The Executive Update

A New Steam Shovel To Dig Up Digital Dirt

No matter where you go on the Internet, you can’t hide! If you have experimented with   Twitter and other social networking services, you know that they can scan your online address books and instantly match up contacts you already have in your personal network. Now consider the power of such tools for HR professionals. Remember, whenever you are being considered for a position, the first thing the recruiter or interviewer will do is Google the candidate.

Enter a new service called Spokeo! This is an uber social site search engine that aggregates publicly posted information from 41 social networking sites, including Friendster, Twitter, MySpace, Pandora, Slide, LinkedIn, YouTube, you name it! And when you visit the Spokeo home page it looks like another web site to help you keep up with your friends, which it is until you click on the tab on the home page that says “HR Recruiters: Click Here Now!”

Spokeo also is targeting recruiters with the ability to search candidates, gather profile information, and add to background checks. The idea is that every stupid YouTube video you ever made or embarrassing photo you ever posted on Picasa will be found by Spokeo.

Think of that!

Granted, networking is an imperative part of your job search, but bear in mind that all of your activity on those social networks is traceable. Remember that everything you do online is part of your personal brand.

Riding with the Wild Ones!

We recently talked about The Granularity of Growth, a book profiled in the McKinsey Quarterly by Mehrdad Baghai, Sven Smit, and S. Patrick Viguerie that shared their findings of how global companies build their own growth strategies in subsegments in a depressed market. The same authors issued a follow-up article entitled “M&A Strategies in a Down Market,” and, surprise, they found that smart companies find ways to grow through M&A in tough times, but most companies aren’t smart:

“As the credit crunch threatens to become a global downturn, corporate leaders have a choice: pull in their horns and ride out the storm or look for opportunities to pick up bargain-basement assets that will help them grow and create future value for shareholders. If past is prologue, more will follow the first course—which is a mistake.”

So how does that affect you as a job-seeker? Do what the smart CEOs do; mine the opportunities that present themselves in a down market. Prove your value in building business when times are tough, and approach those companies that are in the smart minority and acquiring companies.

According to the authors, their research shows that companies who make acquisitions in a bear market yield better performance than those who put a freeze on their assets. These growth companies see a downturn as a time of opportunity and increase their acquisitions. For example, when the financial markets took a nosedive in 1998, General Electric went on a buying spree in Asia and came out ahead.

So in the current market climate, you should be looking out for the rebels. Keep an eye on the news and the trade papers and determine who in your market is out there making deals now that times are tough. Those are the winners you should be targeting for your next job because that’s where your growth opportunities lie.

Ask the Coach: Navigating the Interview

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 Debbie Ellis, President of the Phoenix Career Group.

It has been a while since we reviewed interview strategies, which was just one of the topics that Debbie Ellis touched on this week. Debbie reminded us that you need to go into any interview prepared. This means approaching the interview with the right mindset; you are going into a meeting with peers, not interviewing for a job.

Debbie also reminded the callers that most interviewers make up their mind about a candidate in the first 10 minutes. So being prepared means making the most of those first few minutes. You need to be confident without being arrogant. You need to be enthusiastic and upbeat, without seeming too eager or bouncing off the walls.

There are four questions that you can expect to answer in the first few minutes with confidence. Understand the subtext for each question and prepare and rehearse your answers carefully:

1.       What do you know about us? Translated, this means why are you here and how do your skills meet our current needs?

2.       Tell us about yourself?  This really means what can you do for us; what results can we expect if we decide to hire you?

3.       What situations are you most comfortable with? This really means do you share our values and are you a good fit for our corporate culture?

4.       What makes you a good fit? This really translates to what makes you better than the other applicants?

 

Since you know what questions will be asked, you can rehearse your answers. Tell a story that the interviewer can relate to and that is easy to understand. At the same time, demonstrate that you know how to meet deadlines, lead a department, resurrect a failed product line, and generally add to the company’s bottom line.

 

If the interview doesn’t go well, don’t be discouraged. It’s better to determine if it’s a bad fit at the outset, rather than landing the job and finding you are miserable later.

 

Identifying What’s Hot and What’s Not in Mediocre Markets

I always seem to find nuggets of wisdom relating to job search from various business publications. The McKinsey Quarterly often has insightful articles and interviews and the latest gem talks about The Granularity of Growth, and there are some interesting takeaways that you can use in formulating your job search strategy. The good news is that even in a down market, there are pockets of opportunity; you just need to know where to look for them.

“Our research on the revenue growth of large companies suggests that executives should “de-average” their view of markets and develop a granular perspective on trends, future growth rates, and market structures. Insights into subindustries, segments, categories, and micromarkets are the building blocks of portfolio choice. Companies will find this approach to growth indispensable in making the right decisions about where to compete.”

So when you are looking at where you want to compete, analyze your target industry and determine where are the growth segments. Consider automotive manufacturing, for example. With the trouble General Motors is in, you would think that it’s time to abandon ship if you are in the automotive business. However there are growth segments. Sales of hybrid cars are booming, and there are new green car companies like Tesla Motors that show a lot of promise, particularly with the new Obama administration’s commitment to alternative energy. So as an unemployed auto executive, you should be looking at how to use your expertise to tap into one of these booming subindustries.

When researching companies that are doing well in your target industries, The McKinsey article points to three drivers that you need to consider:

1)      Portfolio momentum, or the organic revenue growth that a company can achieve through expansion or by introducing a new product or market subsegment;

2)      M&A, which delivers inorganic growth by buying or selling revenues through acquisition or divestment; and

3)      Market performance, which is organic growth by gaining or losing market share.

There is a lot of information in this article about how to assess growth, and demonstrating that its companies, not industry sectors, that really experience growth, based on the performance of their subcategories. So don’t worry about whether your market area is hot or not, look for the hot performers in your industry. There are always leaders that will buck the overall market trend.

Ask the Coach: The Secrets of a C-Level Resume

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 Kim Batson, The CIO’s Coach, and Deb Dib, head of Executive Power Group.

During this week’s Ask the Coach call, attendees spent a lot of time discussing strategies for breaking into new markets. Deb Dib just returned from a Kennedy Information Conference and the good news is senior recruiters are looking outside of their industries for new talent with a fresh perspective. However, if you are looking to change industries, you need to lay the foundation for a successful transition. Your resume can be a great tool to get recruiters’ attention.

One caller explained that he was looking to establish himself in the green industry.  He already has two years of experience working for a green company, but it is a small portion of his total experience. How does he position himself to move up in his newly chosen field?

The answer is storytelling. Providing a narrative highlighting your value proposition rather than a list of bullet points allows you to emphasize your value and project your personality. It’s one way to forge a personal connection with whoever reads your resume. It also allows you to provide context to show what you accomplished, how you achieved it, and where your expertise and senior management skills shone through.

When creating an executive resume, the top third should include your profile – your personal billboard. It should include your value proposition, what you achieved and how you accomplished it.  Deb and Kim both recommend Daniel Pinks’ book, A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age, which shows you how to move beyond the bullet points and create context and chemistry with the reader.

Take the Crazy Out of Busy And Get More Out of Life

I want to cite lessons I gleaned from another gem from the Harvard Business School Press that offers some important insights for everyone, especially job seekers who are starting to feel the stress. CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked, and About to Snap! Strategies for Coping in a World Gone ADD is a book by Edward R. Hallowell, an M.D. who has drawn some interesting parallels between today’s overworked and over stimulated professionals and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). It’s time to shelve the crazy, reassess the busy, and reclaim our work/life balance.

Hallowell’s basic premise is that trying to keep pace in today’s work world is virtually impossible. Everyone is overextended. We are all working while commuting, in the evenings, on weekends. I, myself, can’t find enough time to meet my obligations; I spent a good portion of last weekend e-mailing networking introductions for NETSHARE members whom I had spoken with on my strategy calls.

No one has time to do what they need or want to do – and it’s easier to get insights from this blog or a book abstract than to actually read the book, right? As a result, even people who don’t have ADD suffer the symptoms – feeling overloaded, having trouble tracking and completing projects, feeling frustrated and impatient.

One interesting finding is that the Internet and television may create the illusion that you are connected with millions of people. In reality, e-mail and virtual contact can isolate you because they limit the opportunity for live social interaction. Studies show that isolation can be damaging to your health, like high blood pressure or smoking. Think about that the next time you are sitting up at night trying to make online connections. 

Even in Tough Times, There Are Lots of Happy Landings

I recently blogged about Chad Boughton and how he achieves career success through networking. Chad is an inspiration, but he is not unique. I have been talking with a number of NETSHARE members lately who are landing new jobs, or are coming in for a landing. There are opportunities to be made out there, if you know how to go after them.

I spoke with one NETSHARE member who said he found a lead off of our job listings. He had been looking for about two months and closed a new job in 14 days after seeing our listing. Of course, that is an incredibly fast job search and highly unusual, but I think it is indicative that you can find new opportunities, even in a down market.

I spoke with another NETSHARE member recently who is probably more typical. This professional had been working his network for some time, and was now juggling four offers simultaneously. He told me his challenge was that he finally had to figure out how to really work his network; something he never really had to do before on a local level. He started really digging in, talking to a lot of people, and the result is four job offers at once.

I spoke with another NETSHARE member who has been looking about six month, be feels he had a setback when he decided not to relocate. The more filters you put on your job search and the more criteria you add, the longer it will take.

Still, I am heartened to hear that job seekers are landing, even with all the doom and gloom in the media. If you have a job search or networking story you would care to share, please feel free to comment or send e-mail to ksimmons@netshare.com.

 

Ask the Coach: Finding the Right Contact to Introduce You

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 Cindy Kraft, The CFO Coach.

During this week’s Ask the Coach call, Cindy reminded us of a common misconception that all job-seekers seem to fall into – ask not what the company can do for you, but rather what you can do for the company. It’s not about what you need or want, but rather why an employer can’t do without you.

That’s why your resume needs to be value-driven. You need to demonstrate how you drove ROI, increased sales, cut costs, and basically proved yourself invaluable. Your cover letter should focus on what you can do for a company, not what you want. And your executive bio is extremely important. Look for samples on LinkedIn or try searching for keywords related to your target position. Look at corporate web sites of companies that interest you and determine how to articulate your value in terms of their needs. Then use your network to identify the right hiring manager.

If you can work with recruiters you will stand a better chance of success than with HR managers. The HR department works from a list of job attributes and use them as a checklist to weed out resumes, including yours. If you can reach the hiring manager directly, you will have a better opportunity to present your credentials and show your stuff. That’s where your network connections come in – talk to your network. If you can’t find the hiring manager, then work to find the recruiter who will know how to identify and sell your unique value.

Of course, getting the attention of recruiters and corporate hiring managers can be very frustrating. Cindy offered a football analogy to explain: if you have a whole field to play in, but both teams are in the same end zone, you can’t differentiate the players. The ones you can identify are on the perimeter. Your objective, then, is to become one among a handful, not thousands. Rather than getting lost in the crowd, you need to use your marketing documents to let you stand out on the perimeter, where you will be noticed.

Got Lemons? Become a Master at Making Lemonade

There is an old adage that when life hands you lemons, make lemonade, but not everyone has the right recipe for turning adversity into opportunity. Unless you have been living on a desert island for the past few months, you know that we are currently facing times of economic adversity. The stock market sell-off, gloomy economic forecasts, and hand-wringing of the financial pundits are creating a sense of panic that has everyone in an uproar.

The first thing you have to do is take a deep breath and calm down. Things are not as bad as the media pundits would make them seem.

The second thing you have to do is look around you for new opportunities. Where is the silver lining among the clouds?

I hear so many NETSHARE members complain about how hard it is to network and when they do connect, they start asking for a bailout. Government policy notwithstanding, there are no bailouts! That’s why I want to share some insights from Chad Boughton, a NETSHARE member who has an uncanny talent for turning adversity to his advantage.

Chad has an innate intelligence that lets him see opportunity where others see insolvable problems. Chad told me that he started his career in college when he started his own business building decks. While his fraternity brothers were dreaming of graduating to earn $30,000 or $40,000 a year, he was already making well over six figures while attending school. Chad’s first “real” job was in the brokerage business working for a Chicago trading firm. When he started, the manager assigned to train him had to take an unexpected leave of absence. His bosses told Chad he would have to cope, and they wanted him to make 400 cold calls a day to build his business. Chad was not interested in cold-calling, so instead he bought Chicago Metra passes and spent his days looking for executives in suits with bulky briefcases. By making personal connections on the morning and evening commutes, Chad became a top producer for the firm in his first year.