Want the Job? Don’t Block Yourself Out 

 by April 22, 2019

You have invested emotionally. You’ve experienced the nervous anticipation of a potential new beginning. You invested time to fully prepare for the interview. You invested time for the interview. YOU INVESTED TIME TO COMPETE. YOU THOUGHT SENDING A NOTE WASN’T IMPORTANT Turn your thinking upside down. Your first round was the verbal interview; your second round was a written “assessment, “ and you chose to compete. When you write a follow up note you are […]

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Career Tip of the Week: Actively Seek Embarrassing Feedback

 by April 11, 2019

Your performance has been excellent and acknowledged. Until now, you have checked all the boxes on your way up. But your career trajectory has slowed or even stalled. You can’t seem to make it to the next step, and feeling discouraged, you may have interviewed externally with no success. You have no idea which boxes you are not checking. The answer, according to Harvard Business Review, might be a problem you never even realized you […]

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Are You Driving Career Momentum? Ask Yourself Three Questions

 by January 17, 2019

With the start of the new year comes new resolutions and plans for the coming year. Often those plans involve your career, as the beginning of a new year is a good time to take a step back and examine where you are and what you have achieved. Are you on the right career path, and if you continue down the same path, will you meet your longer-term professional and financial goals on your timeline? […]

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Interviewing in the Wild West: A Story

 by March 2, 2016

I had been waiting – and waiting – and waiting – outside of the CEO’s office at Overture Studios. When I first arrived for the interview, I was so excited I could barely contain myself. Thirty years old at the time, I had a shot at the Chief Human Resources Officer job and had been presented by Steve, one of the top entertainment retained executive search consultants in the U.S. The week before, I met […]

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Should You Accept a “Bigger” Job?

 by March 17, 2015

Don joined a $120M company as President of an autonomous subsidiary. The subsidiary lacked energy and focus, and their market was saturated with competitors. Don did what he does best – he led his new team to define a strategy and plan for an adjacent market. Within 12 months, he had grown the business from a $15M to a $30M annual run rate. Since Don had worked miracles at the subsidiary, the CEO wanted him […]

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The “Must Haves” of a Country to Country Job Search (even if your target is home)

 by October 6, 2014

Three years ago, I was approached by a member of my advisory board who wanted me to manage his friend’s job search in the U.S. His friend was an expatriate CEO who had worked in Europe for almost two decades. “Dan wants his kids to know their grandparents and their home country before they graduate from high school, but he doesn’t know the first thing about searching for a senior position in the U.S.” I knew Dan’s job search was going to be difficult, but I was concerned that it may […]

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Protect Your Chance to say “Yes” or “No”

 by September 11, 2014

It started out as an exceptional day-both personally and professionally. I was golfing with my youngest son, and it was a beautiful outside. Between buckets, I read an email from an EVP HR informing me that one of my clients had a real shot at a “bull’s-eye” job. The EVP of HR had met my client and wasn’t sure of the fit. Regardless, she had committed to running his details by the Chairman. That morning, she let me know that the Chairman liked his background and wanted to interview him in San […]

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The Most Annoying C-level Interview Mistakes (as told by the Gatekeepers)

 by May 30, 2014

Recently, we asked more than forty executive search partners and heads of human resources/talent the following question: “What is the most annoying C-level interview mistake?” We received some very amusing stories and anecdotes, but four answers clearly topped the charts. Starting with the most popular answer: 1) The candidate has not done basic homework. “They don’t know my background, the role, the company…” “C-level candidates that show up unprepared come off as arrogant or disrespectful of […]

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Procrastination can be fatal to your career

 by March 1, 2014

Bill went through the motions during his leadership meetings or when speaking with analysts. Most weekends, he left the office on Thursday evening and headed to his home In Connecticut. He thought about making a move but couldn’t get himself started. Meanwhile, the company he was supposed to be leading was drifting with lackluster results. Chase was in a state of shock; he was fired with no warning. Over a year before, he had been alerted by his boss that a member of […]

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C-Level Career Crisis: Who can you trust?

 by January 31, 2014

Greg was nervous.  Earlier in the year, he accepted a CEO position within a new industry, and he had moved his family across the country to take the job.  The political environment within his new company was hostile; his honeymoon lasted two weeks – by the third week, most members of the Board and the C-suite were back to pushing their own agendas and openly criticizing others. Greg took on the task of establishing a new culture. Bloggers had him pegged for replacement. Greg’s COO, Mark, clearly wanted Greg’s […]

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Do You Need to Change Your Job Search Strategy?

 by December 12, 2013

Dan was about to “resettle” in a job he no longer wanted. He had been searching for six months with no offers. Conducting a job search while working was especially difficult for Dan, due to his 16 years of company loyalty. Dan felt that the search could be detrimental to his career if his CEO found out, but he gave us three more months to get results. If not, Dan was going to double down his effort in his present job, hoping […]

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How to Get Multiple Offers (Update)

 by August 22, 2013

Ben’s company was looking for a buyer. As Division President, he was well aware of the situation and started looking around for CEO opportunities a year ago. He called a handful of search executives that he knew and called a few new ones in his geography and industry. For a while, the search executives he contacted put him on the short list for just about every private CEO opportunity due to his track record, easy manner, […]

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Don’t Undervalue Your Worth

 by July 29, 2013

Jack thought he was looking for a job during the worst of times. It was 2009, and he had been fired from his job as President of a $1.5B consulting business with a Fortune 100 company. His confidence was badly shaken, when he came to us after six months of searching. We checked his references and verified what his track record implied; he was a 37 year old superstar who had been arrogant and naïve. He had been fired for angering the wrong person. After […]

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Is there an ELEPHANT in the interviewing room?

 by June 25, 2013

Rick told me he had just been rejected for a Chief Marketing and Sales opportunity, and he was convinced it was because he is Latino. He thought he had an excellent interview with the CEO. He reported that the CEO ended the interview by saying, “You are just what we need.” Later, a member of the selection committee called and said, “The CEO thinks you are amazing, but he has another candidate with deeper industry experience. A VP […]

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Driving Career Momentum

 by May 9, 2013

52 C-level executives were asked, “What has been your biggest career mistake?” 29 answered, “I stayed too long.”* Each executive specified a position, or a company,  or an industry, and one mentioned geography.* A dynamic career doesn’t just happen. It is constructed through well planned and selective job moves. Your career momentum builds when you make the right moves at the right time. Ask yourself the following questions: Are you changing jobs frequently enough? Many studies have shown that CEOs are at their performance peak after 5 years in the job and […]

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Will Retained Search Help Me Make a Career Move?

 by February 25, 2013

Most likely, not. And it has nothing to do with your competence, your experience, or your likability. Keep in mind the retained search firm’s business model. A search firm helps corporations fill key jobs (you have probably hired a firm to fill a senior executive role). They are under the gun from clients like you who need a position filled. They are also under pressure to get more business. Every senior executive job seeker reaches out to retained executive search recruiters. Their email, voicemail, […]

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Have Your Best Opportunities Evaporated?

 by December 18, 2012

During initial consultations, very high level and competent executives come to me wondering why their job search has stalled or why a particular opportunity evaporated. Upon examination, I find that during important networking meetings or with hiring executives, they have failed. They don’t fail due to skills, competency, experience or fit-they fail by making a wrong and lasting impression. Don’t be marginalized by doing one or more of the following: Don’t demonstrate that you know better. Many high level executives feel compelled to demonstrate their superior intelligence, know-how, etc. Rather than be positive and […]

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Changing Industries

 by November 19, 2012

Many senior executives desire a new and different challenge that will utilize acquired leadership skills. Marketing yourself for opportunities in a new industry requires a higher level of preparation, confidence, and a well-defined game plan. The career pay-off as a result of a successful industry shift can be big.  New and emerging industries, technology, and business models can represent highly desirable growth opportunities. Your playing field becomes much larger once you have proven that your leadership skills are transferable. The […]

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Top Three Interview Mistakes

 by July 11, 2012

Over the last twenty five years, as a C level executive in large companies and within my own firm, I have interviewed executives for the top C-level jobs and coached executives for top C-level interviews. Generally, CEOs, Presidents, CFOs and CMOs are experts at communication and promoting their companies. Unfortunately, they suffer from the mistakes many lower level executives make in interviews-and they can suffer even more due to the prestige of their position. Here […]

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