A Gift That Keeps On Giving Throughout Your Career

GiftAs you’re madly rushing around this holiday season, remember, this is a good time to take a moment and give a gift to yourself. The gift of introspection and reflection. Things generally tend to slow down as we approach year-end, making it a perfect time to stop and assess where you are in your career and where you want to be.

I’ve had many successful clients who contact me, saying they’ve let their careers drive them and while this has led them on a great course thus far, they now want to look ahead, take control of their careers and choose their own paths.

As you’re thinking through the direction in which you’d like to go, a great thing to think about are your past accomplishments. Looking back at prior achievements will help you in two ways: not only will it assist you in identifying what you’re most passionate about and when you most enjoyed your job, it also highlights your best skills. Having this insight will help you move through the career transition process.

Keeping track of your accomplishments, complete with quantitative figures (i.e. dollar amounts for sales and revenue growth or reduced expenses) will help you better market yourself to future employers. These accomplishments are the stories that you can use on your resume to illustrate your prowess. They are also the anecdotes you’ll tell when you’re interviewing for potential new positions.

Whether you’re thinking about a career change now or in the future, chronicling your success stories is a gift that keeps on giving. It enables you to be prepared at any time to speak about your strengths and highlight your career history. That way you’re ready for that unexpected phone call from a recruiter, the unanticipated downsizing, or the planned and well thought out transition as you take control of your career.

~Linda

 

Executive Job Seekers Dive Off the Fiscal Cliff

The Fiscal CliffWe’re rapidly approaching it, December 31, 2012. Midnight of the new year brings with it the proverbial fiscal cliff with its tax increases and spending cuts that some economists believe will stifle growth and drive the country back into a recession.

As the sluggish economy heads towards the fiscal cliff, businesses have already reduced their spending and expansion plans, uncertain whether lawmakers can agree on a budget. But times of uncertainty and change can bring with them opportunity.

Many of the executives I have the pleasure of working with are leaders in change, fearless risk takers who can peer over the cliff and see a path to prosperity. They’re the people who know without risk there is no reward. They’re individuals who are used to taking control of their own destiny by taking calculated risks on behalf of their companies and for the betterment of their own careers.

During these uncertain times, they’ve taken the leap and successfully landed in better situations, not letting fear of uncertainty hold them back. We can learn a lot from these fearless leaders who refuse to be crippled by circumstances. No matter what happens, businesses will continue to operate, goods to be produced, and services provided.

Now more than ever, companies need visionary leaders to help them navigate through these troubling times, which is good news for talented executives who thrive on challenges and who have a record of driving change.

As John Fitzgerald Kennedy said “There is nothing more certain and unchanging than uncertainty and change.” Successful executive job seekers know this. Where others see uncertainty they see opportunity, they look over the cliff, plan a course of action and execute a flawless dive, oftentimes making a large splash in their industry.

~Linda

How Important is Having a Degree in a Job Search?

I read a recent blog post that got me thinking about my own clients. In the post, Eight Reasons Startup Incubators are Better than Business School, the author makes some very compelling arguments, including making $100,000 rather than spending $100,000 to acquire the “handy” degree.

I have worked with hundreds, actually close to 1,000, executives over the years. Many of them not only did not have an advanced degree, they didn’t have an undergraduate degree either.  The reason, they were able to jump into a great position, making a significant amount of money and it was an opportunity that was just too enticing to refuse.

Others went the path of joining a startup company and growing with that company. That meant wearing many hats and getting a comprehensive “schooling” it what makes a successful company tick.

These professionals went on to have long careers, full of accomplishments and successes and yet when they hit the job market, even now that they’re executives, they’re often worried about their lack of a degree.

I counsel them that their experiences and knowledge gained in the school of hard knocks, can trump a degree, but that they have to use different techniques in their career transitions to be sure they’re seen by decision makers and not screened out early in the process.

That means not relying on things like job boards and typically requires going around HR. In most cases these two channels (which are often inundated with candidates) are screening people out based on a list of selected criteria with a degree frequently being a part of that list.

I agree that real world experience, including startup incubators, can be better than business school. But a case can also be made for having those “handy” degrees. There’s more than one path to the top and a combination of education, giving you a solid foundation on which to build, and real world experience will also help you reach great heights.

~Linda