motivating. Custom benefit letters, tailored to the needs of organizations, can be highly effective. Typically letters are created for the following 12 different occasions:

* For responding to openings

* For contacting recruiters

* For contacting venture capitalists

* For responding to emerging jobs

* For direct contact with employers

* For third-party letters to employers

* For contacting directors of associations

* For networking associates and friends

* For networking alumni

* For networking influential people

* For setting up potential references

* For following up your interviews

You can’t have a resume and letter that forces the reader to try to figure out how to use you. If so, you won’t get many calls. Why? Because people simply won’t take the time to study resumes. They’ll put it in the “no pile” or toss it. Your resume and letter have just 20 seconds to make your case and get people to read further, or, better yet, call you. If it doesn’t do this, you won’t even get in the game.

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June 6, 2011

The Fashions of a Successful Resume

Filed under: Advice — Tags: business, career, executive, interview, resume, salary, six-figure — Admin @ 1:29 pm

No matter what your skills or experience, at your level you are still going to need to impress people with how all your information is presented. You resume tells everything about you work wise to land a tremendous job, but if it is not constructed in the right way, it can be less powerful when viewed by executives.

There are different resume styles for different approaches to landing a six-figure job or being the head of the company.

An “interview” resume – An interview resume is 2 to 3 pages. It is for presentation during or after interviews and reveals more about you when employers want to know more. If you used this too early to develop interviews, it might not work well since it would reveal many more details about your industry background. (If you have an executive biography, you would not need this resume.)

An executive biography – This is a 3 to 5 page narrative document, written in a third-person style. It uses interesting stories, rich in detail, and is favored by top recruiters and senior executives. Today, these are the “Mercedes of presentations.” Those seeking $150,000 to 1 million dollars+ should have one. Decision makers often forward resumes to others to get consensus. And sometimes, you never meet the top people, but nevertheless they will often review your resume. The offer depends on a “thumbs up” from the resume presentation.

A universal resume – The most essential is a universal resume—a one-page document that will be your introductory resume. Most people mistakenly believe that they need to tell their whole story in their initial resume. The reality is that you get better results when your initial resume is interesting, with a feeling of action—but short. This resume must be suitable for key word scanning, have short paragraphs, and be compelling. It must be headlined by a job title listing (e.g., Director of Marketing) that an employer might have available. Remember, your resume is an ad, not an epitaph.

An “Internet (or electronic)” resume – This second resume needs to be a narrative… usually no more than two-thirds of one page. It is surprising how few devote any thought to the way their resumes appear at the receiving end of an email transmission. When you are online, less is more. All you want is a positive response.

A “quick-response” resume – This third resume makes it easy for you to respond quickly to emerging situations you read about. It positions the text on the right-hand side of the page so you can write handwritten notes and dispatch a resume without a cover letter.