The CFO Coach

The Buzz about NotchUp

NotchUp is making the rounds in the career industry … a new and innovative way of finding those top performing candidates every employer covets. Whether you buy into its philosophy or not, it’s a hot topic. I recently read an article by Recruiter Dr. John Sullivan addressing some of these issues from a recruiting perspective.

This excerpt really struck me, and I wonder … could it also apply to the passive candidate?

"You don't have to utilize NotchUp in order to improve your candidate flow, but you do have to improve your employment branding and interviewing approach. If you're one of those individuals who is constantly complaining about the shortage of qualified candidates, maybe it's time to look in the mirror and realize that it is actually your approach to employment branding, recruiting, and interviewing that is causing your shortage…. The fact is that talent shortages for any single firm are caused by weak branding/recruiting strategies and practices."

If I might seek some grace from Dr. Sullivan, I’d like to re–phrase his comments from a candidate’s perspective.

... in order to improve your candidacy interest, you have to improve your executiv e branding and interviewing approach. If you're one of those individuals who is constantly complaining about the shortage of company interest, maybe it's time to look in the mirror and realize that it is actually your approach to branding, searching, and interviewing that is causing your shortage…. The fact is that prospect shortages for any candidate may be caused in large part by weak branding, networking, and search strategies and practices, combined with a tendency to value (and emphasize) what you did rather than how you delivered and its associated impact.

Thoughts?

The Most Connected Man on Earth is in the Forum

I am so excited that Ron Bates will be joining us in the Forum on February 19 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. And you might be, too when you find out who he is!

Ron is a Search Consultant with Executive Advantage Group’s Silicon Valley Office. With +35,000 direct contacts across multiple on-line professional networking platforms, Ron has been referred to as "the most connected man on Earth." You can view his detailed networking profiles on LinkedIn and Ecademy.

Many of you who were kind enough to participate in the research survey mentioned Linked In and networking as some of your challenges. For example, a few didn’t really understand the importance of being on Linked In or, they were on Linked In but didn’t really know how to use it or, want more networking connections and would like to understand how Linked In can help increase connectivity and visibility.

Well, from a career perspective, who better to ask than “the” most–connected person who just so happens to be an Executive Recruiter. Ron is not only knowledgeable about Linked In, he is knowledgeable about how recruiters use Linked In and he is a great person to add to your network.

If you are a member of the CFO–Career–Forum, log in and register today for our conversation on February 19 at 4:00 Eastern. If you are not a member of the CFO–Career–Forum but you are a senior-level finance executive and want to join the call … register here! If you are not available at 4:00 p.m. Eastern on February 19, the call will be recorded, but you must register in advance to receive the recording.

Additionally, we want Ron to answer YOUR questions about Linked In. Please email those to me at cindy@cfo-coach.com prior to the 19th (the earlier the better so we can get them in the queue) or IM them to me during the call at Coach Cindy.

Personal Brand Summit

Following up on my Passively Social post from last week, I wanted to make sure you knew that all of the recordings from the Personal Brand Summit are now available for download. There is a wealth of information from the experts on how to leverage your personal brand to win market distinction.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Recruiters on Resumes

At the Kennedy Conference last week, our recruiter panel offered up the following thoughts on what they wanted to see in a resume:

––Results–driven contributions, not a listing of job descriptions
––Enthusiasm & passion (this is where branding becomes so important)
––Polished presentation
––Vision (strategic initiatives – start to finish)
––The ability to clearly communicate
––Reverse chronological format
––Tailored cover letter

One panelist said he loves the concept of personal branding as it "provides evidence that the candidate can get the job and do the job.”

One other speaker at the conference said this, and it speaks to the first item in the list … “candidates confuse performance with experience … without performance experience doesn’t mean much.”

There’s a BUZZ about BRANDING

I received back–to–back subscription emails last week that both talked about branding. The buzz about branding is definitely getting louder.

And it should be. In today’s competitive market place, winning market distinction is about understanding your unique and authentic brand … and leveraging that difference to win market differentiation. What is “different,” gets noticed. Commodity is the status quo.

ERE Daily suggested using a one word strategy. Think about the people with whom you interact and/or do business. What is the one word that comes immediately to mind when you think about him or her? That first impression is their brand … despite a tag line or brand statement to the contrary.

The same is true for you. While a 360–assessment is the best way to begin identifying your brand, you can try the one word test on others. Ask them to tell you the one word that first comes to mind when they hear your name. If 10 different people give you 10 different answers, you have a brand problem.

The Women for Hire newsletter talked about cybersabotage. That is when posts, comments, and responses made online in the heat of passion; or even unknowingly, carelessly, thoughtlessly, or recklessly; or perhaps in jest or in fun collide with Google.

Last year’s stats reflected that 63% of recruiters Googled a candidate’s name prior to talking with them. A Harris Poll showed that 23% of individuals Googled a colleague prior to meeting with them for the first time. With Google now a verb in our every day vocabulary, these numbers are climbing rapidly.

The challenge becomes creating a clear and compelling brand rather than an eclectic collection of things about you that sends a confusing, or even undesirable, message.

Be part of the buzz. Tell us what you know about your brand.

HIRING THE SOCIAL NETWORK WAY

In a recent article on Investors.com, Ben Steverman discusses the use of social networks as a hiring tool. The social networking trend is on the upswing, as noted in my previous articles, and Mr. Steverman concurs.

>>LinkedIn is a great source of information on the "passive job seeker," recruiters say. Job boards are good for finding "a candidate who has stepped more actively into the job market," said Eric Wheel of recruiting firm PrincetonOne. But Linked-In can help recruiters approach qualified workers before they're on the market and "before everyone else becomes aware of their availability.">>

Building online visibility is a strategic career management tool. Even if you are not looking for a new position today, chances are you may be in the future. Creating that presence today means you are shifting the job search paradigm in order to leverage future opportunities.

<<Piskorski says online social networks can be more valuable than real-world social networks because they're much more efficient. Rather than relying on your friends and colleagues to recommend or introduce you to someone, you can search through their connections online.>>

Since networking is still the #1 way to find that next opportunity, creating a public profile and building an online network is a quick and easy way to find contacts at your target companies. Because social networking sites are comprised of people who understand networking, they are usually willing and enthusiastic to share their knowledge and contacts.

What are you doing for your network today?

THE PRODUCT IS YOU!

I couldn’t resist sharing this excerpt by Lou Adler in his article, “The top 10 list of ramblings and rumblings from ERE's Fall Expo 2006.” Adler says he uncovered fresh ideas for recruiting … particularly in light of the fact that finding top talent is becoming more challenging for companies … complicated by a dwindling supply of A–players and a saturated, commodity–driven Internet candidate pool.

<<Recruiting is marketing. Seth Godin's keynote speech set the tone — if you want to hire top people, your jobs must stand out from the crowd, they must offer a compelling value proposition, and they must be designed to draw people in, not weed them out. If you're doing what everyone else is doing, you don't stand a chance of hiring the top 10% to 15%. So the key is to be different. I guess the real point here is that great sourcing starts with great advertising. If you're not now seeing enough top people, this could be your problem.>> [emphasis added]

Let me turn this around on you. It is simply not possible to position yourself as top talent when you are relying on things you did (the responsibilities of your job) that sound like everyone else (your competition) who has been on the same career path. Unfortunately, these candidates are relegated to mere commodity status with no market value.

As a top–notch player, you must offer a compelling value proposition that is unique and differentiating from others seeking the same positions; employ competitive, value–oriented marketing documents that encourage a reader to take action; create a visible presence so you can shift the paradigm to becoming the “hunted” rather than the “hunter,” and launch a search strategy that is proactive and well–balanced.

ZOOM ... ZOOM ... ZOOM

Lou Adler offers this in his recent article, “Five Great Things You Can Do Today to Find More Great People Tomorrow”

<<Try out the latest sourcing tools, but use them correctly. As most of you know I love ZoomInfo; I like LinkedIn; TheLadders.com is great; and Jobster, used properly, has significant upside potential…. If you're not afraid to get on the phone and network, you can find A-level talent for any job in the U.S. within one or two degrees of separation, starting with the 30 million names in ZoomInfo. We just found a great CFO candidate for a Fortune 1000 company by writing a compelling job branded ad on TheLadders.com.>>

Can recruiters find you for their open positions? If you’re not in ZoomInfo, Linked In, Ecademy, and TheLadders.com, the answer is … probably not.

Creating a branded, visible online presence gives today’s top talent the competitive edge. 

ARE YOU LOW HANGING FRUIT?

Michael Kascsak got it all right in his blog “It’s Their Space,” and while he is speaking from a hiring perspective about the Baby Buster generation, there are important lessons here for Executives.

Becoming too complacent about years of experience and wisdom versus staying cutting edge in your industry and technology could be your undoing. It is not enough to compete on what you “do” – because that is precisely how most of your competition market themselves. You must attach value and strategic importance to your accomplishments in order to stand out and be noticed.

Michael includes a definition of what being an A–player entails. If you don’t have a copy of my article, “A–Players Are In Demand,” email me and I’ll be happy to send it your way.

Creating a visible online presence is critical as the rules of job hunting have changed drastically. Your branded message needs to be visible to the people who need to know about you. According to a recent Bullhorn Software Survey, 71% of recruiters use social networks to find candidates. If your profile is missing from Linked In and Ecademy, you are missing out on a critical career management tool. To be found, you must be visible.

Backing up my statements about the importance of social networks is another surprising statistic from the Bullhorn survey … 72% of recruiters find candidates by cold calling. If they don’t know about you, how will they call you?

While the youngsters might not be completely business savvy about the importance of their “branded” visible presence, they are way out in front of those who continue to resist change and refuse to embrace a whole new way of finding their next opportunity and managing their future careers.

ARE YOU BEING PURSUED … OR DOING THE PURSUING?

One of the benefits of creating a strong, visible brand is the shift it creates in the job search paradigm. A job seeker is usually “in pursuit” of a new position or opportunity. A strong, visible brand can create the perception of a highly-valued candidate, one that is in demand … and worthy of being pursued.

Here’s what Seth Godin says about being average:

<<What chance is there that your totally average resume, describing a totally average academic and work career is going to get you most jobs? "Hey Bill! Check out this average guy with an average academic background and really exceptionally average work experience! Maybe he's cheap!!">>

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2004/06/needles_haystac.html

Identify your authentic personal brand, get visible, and stand out!

Don’t forget … if you are in the Tampa Bay area on Monday the 13^th, please join us for a powerful evening of networking that includes my presentation on A VISIBLE PERSONAL BRAND … THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON IN YOUR CAREER MANGEMENT ARSENAL!