The Executive Update

Ask the Coach: Adjusting Your Strategy to Address Today’s Job Market

Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from this week’s session with Barbara Safani, owner of Career Solvers based in New York City.

What came to light in this week’s Ask the Coach call was that even though the basics of executive job search remain unchanged, you do have to make some strategic adjustments to deal with the current economic downturn.

According to Barbara, searches are still taking longer, but across several job sectors, hiring is now at the level they were in 2008, which is ahead of last year. Your best strategy is to continue to stay in front of hiring authorities and recruiters, but the trick is not to look like a stalker. Use natural touch points. If you read an article or a blog that looks interesting, share it with a cover note like, “thought you might find this interesting” or “this relates to our last conversation about…” If you are strategic with the information and insight you send to prospective employers you will position yourself as a knowledgeable candidate who stays current with the market.

Once you get in front of those hiring authorities, you have to be prepared to deal with other realities of the current job climate, like talking about compensation. If you are a "seasoned, experienced" executive, what can you do to mitigate the stigma of "high" earnings as you navigate the hiring process?

It’s a common complaint that the topic of salary comes up too early in the conversation these days. If you don’t know the scope of the position, how are you supposed to “price” yourself? It’s a given that most salaries aren’t at the levels they used to be; that’s the reality of today’s economy. And there is no time to build any trust between the company and the candidate before you start talking compensation.

You can take a proactive stance by opening with a discussion of market conditions and what the market will bear for the position, showing your understanding of your value in the marketplace. This demonstrates that you understand that conditions have changed, and by offering a compensation range they have a better understanding of you and your expectations. Once you establish trust, you can more comfortably discuss specifics.

You also need to be prepared to address their concerns about taking a lower salary and continuing to look for a better offer. In other words, why should they invest in you? You need to address this concern head on, without being confrontational. Explain where you see yourself with the company in the next five to 10 years. This shows that you have no plans to retire and should set them at ease.

Everyone is looking to control costs. Your job is to get them to think about long-term benefits, not immediate expenses. And the basic strategy for salary negotiation remains the same, even in a tight economy. You need to determine what is truly important to you and remember that companies will pay for value.

Ask the Coach: Making the Most of Social Media

Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from the most recent session with Nicola James, Managing Partner of Thomas Brooke International.

This week, Nicola focused on strategies for getting the most out of social media. As she notes, in all social media platforms, your profile is the anchor; it’s the thing that allows you to brand yourself and allows those reading your profile to truly understand your value. That means your message should be consistent across all platforms and marketing documents. You should use the same key phrases and the same photo to create a consistent Web footprint.

Twitter is a useful tool and most recruiters are using Twitter, and they answer those that contact them. You can easily search out recruiter contacts using keywords and areas of interest. You do not have to follow everyone, and you can block those whom you don’t want to be associated with. Twitter also makes it easy to make direct contact, where LinkedIn has more boundaries.

Although it seems a poor relation to LinkedIn, Plaxo also is another tool you should consider. It’s a great place to be found and to make sure you post full profile information. Make sure to keep your profile current. People sometimes will find you through Plaxo where they won’t through LinkedIn.

The real benefit of social media is that it makes it easy for others to see you as a thought leader. It’s easy to stay on the cutting edge of what is going on in a company, industry, arena, etc. You can demonstrate that you have relevant knowledge. And social media teaches you to be concise, as you have to be with a “Twitpitch.”  You have limited space to make your point, but you always have the option to point back to LinkedIn, a blog entry, or a more in-depth online profile.

Social media also helps you focus. You need to identify one or two things that are really important to your personal brand and articulate them as core capabilities. You need to determine what relevant conversations you need to participate in. You need to be engaged, be collaborative, and be authentic; people respond to authenticity. You also need to be flexible in how you see and do things. By focusing you also improve time management and keep time from going down the drain. Nicola recommends trying to limit your social media activity to 30 minutes each day. She actually spends a half-hour at the beginning of the day catching up with her connections. Make the time count.

(For more on how to leverage your online profile, be sure to check out the latest sessions of Experts Connection, “Not On Google? Do You Exist?” with social media strategist Glenn Raines, which tells you how to get more exposure by building an effective Google profile.)

Re-envisioning Personal Branding in the 21st Century: We, Inc. vs. Me, Inc.

This guest contribution to Executive Update is contributed by Kate Cunningham, who writes on the topics of online university rankings.  She welcomes your questions and comments at her email Id: cn.kate1 @ gmail.com. 

The concept of personal branding is not a particularly old one. It began as a self-help management technique that distinguished itself from mere self-improvement. Just like product brands, personal brands must be packaged. And so, the whole point of personal branding grew out of the expanding idea of product branding. The personal branding philosophy was one that emphasized appearances. Personal branding basically says that if you seem a certain way consistently enough, then you gain trust, you gain career success.

However, I would say that product brands today aren't what they were 20 or even 10 years ago. According to Wikipedia, the first known article to employ the term "personal branding" was a 1997 Fast Company essay written by Tom Peters entitled “The Brand Called You.” A careful reading of this essay demonstrates how much things have changed since in the realm of personal branding. Rereading this essay published over 10 years ago can perhaps tell us how we can re-envision personal branding conceptually so that it will mesh better with current trends.

Peters subtitles his essay with "Today, big companies understand the importance of brands. Today, in the Age of the Individual, you have to be your own brand. Here's what it takes to be the CEO of Me, Inc." Right off the bat, we can see how this string of buzzwords isn't as relevant today. With the drastic rise of social networking in business, we are not as caught up in the age of the "Individual" with a capital I. Instead, we are much more social. Networking is no longer a meaningless buzzword – it's an actual reality. We are defined just as much by our interconnected webs, by which we are in relation to others, as we are by what, in Peters' words "makes us stand out".

Of course, Peters does mention networking, and he mentions it often. But this was well before the Wikinomics of today, an economic climate that isn't only dominated by big branding companies but instead is seeing new promise in startups run by casual friends or colleagues across the globe. Thomas Friedman's NY Times op-ed about the startup EndoStim is a perfect example.

In one instance Peters says, "...the big trick to building your personal brand is to find ways to nurture your network of colleagues--consciously." After reading this sentence, I was struck by a suggestion of "self" before the word "consciously."

Nowadays, self-consciousness can easily be detected in an environment in which forums - consumers talking to consumers - dominate. Now as never before, consumers demand customized value, not just pretty packaging, from the products they consume. The now more aware and educated consumer, empowered by the Internet, is suspicious of sleek self-consciousness. The "review" culture of the Internet seeks a more internal, less self-conscious, and more sincere value.

As such, we must evolve the concept of personal branding to evolve with the way product branding has changed. While of course, we do still have to market ourselves as Peters instructs, there is an unmistakable atmosphere of sincerity, a demand for sincerity, that we can all bring to the table to enhance our careers.

If you think less about your "brand" and more about just being yourself, interacting with strangers, business partners, friends and acquaintances alike without specifically opportunist intentions, then you'd be surprised at how many more benefits you'll reap. This, in a nutshell, is the work of the new social economy. Let's get with the times.

In Uncertain Times There Is Always Opportunity, No Matter What Your Situation

We love member success stories, and I wanted to share a tale of a NETSHARE member who has been with us for a number of years. He recently landed a position at his old company after nine years of applying to get back in. And here’s the good news – he was hired at a salary higher than anticipated, with a signing bonus, and he’s 61 years old!

Here’s his story. He was caught in a massive layoff at a global company following 9-11 and has been working for the last nine years to find a way back into his old employer. He had various screenings; attended “interview days,” and continued to network inside the company. All that hard work finally paid off and he was given a phone screening, followed by attending an interview day in Chicago. He was offered a job less than a month ago.

What his experience demonstrates is that in uncertain times, those who can demonstrate their value and who show perseverance can reach their career goals. As he wrote to us:

“Business strategy, plans, market needs, are constantly changing and companies are repositioning which requires changes in talent they need to meet their plans.”

As with many things, his success is a combination of talent, persistence, and luck, but it does show that those who have the drive will succeed.

Ask the Coach: Addressing the “Age Old” Problem of Ageism

Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from a recent session with  Kristin Speer of Accelerated Search Consulting.

This week, Kris Speer shared an e-mail she received from a NETSHARE member that addresses a problem that is common to everyone over a certain age. The e-mail reads:

I am 52 years old and look younger than many 52 year old men. I have heard the following comments as I have continued my search and wonder if I am only kidding myself that Corporate America would be interested in my talents:

· "We typically hire younger talent and grow from within."

· "You are really overqualified for the position available."

I spent the majority of my career in real estate management, acquisitions and development; however, the current economic climate has caused a significant contraction within the residential and multi-family real estate markets and it could be 3 to 5 years before we see any substantial gains in activity. What strategy would you recommend I take to obtain a reasonably rewarding position in Corporate America? Are there particular industries that seek experienced talent from outside their industry?

As Kris reminded everyone on the call, the concept of retiring at age 55 to 60 is a thing of the past. With added longevity, workers have to work longer to support a longer retirement plan. Where retirement typically lasted 10 to 15 years, now it lasts from 15 to 30 years or longer.

For older job seekers, when you apply for a job that you can perform in your sleep it’s bound to raise questions. And you need to be ready with answers that will satisfy the hiring executive on the other side of the desk. Consider this response. Yes, you have climbed the corporate ladder. You’ve worked the 100 hours a week to reach your goals. You’ve competed and won in the corporate world. You have done everything that has been expected of you and come out on top, so now it’s time to do what you want. You have taken stock of your expertise and your career and determined what it is you truly love to do, and the position you are applying for will not only afford you an opportunity to do the work, but it will allow you to make a contribution to a company that you respect and believe in.

Your goal now is to share your expertise and help the company reach its next level. You plan to be there for the long run, and not just make a quick stop before moving to something else. You want to build something, and mentor others along the way.

This argument may not sway everyone, but it gives you a solid response to questions that are bound to arise. Who knows, you may change the perceptions of some hiring managers with open minds.

Baby Boomers’ Experience Make Them More Valuable than Ever

I spend a lot of my time talking to Baby Boomer executives about the challenges of job search for senior staffers and how to work with Generation Y managers. That’s why I was heartened to see a recent blog post on RecruitingTrends.com explaining why we shouldn’t give up on baby boomers just yet. The post tells the story of Kathy Deel, age 55, Director of Quality Management for Health Central in Ocoee, Florida. Before Kathy took over, the Medical Records department was in a shambles with late medical records, low morale, and poor customer satisfaction ratings. Kathy convinced the hospitals’ executive committee that she could run Medical Records and Quality Management, and within a year she had completely turned things around:

“Today, the department operates with one-third fewer employees, patient and physician satisfaction is up, and the department is recognized as one of the best medical records units by its electronic medical record vendor. Most of all, says Kathy, the staff members that remained have an attitude of pride and team spirit which was missing before she took over.

The lesson here? Older employees may be the most loyal, knowledgeable, wise, motivated, and the hardest working human resource an organization has.”

What this demonstrates is that Boomers have a lot to offer to companies. The blog posts quotes MIT researcher David Delong, who said his findings show that Baby Boomers around the world have “deep knowledge of complex business processes, technical systems, advanced scientific processes, and complicated global management practices that are critical to the futures of their respective businesses.” This doesn’t just mean that older workers don’t just hold the keys to the file cabinets or knowledge of arcane internal business procedures. Rather, these older workers have honed skills that make them extremely effective. Look at the results Kathy Deel was able to produce for Health Central with twice the responsibility, two-thirds of the staff, and a lot of experience.

These Boomer experts are also staying in the work force for longer periods. The blog cites a study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, that shows that today, only 28 percent of workers plan to retire at 65 as opposed to 50 percent in 1990, and more than twice as many workers don’t plan to retire until age 70. This gives companies an opportunity to mine their experience and mentor younger employees. Delong notes that NASA completed six moon missions between 1969 and 1972, but we would be hard-pressed to repeat that feat today because the people who made it happen are gone and their knowledge has been lost. There is hidden expertise in all aspects of business, and smart organizations are finding ways to transfer that knowledge to the next generation of workers.

So for Baby Boomer career changers, you have to sell your experience. Inventory those unique skills that you make take for granted but that can be incredibly important to a potential employer. Show them how they can profit from your experience, and how you can transfer that experience to make the next generation of employees more valuable.

Ask the Coach: Looking for the Perfect Fit

Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from this week’s session with career transition coach and consultant Randy Block.

When transitioning to a new career opportunity, finding the right fit is the key, and it’s not always easy. In the current economic crunch, many candidates feel desperate to find a job, so they share too much during the interview process because they are more concerned with getting hired than with finding the right fit.

Randy noted that relevancy rather than breadth of expertise is most important. Relevancy shows fit, and in these economic times, fit is the most important factor for hiring managers. Remember that there will be a number of candidates with the same skill set and basic experience. What will set you apart is fit, so don’t sabotage your chances by offering too much information.

One caller noted that most of his experience was in sales and marketing for large companies. After taking a sabbatical to help with a small family business, he’s ready to jump back into corporate life, probably working for a smaller company this time. Will a potential employer hold his past against him?

Randy’s answer, “They could.” This is where you have to make a case for the best fit. In his case, he has the experience gained from working at large companies, which will make him an asset as a smaller company grows. He also has the experience of working for a small family business, so understands those challenges. He has to address how to balance the two.

Now to address fit. You have to address the obvious, that a smaller company won’t be able to offer all the perks, and that you are expected to be hands-on without a lot of infrastructure; you most likely won’t have the admin you had before, or the layers of staff. You must convince the hiring manager that you are hands-on and okay with the lack of staff support.

As Randy noted, all companies are looking for rainmakers and evangelists. Show how you can increase their revenue; that you understand what it takes. For example, if you are looking for a Vice President of Sales position, the company will expect you to have a Rolodex of contacts. With a Vice President of Marketing position, however, a fat Rolodex is not usually expected.

So when interviewing for your next job, stay focused, make sure your experience is relevant, and emphasize fit. Don’t offer your entire life story. Instead, focus on those aspects of your expertise that will demonstrate your value as rainmaker, evangelist, and someone who can have a real impact on the bottom line.

Ask the Coach: When Setting Wages, Companies Pay for Results

Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from a recent session with career coach Don Orlando.

This week’s Ask the Coach call covered numerous topics, including a discussion on salaries and how to set compensation. Not surprisingly, companies are increasingly weighting salary to performance, and implementing performance metrics to gauge performance. After the call, Don shared some interesting insights from a report highlighted on the blog Compensation Force. You might consider addressing some of these performance metrics as part of your personal brand.

According to the Hewitt Associates report, “The Current State of Performance Management and Career Development 2010,” when organizations assess the two performance components, what gets done and how you get it done, they tend to tip the scale toward results, not process, particularly for executive staff. According to the report:

• 62% of respondents indicate that executives are either measured solely on results (30%) or more on results than competencies/behaviors (32%).
• Only 4% of respondents indicated that executives are measured either solely on competencies/behaviors (1%) or more on competencies/behaviors (3%).
• At the individual contributor level only 10% of companies measure only or mostly competencies/behaviors.
• Also at this level, the most popular approach is 50/50, with 48% indicating they use this relative weighting.

Overall, the ratingless performance system has not caught on. Overall, 93% of responding employers indicated that employees do receive an overall rating grade, either a number, letter, or label, to measure performance. The five-point rating scale seems to be most popular, and is gaining in popularity. According to the report:

• 63% of respondents report using a five point scale (compared to 45% in the 2005 study).
• 19% report using the four point scales.

The report also shows that calibration meetings are becoming increasingly more common as a means to ensure consistency in ratings – 61% of responding employers conduct some form of calibration meeting top provide guidance to managers, compare results, and reach a consensus on performance ratings.

These performance rankings also are having more impact on raises. According to the research:

• 63% of participating companies indicate that the performance rating drives merit increases.
• 45% say it drives variable (incentive) pay.
• 28% report that it drives prospects for advancement.
• 20% indicate that it drives an employee's access to new experiences and challenges.

What this survey highlights is that it’s more important than ever to make sure your personal branding documents – your resume, executive bio, etc. – reflect your performance. Cataloguing your achievements with measurable, concrete results is the best way to get the attention of a prospective employer.

Ask the Coach: How To Hang Out the Right Shingle on LinkedIn

Each week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from this week’s session with our newest expert to join Ask the Coach, Christine Dennison, The Job Search Coach.

LinkedIn continues to be a powerful job search tool for those who know how to make the most of it. In this week’s Ask the Coach call, job search expert Christine Dennison shared her insights into how to use LinkedIn to maximum advantage.

Think of your LinkedIn headline as your web “shingle” inviting visitors to come in to your shop. Remember that when a recruiter is looking for candidates by plugging in search terms, all they will see is a list of names with headline associated with them. Your headline should be enticing and point to what they can expect to find when they check out your profile.

Avoid clichés and meaningless phrases or claims. Terms like “experienced, dynamic, accomplished” are hackneyed and while they may describe your accomplishments, you should avoid them. Let the reader come to their own conclusions about what they want to think about you.

Be careful in how you use exact titles in your profile descriptors. You want to indicate that you have experience and are a professional who may be open to more than just C-level positions. The term “executive” can go a long way to describing your experience without eliminating you from the running for specific jobs. Also focus on categories and job functions. If you say “20 years of experience as…” you have them thinking about your age and not your expertise.

Also be careful of how you use words like “seeking” that could box you into a corner. For example, if you say something like "Supply Chain Executive seeking opportunity in Detroit, Michigan area" you have narrowed your field of opportunity substantially, but that may be exactly what you need to do.

What works best are LinkedIn headlines that are simple and straightforward, such as “Marketing Executive, known for ability to create business-building, multi-channel B2C campaigns,” or “Manufacturing Operations and Finance Executive," or "Sales Executive with deep network relationships in the Midwest Region." Each of these headlines offers an invitation to learn more, with enough key words to help recruiters find you in the right context.

Ask the Coach: Overcoming Ageism with the Right Connections

Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from the most recent session with Nicola James, Managing Partner of Thomas Brooke International.

We all know that building your professional network is the foundation of successful career advancement. However, you also need to understand how to communicate with your network, not only in terms of the multiple points of communication to consider, but the level of the relationship, especially if you need to overcome ageism.

As Nicola pointed out in this week’s Ask the Coach call, the level of the relationship determines the correct course of action. For example, when dealing with someone at an associate level, they may not recognize your age and depth of experience as an asset, which could create a problem if they count age against you in the job application process. They also may not have all the details about the position you are applying for. It’s acceptable to contact people higher in the organization. If you have solid contacts, just drop them a note to inform them you are being considered; make it a personal note to be sure they understand you are not doing an end run. If you can connect with someone more senior connected with the search in order to make your case, so much the better.

You also should be prepared if the company itself is ageist. If there is a pervasive attitude about not hiring older workers, there’s little you can do about it, so don’t waste valuable time. If you can see that ageism isn’t really an issue and you really want to work there, go for it!

Nicola notes that ageism is real. We don’t like to think that age barriers exist, but even though they are out there, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a company that truly appreciates your talents and skills. Make sure you are not selling yourself to the wrong company.

Correctly articulating your value will attract the right companies and repel the wrong ones. Be very specific in your approach. Determine if there is a certain age where age becomes an issue. That, of course, will depend on the position, the company, and the industry. Nicola finds, for example, that many Fortune 500 companies don’t tend to hire people beyond their mid-40s, because it disrupts their controlled and regulated succession planning. In fact, Fortune 500 companies often have trouble trying to determine what to do with older workers. At the same time, Nicola has a number of clients who are only interested in candidates in their late 50s and older. These are mostly smaller companies that prefer to hire self-managing, self-motivated executives; professionals whom you can point in the right direction and let them do what they were hired to do.

Cultural fit is the key, and you need to identify companies that value you for what you offer. If you constantly have to overcome cultural problems, then the effort isn’t worth it.