A couple of my colleagues wrote some good posts about networking this week ... See “How to Find Your Old Contacts” at the Interns Over 40 blog and “Explain to your network how they can best help you” by one of my favorite bloggers, Paul Copcutt.
Here’s the sticking point for many of my CFOs and senior finance executives. IF they show up, few of them actually engage. Networking ... is a verb. It requires action. Standing against the wall and hoping a) no one notices you, b) someone will reach out to you first, or c) merely enjoying the chow ... does NOT constitute networking. Neither does using your name to create a place holder within social networking sites.
MyCFONetwork.com has launched a great regional networking site specifically for senior-level finance executives. It’s a great concept and an even better, easier, and more efficient way to network with your peers. However, just showing up doesn’t constitute networking in today’s social media world. A wall flower is still a wall flower whether in the physical sense or the social sense.
Wouldn’t you like to be the finance executive who got a call from a networking contact with the inside scoop on an opportunity at a much bigger company with a very nice increase in annual salary and a cushy benefits package that resulted in a new position within just a couple of weeks ... even in this economy? If so, you must move away from the wall!
If you aren’t connected with me, please connect with me on ...
And, of course, I would enjoy engaging in conversations with you in any of the MyCFONetwork.com communities!
After Business Times Online posted an article on the rise of CFOs into CEO positions, one of my Linked In colleagues, a recruiter who works with private equity clients, asked for my thoughts on the topic.
In preparation for my keynote at the Prophix User Conference back in April I did extensive research on this topic. While the article points to the recession as the driver, my belief is that it is a trend not likely to abate once we hit the other side of the recession. So, here are my thoughts ...
--Strategic Leaders vs. Bean Counters
I believe the opportunity arose about the time that CFOs began making the transition from bean counter to strategic leader with a seat at the executive table. The hottest CFO prospects today are those with the ability to predict financial trends and who bring an operational background (particularly when they also hold a CPA and and an MBA). From a career perspective, two of the smartest things a CFO can do today are gain operational experience and claim a seat at the executive table.
--Proven Operational Contributions
There is a difference between experience and contributions ... and this is particularly true of a CFO with his sights set on a CEO position. In fact, as companies continue to tighten their belts, you may even see a decrease in the role of the Chief Operating Officer, since the accomplished operational CFO can handle both roles.
For example, the COO of oil and natural gas exploration and production company Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is being replaced by the CFO with much broader responsibilities that include overseeing the company’s exploration, development, production, and mid-stream and marketing operations.
Execunet points to the fact that 2 of the 8 most in demand job functions are operations management and finance.
--Networking
While many CFOs are not the best networkers, for whatever reasons, those who are reap great benefits. And the value of internal networking cannot be downplayed. Conventional wisdom says that it is easier to move up internally, than externally, in large part because you are “known and have momentum and sponsorship.” If you’ve grabbed your seat at the table, you have the power to ensure you are known and have the momentum to, perhaps, win that coveted leadership position.
One of the issues facing candidates is ensuring cohesion between his resume and the person he really is. While the search process is comprised of two parts ... marketing documents and the search strategy ... they go hand-in-hand. If you look great on paper but bomb in the interview ... because who you looked like on paper isn’t really who you are ... the process will fail. Conversely, if you wow someone at a networking event but follow up with a less-than-compelling resume, again, the process will fail. The disconnect could be career suicide.
Recruiter Rayanne Thorn talks about this very situation in her blog post, “Looking Good on Paper.” While hers is an extreme example, it is more often the little things that can trip up candidates. Sue Danbom talked about this same issue in her ERE blog post, “Does Your Costume Reveal the Real You?”
My belief is that regardless of the situation, authenticity is key. I am not at all suggesting that any of my readers lie. I am saying that a disconnect, even unintentionally, between who you appear to be on paper and who you are in person, could be derailing your ability to land that next opportunity.
Does your resume speak from your voice? Does it reflect and confirm your in-person executive stature? And conversely, are you the accomplished contributor your resume says you are?
I was just re-reading CFO.com’s “Heard on the Tweet” in preparation for this blog post. The question really is, should CFOs tweet ... or not?
And then, as often happens, this tweet jumped out at me before I typed a single word. It pointed me to a great blog post by Gary Boomer, “Social Media, Influence or Control.” While it is directed to accounting firms, I believe it contains excellent points for CFOs as well.
Here’s an important excerpt:
Clients and potential clients are talking about you and your firm online. Do you know what they are saying? According to Nielsen Research, 78 percent of people trust their peers' opinions. This is not a new phenomenon, but social networks make it much easier to disseminate information. In particular, micro-blogging tools like Twitter and Facebook's status update feature enable users (including businesses) to spread information instantly.
Boomer is right. And I also agree with his statement that “firms should make every effort to influence social media and forget about trying to control how employees use them.” However, that is a corporate decision that only you and the executive leadership team can make.
The impact of a decision to not influence social media, though, for you and your career is far-reaching. Consider these ... very true ... statements.
-- “You are who Google says you are.”
Much like your brand, who you are is held in the hearts and minds of others. Are you who Google says you are?
-- “If you don’t show up in Google, do you exist?”
Being digitally dead is akin to being extinct.
You can certainly choose to ignore the social media trend, but it’s not going away. And as I said yesterday, the choice to not be proactive is a decision, by default, to be reactive. The question is, if you react too slowly or too late will you be able to cover the gap quickly enough to compete with your social media savvy peers (ahem, competition)?
A finance executive called me last week because he knew that his resume was not selling value, he struggled when answering questions about his atypical career track, and he had an important interview coming up in the next couple of weeks. He understood that without a compelling value proposition that mitigated his unusual career progression and which leveraged his market differentiation, he would always be on the defensive while being interviewed. Smart guy.
Except, that when his pending interview was postponed indefinitely and the immediacy of the situation gone, he put his strategic planning on hold. Without the urgency driving his steps, he would have had the luxury of time to get his positioning right ... while gaining confidence and re-energizing his search.
The reality in proactively managing one’s career is like anything else ... failing to plan could very well be planning to fail. The choice to not be proactive is a decision, by default, to be reactive.
Did you know such a certification existed? I didn’t .... but I’m not surprised. I’ve been saying for years that social networking is a career management strategy that is not only here, but critical to overall career success.
Here are a couple of quotes from an article I just read on Fistful of Talent that you might find interesting:
-- ... how can I use it [social networking] to effectively bring myself to people?
The old definition of networking is “who do I know.” Today, it has been redefined to “who knows about me” ... or ... “who needs to know about me.” Social networking ensures those people who need to know about you, do know about you.
--Not only did I learn how I can, indeed, use Twitter to actively source candidates, but we also played around in some tools that help you search.
Twitter. To source candidates. Are you still avoiding Twitter?
--Also...have you ever considered X-raying Facebook?
Now, I don’t know what “x-raying Facebook” is ... and Jason Pankow doesn’t explain it, but I do know that being on Facebook expands your digital footprint so you can be found by those who are looking [the new definition of networking].
--Great class for people serious about social recruiting.
Finance executives who aren’t using social media to build a visible online presence risk extinction. Yes, it is that important!
So here’s my question. It’s Monday morning and you are jazzed about the great networking opportunities that await you. You’re dressed to the nines, get out of your car, walk to the door ...
Are you going to slip a brown paper bag over your head before you walk into the room?
Sounds like a silly, even stupid, question .. right? But now let me ask you this, do you have a professional picture on all of your social media sites? If not, I’m very curious ... why not? Isn’t not having a photo akin to networking with a paper bag over your head? Do you like putting a face with a name, or doesn’t it matter to you?
And here’s my final question. If you don’t have a picture, are you networking or are you simply place holding?
With the critical part that a visible online presence plays in managing your career, a compelling profile and professional photograph are two very key components!
A gentleman who requested my article, “5 Easy Ways to Beef Up Your Linked In Profile,” wrote to let me know that he appreciated the recommendations in the article.
But ...
He also went on to say that although he knew he should be spending time completing his Linked In profile and cultivating his digital footprint, he was a busy man with a family and already struggling to balance his time. For now, for today, it is just not the most important thing in his life.
Isn’t that true for most of us? So much to do, so little time. I think it’s especially true when we hold a high value of family. And since that is one of my values, I understand and respect the desire to make time with family a priority.
That said, the only one who is vested in your career is you. Your career, which brings home the paycheck, is what allows you to care and provide for the family you value.
So if you take nothing else away from anything else I ever write or have written, please understand this. If you get into the habit of spending 15 minutes a day proactively working on your career ... while you are still gainfully employed ... it will go a long way towards ensuring you will not be sitting on the curb desperately wondering how you are going to provide for the family you value.
You are finance leaders who create and execute the 3 to 5-year financial plans that navigate your company to the next level. Now, more than ever before, it is important to create and execute a career survival plan that identifies where you want to go, what you need to have in place to get there, and when you want to make that next move. A fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants (FBSoP) strategy isn’t good enough for your company, and it makes no sense to relegate your career to that strategy either. Not today. And not if you want to be perceived as a high-value target.
Brad Remillard, a 25-year executive recruiter, authored a blog post about the high cost of making a bad hire. It is definitely expensive.
It also made me wonder if you, Mr. CFO Search Candidate, have given thought to the high cost of accepting the wrong position.
Failure is an option
Taking the wrong position or taking the right position at the wrong company is a recipe for failure. A sound reason for making sure you are very clear about what you have to offer and to whom!
That is precisely why I am such a fan of branding. When you understand your authentic value (brand) and the market you serve (target), decision-making is much easier. You attract the “right” opportunities and repel those that are not a good fit.
Sadly, failure ...
Sticks like glue,
And, you have to explain it.
Do you really want that mess as the lead in under Employment History on your resume? This job market is tough enough without adding a conversation around a bad decision that led to 1) no contributions and/or 2) leaving shortly after you’re hired.
Dissatisfaction leads to job search mode ... again
Job searching is not fun. It’s hard work, filled with rejection, undermining confidence, and can even lead to desperation. Desperation can lead to repeating the same cycle of choosing the wrong position and/or the wrong company, again.
Passive candidates who are open to hearing about new opportunities HOLD THE MOST POWER. It may not be right, especially given the current market, but it is true. Making great decisions about where you go and when is a smart, long-term career management strategy.
I was reading the link from a tweet this morning regarding SEO for your blog. The author had some interesting information, but, he is a web designer apparently using a free blog service that was plastered with ads. It’s a little difficult for me to take the guy, or his expertise, seriously. So much so, I can’t even bring myself to provide the link.
Along with those who profess to be experts, yet use free web and blog services allowing advertising, here are some other situations that make it difficult for me to take others seriously.
Tweeps who have no tweets, no bio, and no name recognition.
It’s great to jump into social media with both feet, however, zeal without knowledge can be a brand killer. I also haven’t figured out why anyone who is using Twitter externally would protect their tweets. Maybe someone who’s reading this could explain it to me. And, seriously, I don’t understand.
An incomplete Linked In Profile
Those who choose to have only the most basic of information on Linked In send a couple of messages (at least to me). They don’t really “get” networking, especially social networking; they don’t care about their career; and they aren’t subject matter experts.
At the other extreme is the poorly-crafted profile filled with sentences that all begin with “I”. Seriously, that is a little too self-promoting. And unbelievable.
Boring resumes and cover letters that shriek C-O-M-M-O-D-I-T-Y
A company isn’t hiring a CFO because they have a corner office with a nice view, currently unoccupied, and they are looking for a body to fill it. Nor are they hiring a person who brings chronology of responsibilities. Rather, a company who is in pain IS hiring the candidate who can take away that pain ... and it better show up in your marketing documents if you want to be taken seriously.
And read your cover letter for the “I” factor. If every sentence begins with “I,” you might have a serious credibility problem.