2011 July | CEO Job Network

July 27, 2011

Map out a Plan

Filed under: Advice,CEO Job Network — Tags: career, CEO, executive, goals, industry, interview, job titles, resume — Admin @ 5:14 pm

No matter how much experience you have, and how many executives you’ve lead, you have got to have a plan when you are looking for the next amazing career opportunity. A plan needs to be put in place. The best chance of finding success in the shortest amount of time with be done with a plan set in motion.

It may surprise you, but many people actually pursue the wrong job titles. However, if they understood their real transferable skills, they could be repositioned for different goals, and sometimes for much more advancement than they thought possible. Regardless of your most recent position, you need to think of yourself as “one of a kind” with diverse potentials.

We all have seen many career fields change dramatically over the last decade. Fields that once offered great opportunity have become financially confining with limited growth possibilities.

Does print advertising offer the same career possibilities as it did a decade ago? Does selling in the steel industry? Does being a doctor and a general practitioner? Career fields change at a much faster pace than most people realize. Experience has proven that if you take a narrow view of yourself, you could be making a mistake. For example, if you see yourself as a specialist (e.g., a banker), you may believe you are locked into a given career. On the other hand, you may feel you have few options because you are too much of a generalist.

More and more professionals are finding that they can have several different careers over the course of a lifetime. Sometimes you can’t see them and you stumble into them. Someone could be a radio sports broadcaster, then become an actor, then a politician and subsequently governor of a major state and president of the United States (Ronald Reagan). And, of course, we all know many other examples, many famous and millions not so famous, but successful at many levels.

It may be that you should consider positioning yourself for more than one possible goal at this time, and running what we refer to as a “dual campaign.” For example, a logical step may be seeking a new job as a VP of Marketing. But you might also have accumulated knowledge and experience that would allow you to seek a position as a General Manager, or perhaps Chief Operating Officer, or even Chief Executive Officer in the right type of organization, in the right industry. Or you may wish to run a search for a higher paying job as a sales producer, while also exploring situations to move into a sales management role.

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July 18, 2011

It’s an Art

Filed under: Advice,CEO Job Network — Tags: board, CEO, executive, interview, negotiate, resume, salary — Admin @ 4:25 pm

To be the next CEO and get that big, six-figure salary, you better know how to negotiate to get every penny you are worth. Walking away from that meeting feeling like you didn’t bring your “A game” will leave you wondering just how much you may have missed out on.

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% 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% 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.

Needless to say, the final staging of his executive level negotiations didn’t just happen. In the discussion that follows, the basics of our system are outlined in the most simple terms. If you don’t have success, shift from the “present” and focus on the future: a review after six months, a better title, an automatic increase after time. These are easier things to get.

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July 11, 2011

Be Social

Filed under: Advice,CEO Job Network — Tags: career, CEO, executive, interview, networking, resume, social media — Admin @ 7:12 pm

To truly know all your options, you have to look at every area where you could find a lead on a great job as a CEO.

Now is the time to take full advantage of social networking websites, which are no longer just for keeping track of friends, but can help secure employment.

Sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, have evolved from a way to keep track of people in your life, to an arena where businesses promote both products and career opportunities.

Finding gainful employment in any economy, in any position, is knowing all the paths available to you on your search.

Now is the time for people to educate themselves on the growing changes in how networking is done. It’s no longer simply done over chance meetings or drinks; it’s now on the Internet as well.

Some people may feel a bit intimidated with the new social media outlets, but that is a feeling that must be overcome in order to optimize all the opportunities to find employment.

It’s OK to ask for help when getting started with anything new and social networking is no exception.

So why has social networking grown so large so quickly? In August, users for the first time spent more time on Facebook than on Google and Yahoo sites, according to data from research firm ComScore. A year ago, users spent twice as much time on Google sites than on Facebook, which requires users to be registered with the site, the Denver Post reported.

Even websites like Twitter, where people update the world about things like the awesome caramel they just ate, apply to job seekers. an example of how it can work for you is, if you get laid off, and you post (on Twitter) that you just lost your job and now the 5,000 people following you know you are looking, said Andrew Hudson, a longtime Denver public relations specialist who runs a website that lists job openings in public relations, marketing and advertising, among other fields (andrewhudsonsjobslist .com).

For that strategy to work, you first need that big group of followers. That is why it pays, said Hudson, to fixate upon self-preservation and networking — whether or not you are employed — in this rotten job market.

The technology boom can be overwhelming, but it is Ok to ask for help from professionals who know the ropes or others, such as your children, who use social networking sites everyday.

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July 6, 2011

Quite a Site

Filed under: Advice,Portfolio — Tags: brand, CEO, executive, interview, marketing, resume, salary, website — Admin @ 4:12 pm

While looking for that next by opportunity as a CEO, know there are ways to go about getting your name and experience out there in more forms than just a resume.

Job hunting is all about getting enough of the “right people” to look at your credentials. A “Personal Marketing Website” is a website that presents your universal resume, and sometimes your biography, for those who wish to review it.

Here’s how this works. A “Personal Marketing Website” is an impressive way of presenting yourself.

It gives you a fast, no-cost way to get your presentation in front of the right decision makers. How? Because you can simply send out emails with a link to your “Personal Marketing Website.” Through our job hunting information system, all you need to do is get the names of decision makers, and emails of key employers, throughout the U.S., or the world in industries that are right for you, or in the area where you want to live.

Can this make networking easier? Yes. For people you already know, all you do is send an email to let them know that you are open to new opportunities, and that you put up a new and unique “personal marketing website.” And, when people see your presentation, they will be far more impressed than anything you could say over the phone.

Technology has made the world seem like a much smaller place, even more so for the working world. The best way to get your name and own personal brand to be recognized by companies, is to get it out there in the newest fashions available. If you are not taking advantage of all that is offered, you are selling yourself short and not putting yourself in good position to make the most money possible for what you have to offer.

Can this website also be used for responding to ads? Absolutely. Mention your link in a compelling email and you’ll have a surefire way to dramatically stand out from everyone else who answers an ad. The bottom line is that if you’re in the market today, and don’t have a “Personal Marketing Website” you will be searching with an unnecessary competitive disadvantage.

But remember a great resume is vital.

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.