 Assessing the Time it Takes to Find your New Executive Job
Obviously, no one can tell you reliably how long the specific search for your next executive opportunity will be. Nevertheless, the question is pretty much on everybody’s mind. Particularly if you are in transition, you will want to know if your severance package will carry you long enough. Your specific search time will be impacted by external economical as well as candidate internal factors. I like to break this down into 3 categories: 1) factors you can’t really influence, 2) factors that you can influence to a certain degree, and 3) factors that are totally up to your efforts. Now, let’s look at some core bullets of each category. 1) Economic and Industry Outlook - Type of industry: declining, stagnating, or booming? - Global climate impacting the industry - Hiring and talent situation in your market 2) Reputation and Flexibility - Your market reputation and relevant business network including leading executive recruiters - Your industry and leadership longevity (general management background? Niche experience?) - Flexibility in terms of target titles (e.g., CEO vs SVP) or location (available for relocation?) - Educational background (e.g., Ivy League degree, Executive MBA, etc.) 3) Job Search Collateral, Commitment, & Effort - Your job search and hidden job market strategy and game plan - Quality of your career marketing documents (executive resume, cover letter, bios, etc.) - Personal branding efforts (are you consistently marketing your core value?) - Informal and formal interview performance - Your tenacity and commitment in executing your job search game plan Additional points to factor in are lengthy background checks, screenings, several rounds of interviews, and possibly, board approval. Outlook and Takeaway Going through these bullets and comparing these points to your specific situation should give a pretty good idea on identifying factors that could either shorten or prolong your search process. While I am generally a strong optimistic thinking proponent, I recommend not coming up with an unrealistically short time as that will only put unnecessary pressure and stress on you; particularly if you are in between jobs. Need help with the factors that you can influence? Just send me an email: info@windhofcareers.com Comments are closed.
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