Five Essential Moves That Are Happening Right Now in the Executive Job Market!

Karen Armon

Welcome to a Career Transition podcast on Total Picture Radio with Peter Clayton reporting. Joining us today is Karen Armon, creator and founder of the MarketOne Executive system. Karen has coached C-Level executives in different industries and positions since 1992. Armon's long experience in executive-readiness has given her the inside track into what leaders must do to find the top position they want in this challenging job market.

Karen's latest book has a great title: Market Your Potential, Not Your Past.

She is a featured speaker and author for many top-level executive information sources such as ExecuNet, Harvard Business Review, Oracle’s Profit Magazine, the Wall Street Journal and many Internet sites throughout the world. Karen has achieved a MBA and a BS in Marketing, ans is a faculty member at Keller Graduate School of Management teaching leadership topics.

Her MarketOne Executive system utilizes an approach that includes the most up-to-date strategies available for executives who want to move into top roles now or in the future.

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QUESTIONS:

Karen, another great title comes from your Tips & Trends Newsletter: “Five Essential Moves That Are Happening Right Now in the Executive Job Market!” One thing I’ve discovered, Karen, -- this recession has gone much higher up the food chain, hitting executives who’ve never been laid off... Would you agree?
This group, (senior execs), in particular, is really lost. What are you hearing from executives you work with at MarketOne?
Let’s talk about some of the strategies you write about in your Tips and Trends article: be prepared for a long search -- one issue many executives are dealing with: former friends and colleagues are not returning their phone calls or emails: How can you keep in touch with your network without coming across as a pest -- or worse -- seeming desperate?
Reading between the lines of your newsletter -- there seems to be a trend in mid-market companies to bargain hunt -- trying to recruit top execs at a deep discount? (What is your advice in these situations?
What should executives expect that are lucky enough to get a face-to-face interview? (How do they need to prepare?)
How has the job search changed from a couple of years ago? What new tools/technology must executives employ?
Continuing on this topic, what marketing materials should executives invest in?
#5 on your list of Essential Moves: “Mobile technology may be the engine that leads us out of the recession, but watch for new regulation that may stifle rapid growth.” What do you mean by this?
What are the best resources for leads?
Where are your client’s finding opportunities? (Industries, geographies)
Are you seeing any daylight? (Coming out of the recession)
A couple of my take-aways: Open mind, flexibility, project-based short term assignments to keep some cash flow -- am I right?
Are baby boomers getting job offers?
What haven’t we discussed you think is important for those in a career transition need to know?

Tips & Trends is the Online Newsletter for Executives from MarketOne Executive™ and Karen Armon

Five Essential Moves That Are Happening Right Now in the Executive Job Market!

The challenge executives face today in their career search boils down to one thing -- finding leads.

It is vital that you find and contact hiring leaders, turn your contacts into exploratory interviews, and keep in touch with leaders so that you can be first in line when the freeze lifts.

But achieving this requires much more than it did in the past. You must be more creative and innovative in your job search than ever before. .

To come up with these creative methods, you need to understand what is occuring right now. I speak with over 300 executives a year – whether they are in transition or landed – and I get a pretty good idea of what is going on out there.

As a result of these conversions, here is what I’ve identified as the 5 Essential Moves in the Executive Job Market:

#1. Our economy may be at a turning point this summer but we are not out of the recession -- yet.

#2. Job interviews, almost non-existent 6 weeks ago, are opening up, but the hiring process is very slow.

#3. Companies are definitely looking to “trade-up” talent, but are offering less in total compensation – sometimes up to 60% less.

#4. Midmarket companies that are leveraging this recession for growth and innovation show be your target, but only 50% of them are in this classification.

#5. Mobile technology may be the engine that leads us out of the recession, but watch for new regulation that may stifle rapid growth.

Here's the bottom-line:

Be prepared for a long search – both financially and functionally. Even with interviews opening up, it will still take until Q1 or Q2 of next year to see a real opening up of job offers. Companies are still very, very careful and won’t pull the trigger quickly. Do what you have to do to extend your ability to find opportunities and keep in the game.

Keep digging for opportunities every single day. Don’t just work a couple hours a day. Get out there, meet people and be open to new ways of bringing in income. Conduct your job search as if it was a business open 50 to 60 hours a week. Be aggressive (but pleasant) and keep going way beyond what others will do.

Craft a powerful and professional presentation – in print and in person. With companies trading up talent (i.e. getting more skills for the same position), you have to stand out. And that isn’t achieved by you personally putting together you a “do-it-yourself” campaign. If you can afford it, invest in hiring a coach AND a professional resume writer. It is an investment that will pay off.

Be ready for offers that are lower – especially in base compensation. Don’t get insulted, get prepared. Get a good idea of your minimum acceptable offer. Have a plan if you have to turn lower offers down. Get realistic, financially, and be prepared to downsize your daily expenses. If you can’t conduct an extended campaign, find ways to bring in income part-time or by consulting. If you can handle a lower offer, then trim your budget now so that the shock won’t be so bad.

Look for opportunities in emerging markets and new businesses. Look for micro-trends (for a great resources, download Karen's FREE ebook: Ten Micro-Trends that Impact Executive Careers Today. These areas of the economy run under the radar and create new business opportunities every day. Your network is the best method for keeping your ear to the ground and your eyes open for new opportunities.