For more than three decades I’ve recruited upper echelon executives for many of America’s leading corporations. Now, I’d like to share with you what I’ve learned.
If you’ll accept my help, together we’ll move you into the highest and most satisfying position of your career, whether $100,000+, $300,000+, $400,000+ or $1 million+.
Very few executives ever figure out all that you’re about to master. You’ll have a career-building advantage from now until you retire.
* (See partial listing on prior page.)
Who’s in charge of your career? Obviously, you are.
Does that fact change with the changing economy? With the changing fortunes of your employer? Your field?
With attitudes toward your: Experience? Education? Age? Gender? Race? Sexuality? Appearance? Physical challenges? Family life? Employment status? Achievements? Mistakes?
No, not at all. Countless factors may influence how you manage your career. But who cares enough about you to take on that responsibility never changes.
And most assuredly, who’s responsible does not change when you’re the subject of a commercial transaction…in the hands of an executive recruiter of any kind, or a career or outplacement counselor.
Also just as surely not, when you’re a Human Resource…in the hands of a company and its managers from the Chief Executive on down, whose interest is mainly in the corporation’s wants and needs, not yours.
You know the bottom line. If you don’t pay attention and make sure you’re getting what you really deserve and want from your career, you have no one else to blame.
Which brings us to the “Rites of Passage.” Those so called “primitive societies” had a great idea when they took their young men and women off to the side for a few days or weeks and gave them knowledge that otherwise would have taken years to acquire.
As the saying goes, “We get too soon old and too late smart.” With respect to career matters, let’s fix that. And since we can’t start yesterday, let’s start now.
For over 35 years, I’ve been filling high-level executive positions for some of America’s leading corporations. Day after day, in good times and bad, I’ve observed…and brokered…those pivotal company-to-company transitions that launch a fast-rising career into higher orbit, and that restore momentum when an executive is underutilized or let go.
And whether the scenario is doing-better-elsewhere…moving-up-in-the-company…or seizing-victory-from-a-setback, what I’ve observed is that a very few exceptionally aware and self-secure executives…maybe the top 1/2 of 1%…seem to have a virtuoso’s mastery of the job-changing process. Exceptionally able in doing their job, they’re just as able when it comes to changing jobs.
They deliberately attract the attention of the top executive recruiters…something I want you to do, too. As a result, they’re periodically told about attractive opportunities, many of which they may turn down. That is, until there’s something really worth moving for…or unemployment and an immediate need for a new position. Then they snap into action, and win out over tough competition. They don’t move too often. But when they do, their careers are strengthened.
Even when they refuse to look at something a recruiter proposes, they build up future career momentum. The recruiter who called them realizes how well situated and fast rising they are with their current employer, so he or she resolves to offer something much better next time.
These people also take advantage of web technology to speed and improve their career management. They’re wised up to the fact that headhunters— from the sleaziest to the most prestigious — now use the web in ways that look similar, but must be treated differently.
Yet, successful as these executives are in handling recruiters, they also know when it serves their self-interest to ignore them entirely and go straight to the potential employer…something you too should do under. the proper circumstances.
And when contacting a company directly, they shrewdly choose between two clearly differentiated routes. One, classic and low-tech, approaches the decision-maker. The other, more web-based, usually enters through the HR department.
Indeed, it’s knowing all of today’s techniques and how differently they should be used under similar-appearing circumstances, that makes the most successful executives as impressive in advancing their careers as they are in doing their work.
These able and observant men and women have mastered the art of executive job-changing, whether at $100,000+, $300,000+ or $1 million plus. At the executive level, the rules and methods change. There are more initiatives to take, more contacts and opportunities to explore. But also more pitfalls and misinformation.
So you and I are about to do something we saw years ago in Sociology class. Remember how those “primitive societies” took their “initiates” aside and gave them a cram course in what they ought to know for future well-being? They got life’s practical knowledge once-and-for-all-in-a-hurry, instead of painfully by trial-and-error over the next 20 years. And of course, they also learned secrets they’d never have found out, unless an insider told them.
“Rites of Passage” is what the professor called that process, and you and I are beginning a modern version of the same thing.
Here in RITES, I’ll hand you all the advanced-level job-changing wisdom I’ve picked up from the executives who do it best. To that I’ll add behind-the-scenes information on the executive search industry which even they haven’t had access to. And, to complete the package, I’ll help you get the good—and not the bad—from the current technology.
The result is a comprehensive cram course in accelerating your career. It’s “Rites of Passage,” updated and upscaled for you…an old idea in a new time and place.
But before we go any further,
let’s look at one of the most important benefits of
knowing how to change jobs advantageously.
It’s the self-confidence to push for faster
advancement right where you are.
Realizing that you are building powerful job-changing skills and contacts, you’ll feel a lot freer to have periodic frank discussions with your current superiors, letting them know that you feel ready to step ahead, and drawing out their unvarnished reactions to your self-appraisal.
There’s truth in the old saying, “The squeaking wheel gets the grease.” The person who’s doing an excellent job and has the self-confidence to ask about the company’s tentative timetable for his own promotion is much more likely to get the next higher-echelon position that opens up than his equally-fine-but-silent co-worker. The reason:
“We felt we had to do something for Jason pretty soon, or we might lose him.”
And the person whose career is marked by a series of fully deserved but sooner-than-her-superiors-might-have-preferred promotions is the one who winds up “way ahead of her age level” in the corner office. By that time her equally able, hardworking, and loyal co-workers have stopped asking, “What’s Kate got that I haven’t?” It’s obvious:
“She’s just got more on the ball. Why, she’s moving up through the organization like a shot! She knows where she wants to go and she isn’t wasting any time getting there. Mark my words, someday she’ll be running this company!”
Momentum is its own reward. Momentum is also a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Kate’s superiors don’t want to be faulted by top management for not recognizing an exceptional talent when they see one…nor for petty jealousy. So they cheer her along, either as ready now to take their job so they can move up or, if that’s not possible, as an ideal candidate for a higher-level position somewhere else in the company:
“She’s ready for more responsibility right now. Unfortunately, I just don’t have it for her, unless you want to give her my job. She could handle it!”
Kate’s current supervisor, Steve Steady, is being shrewd, not stupid, when he talks like that. The reply he gets proves it:
“Certainly not, Steve. You’re doing great right where you are. In fact, one of your many fine talents is your ability to recognize and help groom the future leaders of this company. You stand out like a beacon in contrast to some of the other old guys around here who’d feel threatened by a young superstar like Kate. That’s why we like to put our up-and-comers through your department…to get your solid knowledge of the business, without holding them back and dampening their enthusiasm.”
“Incidentally, Kate speaks well of you too, Steve. She’ll probably be giving you some promotions as the years go by!”
That’s the way it works. When career momentum takes hold, it builds. Ironically, having the self-confidence that comes from knowing you can change jobs efficiently, even when others cannot, will strengthen your resolve to press for maximum progress where you are.
But please…no blackmail!
Don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about actually interviewing for an outside job, getting an offer, confronting your employer, and eliciting a counteroffer. That’s a bad idea. Even if you get by with it once or twice… “three strikes and you’re out.” Nobody likes a blackmailer. And no one earmarks him for the future presidency of the company.
In fact, after a pivotal executive is “saved” by a counteroffer, he’s usually not looked upon in quite the same favorable way. Instead of being slated for important future positions, he tends to be left out of organizational planning. Or he’s categorized as an alternate:
“Well, if Ron’s still with us, we could also consider him for that job.”
No, don’t come in with an outside offer you hope your company will meet or beat. It serves you right if they just wave goodbye, and you’re headed for a job and a company you don’t really want.
Instead, take this approach. Tell your boss:
YOU: “Got a call today from a recruiter looking for a Vice President of Marketing for a $5 billion specialty foods company. I told him I wasn’t interested, but I’d call back with some suggestions. He didn’t name the company. Who do you think it might be?”
HE: “Maybe NutriCroft. They’re about that size and they just put in a new President. Maybe she’s reorganizing. Who called you?”
YOU: “A guy I know, Hunter Probe, at Randolph Ripley Associates. I like it here, and I haven’t personally been interested in anything he’s had so far. But I’ve pointed him toward other people, so he keeps calling. Remember my friend Carol Stevens? Hunter put her into Clarendon Foods as Marketing VP…a big jump for her.”
HE: “I didn’t know you knew anyone at Randolph Ripley Associates. How’d you meet Hunter Probe?”
YOU: “Oh, he just called one day last fall. He was looking for a head of Brand Management at Modern Consumer Foods, and some people mentioned my name. I told him I like this company, and he’d have to come up with a lot bigger job than that to attract me away. However, they were offering a bushel of money…about $80,000 more than I’m making now, even after that big raise you pushed through for me in January.”
HE: “You never told me any of this!”
YOU: “I didn’t see any need to, Bill. I knew you were doing everything you could to fix the salary situation. No point in trying to put pressure on you. What I’m really hoping, is for you to get Sally’s job when she retires next summer, so maybe I can have your job.”
HE: “You and three other people! And they’ve all been here a lot longer than you have. But I must admit, Randi, you’re doing excellent work. You’ve got our attention. We’re planning a great future for you. In fact, when Alex approved your raise, he said…”
Now you’ve got it right. You can’t whack a relationship into place with a sledge hammer. You’re likely to shatter it. A gentle tap on the shoulder will do far more good…and less harm…than a big dramatic hit.
It’s almost never too late for the right move.
And it’s possible to look outside,
without risking the job you have.
Let’s go back to Kate’s boss, Steve Steady, the older fellow whose department the company likes to put its “young superstars” through…to get his “solid knowledge of the business, without holding them back and dampening their enthusiasm.” Obviously the company likes him a lot better than it does “some of the other old guys around here who’d feel threatened by a young superstar like Kate.”
But is Steve happy? Is he enjoying enough status, and making enough money, to justify relegating himself to “unsung hero”? He appears to have some job security. But does he have job satisfaction?
Maybe not. Maybe somewhere under Steve’s 25-years-with-the-company recognition pin beats the heart of a striver, who still craves challenge, status, and rewards. Actually, he’s in quite a good position to pursue them. True, he’s 56. But he’s also more comfortably established and more mobile than a younger person. His pension is vested. His home is nearly paid for. And his youngest child is almost out of college.
Steve can afford to take risks. Since he’s no longer on the “fast track,” his compensation isn’t particularly high. Even if Steve has bad luck in the first outside job he takes, he can probably duplicate his earnings in some subsequent position. And knowing Steve’s ability and commitment, he won’t fail!
Moreover, the outside world may be receptive. Steve has a consummate knowledge of his industry, gained in one of its most respected companies. Chances are, a hot young growth company could greatly profit from his experience…and possibly even from his mature image, which will lend credibility to sales and/or investor presentations led by an under-30 CEO. Also, a dynamic, youthful company may provide an exciting equity opportunity that Steve could never hope for where he is.
Steve’s problem is to identify his best outside opportunities without letting his employer know he’s looking. How to do so by using both traditional and web methods is something else you and I will cover before we part company at the end of this book.
For some executives, even a lateral move can be attractive…
and sometimes a counteroffer should be accepted.
Let’s look in on Steve Steady’s 54-year-old sister Sandra, who runs a large out-of-the-mainstream department in an altogether different company. Unlike Steve, Sandra is a specialist. Aided by a leading search firm, the Chief Operating Officer of a competitor is asking her to join Next-Co in the very same job she’s always handled brilliantly at Current Corp.
The incentive to switch: Considerably higher compensation…about 15% more than industry-average pay for her job, whereas Sandra’s now making 25% less than industry-average. That’s actually a 53% improvement in cash, plus a company car, which she doesn’t have now.
Should she accept? She’d be a fool not to. In fact, Sandra resigned yesterday.
But her boss, shocked and upset, asked her “not to say anything about this to anyone else for 24 hours, and until you and I have talked again.” Obviously, there’s a counteroffer in the wind.
Usually it’s a big mistake to forego a leap-ahead opportunity and stay in response to a counteroffer.
But Sandra may be an exception.
As a specialist, she now heads her function in one of the largest corporations. She’s gone about as far as she can reasonably expect to go. Unfortunately, for that reason and because her superiors have assumed that no outside company would identify and grab her, Current Corp. has been neglecting her compensation. Now that she’s resigned to join Next-Co, Sandra’s superiors are suddenly waking up:
“Face it, Adam, we’ve been getting by with murder. We knew Sandra loved her job, and loved that department she’s built. We figured she’d never try to leave, and we never imagined that anyone would swoop in here looking for her. So we haven’t been paying what she’s worth. She’ll be getting $345,000, including first year’s bonus guaranteed, plus a car, plus options. You know what we’re paying her? Assuming she earns full bonus, $232,500!”
“If we have to replace Sandra, we’ll probably have to come up with about the same money they’re offering which, with the car, comes to more than $370,000. And it’ll cost us at least an extra $100,000 just to hire a recruiter to look for somebody.”
“Therefore, I say let’s hit Sandra with $400,000, including bonus, and no car, since we have a policy against cars. But let’s also throw in an EVP title, which will qualify her for Class A stock options. And let’s include a new office for her when we remodel the East Wing. Let’s give Sandra the recognition she deserves. We’ve got the best person in the industry! Let’s at least try to keep her.”
Well, Sandra, under your unusual circumstances, maybe they’re coming up with a counteroffer you should seriously consider. It’s too bad your bosses didn’t “get religion” sooner. But now that they realize you’re visible to the outside world, they’re not going to be so casual about your “care-and-feeding” again. You love the department you’ve built. Maybe you should stay.
Obviously, Sandra, your superiors don’t even suspect that you drew yourself to the attention of the executive recruiting community.
And we won’t tell them. Congratulations. Mission accomplished!
Out of a job?
That’s when you can take full advantage of all the “Rites of Passage” right away.
Nearly all of the most successful senior executives I know have been out of work at least once in their careers…and many, several times. The difference between these “winners” and others less successful, is in how creatively and aggressively they’ve handled their unemployment. Much of the help in this book comes from observing them. Read on, and you’ll soak up their knowledge and experience.
On the other hand, by far the most misunderstood job-changing resource…at all points of an executive’s career…and especially when he or she is out of work…is the executive search industry, including its widely misunderstood role in the online job sites. You can’t get past the myth and misinformation, until you have an insider’s perspective on upper-level recruiting. And that’s what you’ll have when you’re halfway through this book.
Later, when the remainder of this book has prepared you for it, you can take a postgraduate course. It’s in Appendix I. See a search through the recruiter’s eyes. When you’ve finished Rites, you’ll know as much about recruiting as if you’ve actually been a recruiter yourself.
“Power User” of the Web? Or Web Shy?
Probably you’re somewhere in between…fully adept, but not quite a savant. As we cover all the main issues in managing an executive career—most of which are not high-tech—I’ll suggest web-based ways to improve the process. I’ll also show you the best for your purposes of the many—currently estimated at over 80,000—job sites on the web covering, in general, their usefulness and pitfalls. Also, I’ll show you RITESite, the minimally-commercial Executive Information Exchange I’ve set up to assist RITES readers and recruiters.
To Investigate: Access an infinite fund of information on companies, industries, people, professions, salaries, geographic data…the resources are endless. Also turbocharge your networking. Use the web to locate key contacts you’ve known but lost touch with, and also to figure out whom you know that knows—and hence might introduce you to—someone you should meet.
To Deliver: Use the web as an alternative to the Postal Service in making yourself known. Participate wisely in the online employment sites. These days, they’re infinitely numerous. Informed, you can achieve the right balance of safety, dignity and confidentiality vs. all-out hazard-ignoring haste.
So now you know what we’ll be doing together.
Let’s just glance at a bit more of what’s to come, and then we’ll get down to business.
By the time you complete these “Rites of Passage,” you’ll clearly know the motives and methods of every sector of the “people business.” Everyone from the headhunting firm that got you your first couple jobs after college (who today call themselves a “management consulting” or “executive search” firm)…right through the most prestigious recruiters…to the job websites which—if you can discriminate among them—merit your participation…to the “outplacement” and “executive marketing” segments of the industry.
As a mobility-seeking executive, you’re likely to be involved with all of the “professions” that move executives around. Therefore, it’s worthwhile to take this once-and-for-all-in-a-hurry opportunity to see how you should deal with each to best serve your self-interest, which often does not match theirs. For example, one of many practical suggestions is as simple as this:
“Watch the money change hands!”
That’s a good rule in general. And especially helpful, when you’re the subject of a commercial transaction.
Of course, dealing with “professionals” in the “people business” isn’t the only way to proceed.
We’ll polish every facet of your game…from handling your own personal contacts…to “networking” among helpful strangers…to telephone technique with recruiters to smoke out whether what they’re calling about is in your best interest…to researching and contacting potential employers on the web… to creating a really persuasive resume… to interviewing with both employers and recruiters for your maximum advantage…2to conducting a direct mail campaign or its paperless on-line alternative…to negotiating your employment agreement. And lots more.
Whatever could put you a thought or a step ahead in the advancement of your career we’ll cover. And wherever a “professional” in the “people business” may be a step ahead of you, we’ll even the odds. Fully prepared, you can overcome your inevitable challenges—and challengers—on your very personal route to maximum career success.