Executive Insider is a biweekly newsletter designed to help you succeed with Job Search, Career Advancement and Self Development
Issue Dated: March 01, 2010
A. Letter from the Editor
When ExecuNet began researching in 2005 how publicly available online information influenced executive hiring, three-quarters of the search firm recruiter respondents revealed they were already Googling candidates to find information beyond the résumé. As a result, more than one-quarter of recruiters had eliminated a candidate because of what they found online.
We've continued to monitor this trend, developing a series of reports on Digital Dirt that raised awareness of online reputation management, and our 2010 data casts no doubt that recruiters have fully adopted Googling as a best practice with 90 percent regularly conducting this activity. Forty-six percent uncovered digital deal-breakers, such as ethics violations, falsified employment history and felony convictions, which lead to eliminating candidates from consideration.
The younger generations — digital natives — who largely live online have to make efforts to separate themselves from their less-professional identities when they enter the workforce, but for successfully established executives, they'll have to work to become visible and distinguish themselves. In our most recent research, 80 percent of executive recruiters said a candidate's job prospects improve when positive information is found online.
With this research in mind, take some time to:
Find what's online about you.
Work to correct/eradicate anything that doesn't reflect your name well.
Develop a plan to establish visibility, both on the Internet at-large and niche communities where your peers dwell.
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of — for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.
— Socrates
B. Executive Job Creation Remains Steady
Recruiter Confidence in the Executive Employment Market Next 6 Months
Source: ExecuNet
Despite recruiter confidence dipping slightly from the recent highs posted in January, more companies show plans to hire strategically in the coming months, according to ExecuNet's latest Recruiter Confidence Index (RCI) data. ExecuNet's February poll of 183 executive recruiters found 53 percent are "confident" or "very confident" the executive employment market will improve during the next six months. In January, the confidence index had reached an 18-month high of 64 percent.
"That the Recruiter Confidence Index remains above the critical 50-percent level is generally good news for the economy and the executive employment market over the next six months," says Mark Anderson, president and chief economist of ExecuNet, the private membership network for senior business executives and those who recruit them. "This economy, however challenged, continues to create far more executive jobs than it may shed and is in a significantly better position than it was a year ago, at least through the lens of anticipated management-level hiring over the next six months," Anderson notes. "As in past recovery periods, the economy and corporate hiring will cautiously test the waters before moving steadily upward."
Introduced in May 2003, ExecuNet's Recruiter Confidence Index is based on a monthly survey of executive search firms and recognized as a leading indicator for the economy and the executive job market. A reading above 50 percent indicates recruiters expect the number of search assignments in the next six months will increase.
C. To Relocate or Not: Where You Can Grow Your Career
Relocation may or may not be a consideration for you if you're seeking your next career opportunity. But if you are open to expanding your geographic area, you may want to check out Forbes magazine's recently released list of "Best Places to Get Ahead" to explore some possible destinations.
The list was compiled after the analysis of several data points, including the comparison between job growth in the second quarter of 2007 versus the same time period in 2009 in various counties. The publication also identified counties that had the greatest income growth and studied counties that had annual median household incomes of $75,000 or higher.
The number one location on the list was Fort Bend, Texas, which posted a 10-percent increase in incomes from 2007 to 2008. Among the most prominent industries in this area are energy, education and hospitality.
Delaware County, Ohio was second on the list, where income increased 10.5 percent. Number three was Kendall County, Ill., which reported a 12.5 percent increase in income. Rounding out the top five — and tied for fourth place on the list — were Williamson County, Tenn. (13.9 percent) and Arlington County, Va. (6.6 percent increase in income; a 3.5 percent jobs increase).
ExecuNet's 2009 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report provides an even broader view of where job opportunities can be found. According to search firms, the West Coast is the top growth region, followed by the Southwest (including Texas). After two straight years as the top growth region (in 2007 and 2008), the South/Southeast region is now at number three. The Mid Atlantic and Midwest regions are fourth and fifth, respectively. The regions where executive search firm recruiters expect the biggest growth in 2010 will be released in the forthcoming 18th annual Executive Job Market Intelligence Report.
D. The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention
With the recent calamity to the executive job market caused by turbulent economic conditions, executives have had to demonstrate flexibility and versatility in their job search. In her new book, The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention: Essential Survival Skills for any Economy, Pamela Mitchell, the founder of The Reinvention Institute, provides tools to navigate a career change. She pairs her expertise with real-life success stories to create a roadmap to successful reinvention.
In an exclusive ExecuNet interview, ExecuNet Editor Will Flammé asks the author to discuss her theories on career reinvention. Here's an excerpt:
Q. For many, the concept of reinvention seems daunting. How can an executive get beyond feeling as though he's throwing away decades of experience and actually take clear steps on the road to reinvention?
A. After spending a decade or two in a particular industry, many executives don't see how they can take what they do to another field. That's because they're focused on the functions of their job, instead of the skills and talents they use to perform those tasks. Job functions are local, but skills are global; remembering that fact makes switching industries seem less intimidating. The first step an executive should take is to review the successes of their career and analyze which skills it took to accomplish them. Matching that list with the talents needed in the new industry shows how decades of experience can build a pathway to career reinvention.
[ExecuNet members can read an expanded and exclusive interview with the author in an upcoming issue of CareerSmart Advisor.]
E. The MarketOne Executive: Winning the High-Stakes Game of Landing a Top C-Level Role!
Do you want to move into the top spot and are willing to do what it takes to get there? To get the extraordinary results you desire, you need an extraordinary approach that is designed exclusively for moving into the top leadership role. You need a course of action that is a cut-above the norm and proven to win the high-stakes game of landing a top job.
In this concise and practical program, Karen will zero in on what are the "musts" for executives like you who want to organize a well-designed campaign and find their next top job. Topics include:
Why Executive Thought-Leaders are "In"
How You Can Make Your Credibility Your Strongest Presentation
Why Your Résumé isn't Your Best Marketing Pitch
The 12 Elements of an Executive-Level Campaign
The 30/30 Formula: How to Dig for Hidden Opportunities
The MarketOne Executive: Extraordinary Stories of Real-Life Results
For more information or answers to your questions, click here.
"This job search is very different from the one I managed four years ago. I appreciate the heads up about "responses." It was good to be reminded about the current state of the job search process."
With the recent calamity to the executive job market caused by turbulent economic conditions, executives have had to demonstrate flexibility and versatility in their job search. In her new book, The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention: Essential Survival Skills for any Economy, Pamela Mitchell, the founder of The Reinvention Institute, provides tools to navigate a career change. She pairs her expertise with real-life success stories to create a roadmap to successful reinvention.
