Reading The Tea Leaves:
When, Where And How To Make A Job Change
By Gary Kaplan© The Financial Manager. February-March 2001.
Gut feeling? Instinct? Call it what you will, but there is something inside you telling you it is time to move on. Or is it?
Despite the tightest labor market in 25 years, especially for those with high-demand skills, orchestrating a job change with finesse is not all that easy. First, there is competition for the quality job.
“Job competition is still tough; the higher up you go the fewer the jobs,” says Bob Medrano, director of human resources for Syncor International Corporation, which provides radiopharmaceuticals for imaging. “Although your skills may be transferable, there is a prevailing attitude that industry-specific experience is required in certain fields – snobbish as that sounds.”
Then, you may be unwilling to relocate, take a lateral move or haven’t developed the skill sets necessary to move up. As you look to move up realize that “power positions are not caused by unemployment rates,” notes Howard Strolicht, CFO of E20 Communications, Inc., a fiber optics company. “The need for a CEO, CFO, CIO or other senior level position doesn’t change; it is a matter of a position opening up, either by voluntary or involuntary termination, retirement, death or company transition.”
Warning signs
Still, the urge to upgrade persists, perhaps fueled by internal or external warning signs that the time to make a move may be close at hand. In contemplating a job change, you first need to take a good, hard look at your place in the company, its business and the company’s place in the market.
Strolicht says to take heed when “you are not invited to meetings when you should be or meetings are held behind closed doors and you’re outside the door.”
Companies that are in transition spell caution ahead. Is a proposed (or rumor of) merger, acquisition, take-over or other change in the offing? “The company looking to sell may be in a bad situation financially or in too good a situation, making it an attractive acquisition target. In either event, they may not keep you. Watch for a deterioration in the company’s financials,” he advises.
“Executives need to take enough time to examine the organization objectively,” adds Medrano. “In reviewing your employer, evaluate the critical issues in depth: management, market share, products, future outlook, stock trends, financials and competition. Is the company in a growing industry? Where is it in its business and industry cycle? Is it stagnating or moving ahead?”
Equallly as important is the need to pay attention to your internal indicators with critical analysis.
“Most people know when it is time to change jobs such as when you have been blocked, when you sense you are not progressing personally or when your personal tool kit of executive skills is not being enriched,” points out Glen Smyth, vice-president, regional managing director of Interim Career Consulting, a division of Interim Services, Inc. “Also, your success or failure at team-building and upper level support in the acceptance or rejection of your ideas indicates that you are hitting a plateau. You feel you are no longer contributing or that your contributions are not fully satisfying personally.”
Stay put or move on?
The lure of bigger money and perks, a change of scenery and responsibilities and the catch-all – an opportunity to make a significant contribution or lead the troops – has its challenges too. “Sometimes, staying put and monitoring the situation may present the opportunity you are looking for,” says Smyth. “Things can change. I once counseled an executive that it would be prudent to give his situation a little longer before opting out of his company because there were positive signs. Sure enough, in less than nine months, he was promoted.”
By staying with the company in favorable circumstances, you and the company are known entities to each other and the opportunity may be just ahead.
“Most careers are built by staying with a secure company that provides opportunity for growth that leads to promotion,” says Tom Burnham, vice-president, human resources of Allergan, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company. “If you are with an organization having a track record of successes coupled with a first-rate management team and the fundamentals to take it to the top tier of performance, be patient.”
Burnham sees too many people making poor career moves to start-ups; they are not doing their homework about the young companies and the industry sector’s potential. “Only one out of 20 IPOs pay out. So your intoxicating stock options may be of little value.”
In contemplating a job change, “look for the gazelles, not the rockets, for worthy career development. ‘A’ companies attract ‘A’ candidates,” he adds. “Otherwise, you may find it difficult to get back into a mainstream career. You must be aware you are gambling with your future.”
Shifting to a new company (or even a new position within your current company) is not without peril. “There is a tremendous potential for failure in a newly appointed leadership position,” says Burnham. “The time frame for demonstrating your ability has been shortened from a year to about six weeks in some situations. The new company’s culture, organizational levels and expectations may be vastly different from your previous post. Expectations are especially high and stringent for both an internal promotion and an external hire. Regardless, your charge is to ‘make things happen’ and you must be fully prepared to oblige.”
For many professionals concerned with vertical progression, determining when to stay or go is often the proverbial horns of the dilemma. Smyth says to do some in-depth internal assessment.
In considering which way to move, take a look at current responsibilities. Are they fulfilling? Is there a career path of upward mobility ahead? Do you have the type of skills a move up demands?
On the personal compensation side, is it favorable for your goals? On a scale of 1 to 10, is it a 3 or an 8? What about the often overlooked lifestyle factor? What are your personal preferences in geographical location, time constraints and family and outside influences that will factor into your job change decision? “Whatever your decision, make sure that they are based on a clear-eyed evaluation of your personal capabilities and situation,” says Smyth.
Getting ready to move ahead
Lulled by a false sense of security, people often stay too long at a job even with the knowledge that it is time to move on. They are good excuses to do nothing. Complacency is one factor –thinking that things are fine as is or will get better. People will blindly follow a company down through bankruptcy, sale or merger. By then it’s too late in the process. Fear of firing if they are found out by their current employer is another issue.
“Even if word does get back to an employer, that may not be detrimental,” points out David Demont, vice-president, global human resources for Technicolor, Inc. “Sometimes a requested frank discussion with a superior concerning performance evaluation and promotability can be very revealing. An employer may realize it is in both parties’ best interests not to encourage professional development or promotability that is unlikely to happen. It is not uncommon today in those circumstances to support external search and even provide a positive reference. The keys to such a discussion are ‘trust and condor’ and where either are not present, such a discussion is unlikely to be very productive.”
After thoughtful analysis of your personal and business situation, it may indeed be time to begin to seek new opportunities. The old saying that the best time to look for a new job is before you need one is eminently true. Being currently employed, continuing professional skill or aptitude development, taking on stretch assignments and building a track record of success all improve the base from which to market yourself.
“Job search is more of an art than science,” says Demont. Based on his experiences, “people should constantly maintain and expand their network, making many contacts in various fields and places. Professional networking often means joining both formal and informal groups and organizations to be where others are – face to face and electronically – as a means of sharing experiences and resources. To not do so may mean that when you need a network, it is too late to start building one.
The value of networking can not be over-emphasized Demont indicates. “Who you know is important, but who you can get to know and who knows you may be even more relevant to a successful search.”
While monitoring formal published job openings and contacting executive search firms are good starting places, anyone directly or indirectly related to a possible job opening or company should be included in the networking circle. Don’t leave anyone out: friends, college alumnus, selected clients, neighbors, a spouse’s and relatives’ places of employment and their contacts and perhaps even more remote contacts, like clergy.
“I know of one person who let his minister know he was looking elsewhere. As it happened, a senior executive at a major company was also a former parishioner and the minister arranged a meeting on the job seeker’s behalf. Although the company didn’t have an appropriate opening, the executive was impressed by the job seeker’s credentials and personal meeting and was able to find an interim assignment for him in the company until a more suitable permanent position opened up,” says Demont.
That example brings up another point to ponder. At the senior level, companies may not have a defined position immediately available or the job opening may not be public. However, if a truly outstanding individual comes across its path, a company may define a position of mutual interest.
“When a person with unique or sought-after experience or capability is introduced,” say Demont, “some companies will find a way to bring them onboard. People often short-change this particular aspect of finding a new position.”
Becoming visible through external committees and business associations, taking on speaking engagements and otherwise letting people know of your knowledge base and record of accomplishment is good personal PR and often elicits opportunities. “Keeping your overall experience targeted towards making you more competitive and visible is often more important than becoming simply more competent,” Demont suggests.
Keeping your resume current is also essential preparation. Acquiring “hot” skills, successful leadership, progressively greater responsibilities and business development abilities are attractive updates to a resume. “Keep a record of each success and new skills added, jotting down when you’ve done it and the results,” advises Medrano. “You should be able to leverage your experiences to increase your marketability.”
Finally, when asked for an interview, by all means, go through the process. Even if the position is of marginal interest, it may have been many years since you have experienced an interview and the “refresher course” is educational. At least, you will have met one or more people, made valuable contacts and had a look inside another company.
Stay the course
Employed or not, don’t let paralysis set in…or head blindly into the fray. Don’t think you can do nothing about changing your situation due to fear, complacency, age concerns or narrow experience. Use the fear to initiate and maintain your action plan.
The game plan should be instituted well before there is an imperative to change jobs. Personal skill-building, a successful track record, on-going networking, resume updates and interviewing while employed are a give. However, “people making career changes are often not consistent,” Demont says.
“They start off with a flurry of activity, think they have done enough and then sit back waiting for a ‘return on their investment.’ Not knowing what else to do, anxiety sets in. Many times, it takes discipline, commitment and consistent hard work to obtain competitive, sought-after positions.” View a job change as a process and a goal, without a time-table and with an ever-watchful eye on the particular business, industry and market for any changes. When opportunities appear, you will be evaluating them from a position of strength and objectivity. Meanwhile, continue to rack up successes in your current position.
Above all remember, honesty and truthfulness count. Your references and credentials will be checked. While a college degree or a pertinent business victory are not necessarily parameters of a prospective position, integrity always is.
