The Law vs. The Real World

If you are anything like me, while you always knew there were laws against age discrimination on an intellectual level, it wasn't until you got out there in the real world looking to make a change at say 45+ that you came to internalize emotionally age discrimination was very real.

Not a great feeling to understate the case.

Given the make-up of ExecuNet membership (average age 52) we gets lots of feedback and war stories from people facing this issue and they often ask me what my feelings are about the subject. Maybe it's my own age (72) kicking in or just that in combination with the life experiences that have gone along with it, but what I usually tell them is that in my experience, when it comes to discrimination (be it age, sex, religion, or whatever) there seems to be a spectrum - on one end are people whose minds you will never change and on the on the other are those whose minds you don't have to worry about changing. The rest of us tend to fall somewhere in-between which means to one degree or another, while we all have a bias, we are influence able, and that is the group on which I would concentrate.

Said differently, it depends on how you want to spend your time and energy. The fact is that we all need to go to work somewhere and if you elect to go the suit route, aside from the time and expense, the "real world" probability is that no employer is going to be that excited about bringing you on board for fear that they would be next on your list, and in this day and age, finding out that you are involved in a legal battle would not take long.

Not an easy choice for sure, and it doesn't help with the deep anger that one feels, but maybe what reality dictates as the best choice for you and your family. Would that it were a perfect world.

All of this doesn't mean that there is nothing to be done except to sit back and "take it."  There is a great deal that one can do, especially if you are focused on those in the middle of the spectrum who can be influenced, and while there are a number of tools one can use to help someone "to see the light" I think the most powerful of those available are information and networking.

What I mean is this: if you have done your homework on an organization in which you have a real interest, you will be armed with the knowledge of the challenges they face, and therefore are able to share with them the fact that over the course of your career to date that you have dealt with the issues they face, and at 45+, probably more than once. 

When people are engaged in conversations that are (a) focused on their needs and (b) are seeing potential solutions to their problems, they are not thinking about your age, they are thinking about how much easier their life can be.  That is the power of information.

That said, what I hear a lot of from members is that all of this is well and good except they never get the chance to share the information because they never hear back from their responses to job postings, so what good is all this info.

My response usually runs along the lines of if postings is what you are chasing, I am not surprised to hear it.

Whoever and however your electronic outreach is being screened, it is highly unlikely that they will be the least bit interested or be feeling inclined to find out how much value you can bring.  Their role is to screen candidates out just as fast as they can and that usually translates to whatever you have sent is going to see the light of day for something in the neighborhood of twenty (20) seconds - give or take.

In order for you to get the chance to show what you bring based on your research and experience, you need to be face-to-face and that will come about as the result of your networking into the organization, not from answering postings.

New information?  Hardly.  Does it require the investment of your time, energy and passion?  Yup, and the operative word is "passion."  Once you start to care about something, you will find the time and the energy. 

Investing your precious time sending responses into the black hole of cyberspace drains both energy and passion.  Gaining information on organizations that produce products or services that get you juiced will produce more energy and passion than you have felt in a long, long time. 

Wildcat I to Wildcat II Come In Please

Are you a trivia buff? If so, here's today's Six Figure Learnings trivia question:

In the 22 years that ExecuNet has been around, what topic gets members more ticked off than almost any other?

a. The world has too many Yankee fans?
b. Everything we like to eat is fattening?
c. I rarely hear back from recruiters?

Right, c. It's like things were vaporized.

The purpose of this post is not to condone the behavior but simply to report in the hope that while it may not make those who are angry any less angry but might help lower their blood pressure a little.

Some "learnings" for whatever they may be worth:

First, the fact that this frustration has been at or near the top of people’s PO'd lists for as long as it has probably suggests that it isn't going away any time soon.

Second, (and I know this is easy for me to say) while everyone takes it personally; don't. This isn't about you. I know it feels that way, but trust me, it isn't.

Life is too short and there are more important things to worry about other than wanting to send some recruiters to an Emily Post boot camp.

Third, while you may have been raised in one of those generations where it was considered simply common courtesy to acknowledge any sort of inquiry, based on the feedback we get from the real world it would seem that custom "went out", as they say, "with high button shoes."

Fourth, try to keep your eye on the prize which of course is to get yourself in front of the recruiter's client. You aren't contemplating going to work for the recruiter.

Fifth, the way things work these days is pretty simple. If there is an interest you will probably hear pretty quickly and if there isn't, silence is definitely the norm.

Lastly, the recruiting industry is no different than most others in terms of the spectrum of quality and professionalism. And as any of us would do, we compile our lists of who we trust and feel are the quality players and when we have a need, we act accordingly.

So with the foregoing in mind, when this is over and you find yourself once again into 12 hour days not including Blackberry time, just make sure you don't lose that short list you are carrying around so that when it comes time to add to your staff and you feel you feel you need the help of a recruiting professioinal, you don't have to get mad you can just get even.

It's a great feeling.

Members vs. Subscribers

One of the really interesting things about having been around as long as we have is that we have experienced what it is like to be part of a community both on and off the Internet.

As many who read this blog are aware (i.e. both of you) I started ExecuNet in 1988. Hell, now that I think of it, there were fax machines then and we still thought technology had gone beyond amazing and then along came CDs and left us speechless. Time flies as they say.

In 1995 we silently and with great trepidation turned on our website, we were concerned about a lot of things, not the least of which was losing the relationship with our members who up until that point could not become a member without actually talking to a real live person and/or getting hundreds of emails a day from high school kids with nothing better to do.

The email overload turned out not to be a problem then, but it is now with the never ending SPAM for Viagra, Rx offerings from Canada and easy money opportunities from the President of Nigeria.

While executives can now join online, we have held firmly to our belief that really effective networks/communitites (be they for business or career or both) are built and based on real relationships not simply a collection of Vcards.

I was reminded of this recently when I thought about a panel I was on some years ago wtih Craig Newmark of Craigslist and Laurel Touby, the founder of Media Bistro. The subject we discussed was the building of online communities.

Even though none of us had talked to the other about what we were going to say. The common thread was that each of our sites had grown by personal referral and personal involvement with our "community."

“Word-of-mouth” is obviously impossible to actively control, but when it works in your favor, the positive results can be quite powerful. ExecuNet was, as mentioned above, formed well before commercial Internet usage, and obviously at that time we relied heavily on referrals from our members.

Now nearly twenty-two years later, we still credit recommendations from our members for much of our success and longevity.

In today's world, the value of word-of-mouth buzz is compounded by the speed in which news travels over the Internet. My desktop blinks constatly as the "tweets" pour in.

No matter how people get here, however, I have always felt that personal referral was the most powerful advertising there is, and that is evidenced by the fact that the community we have with ExecuNet is based on the commitment that comes from being a member. That was -- and still is -- the key factor in why personal referral remains the way most of our members get here.

One of the first questions many people who contact us for the first time ask is how we measure our effectiveness as a resource for senior-level executives? My response is usually along the lines of "How did you hear of us?"

The answer more often than not is "A friend of mine told me about you." To which I then respond, "Well, you have now found a good part of the answer -- by reputation. Most people I know don't refer people to something unless they feel there is value there. I don’t, and I wouldn't expect you to either."

There is a real difference between being a member of something and simply a subscriber. Subscribers transact; members TRUST.

Feedback from the Real World

One of the advantages of being the first and oldest at something (ExecuNet was founded in 1988) is that when you start collecting data and war stories you can truthfully say "trust me when I tell you....because I can prove it."

So "trust me when I tell you" ever since day one when we spoke to each and every person considering joining this network as well as the wealth of survey information that we have gathered since, that by far and away one of the most profound points of frustration for anyone in a search and senior level executives in particular is the deafening silence that most get when they respond to an ad, be it online or off.

There is a great deal that has been and could be said on this subject and many of us have done so over the years, but I am always looking for more resources to help in setting the right expectation level when it comes to the something like this very sore subject.

Unfortunately, a lot of what has been written on this topic while directionally correct is so filled with platitudes and excuses that in terms of resonating with the reader it simply falls pretty flat. So, when I find something that doesn't and more importantly meets our standard of pragmatism or as we like to say around the office truly is "feedback from the real world" I want to do all I can to make our members as well as others aware of it because there isn't enough of it out there.

Okay, so write this down How to Work with Headhunters by Nick Corcodilos. Many readers of this blog I am sure will recognize Nick's name if for no other reason than he too has been around for a good long while and has a well-deserved following (including myself) of his blog called Ask the Headhunter.

So why am I flogging How to Work with Headhunters? Easy. It speaks my language and if you go to the site Nick has set up to buy the book, I think you will quickly see what I mean.

Words of one syllable, really worthwhile advice from someone from the recruiting world who is willing to be transparent in an effort to try and help people really not just understand the whats and whys, but more importantly the HOWs in dealing with a whole host of issues that few job hunters really understand but which frustrate them by the thousands.

The book contains the answers to 62 "in-your-face" questions, and "in-your-face" is the right phrase. Nick's writing style sort of suggests to me an image of Howard Cosel with a sense of humor. Said differently, you may or may not like what he has to say sometimes, but it is very real, actionable, and as such should help a lot of people deal with "the system" in "real world" terms, and that we like and happily recommend.

People Will Always Pay a Premium for Quality

If you are familiar with ,ExecuNet then it will come as no surprise for you to know that we collect trend information in the executive career management arena.

One of these collection channels we call the Recruiter's Confidence Index. The RCI is a monthly survey of the recruiting community and includes both retained and contingency firms.

The core of the index is focused on their feeling about the market over the next 3-6 months. If you are interested in the latest you can click here.

In doing the survey however, we often will ask some other questions based on trends that we have either read or hear about on a day to day basis.

Recently, we wanted to check and see what the executive recruiting community folks were feeling were their "top business challenges" at this point in time vs. several months ago when the answer was a resounding "what business!"

Among other things, I was struck by the fact that doom and gloom on the nightly newscasts and the front pages notwithstanding, the #1 issue came back as: finding qualified candidates.

To explain: I was struck that this was the top concern not because this is a new issue. Finding top tier talent (what's the buzz word these days - "A" players?) has always been a major challenge, and remains so. [Hence the title of this post] No, what got my attention was not what was on top of the list, but what wasn't even in the top three - specifically the hunt for new business.

This isn't to say that firms that specialize in the sectors that have really been hard hit (Financial Services, Credit, Construction,and Housing) aren't still feeling it big time, for many are, but as a whole, at least based on what people were telling us in the last couple of months, the sky may still be very cloudy and producing occasional severe storms; nonetheless, they are starting to see some light on the far horizon.

And in case you were wondering, #2 was covered by the phrase "client and business issues" (whatever that may mean) and #3 was "relocation." Certainly one can tie the latter to the housing market, and it would also make selling a candidate tougher for sure, but the fact that recruiters' phones were starting to ring (if not off the hook but still ringing) was a good sign.

What are you hearing?

Survey Said

While it hardly seems possible, the fact is that sixteen years ago we began an annual survey of the executive marketplace which has become known as ExecuNet's Executive Job Market Intelligence Report. The report has expanded each year, as has the effort that our staff expends in putting it together has also grown expodentially. I have to say, however, that the feedback we get from both executives and the recruiting community on the value of the information serves as continuing motivation to continue the investment of time and energy.

This year's survey with more than 6,000+ responses has produced a good deal of commentary in the media both electronic and print.

Among the more stimulating and flattering requests that we got for commentary on the survey came from Peter Clayton, the voice and engine behind Total Picture Radio, the well-respected website whose tag line: "The Voice of Career Leadership"describes the site very well

Peter came over to our offices last week and sat down with Mark Anderson (our President) and me and in his disarming and relaxed interviewing style, Peter really engaged us in dialouge that was more of a conversation than an interview.

While our members have access to the full report, we also have an executive summary of the report which is available to the public on our site as a free download and can be obtained by clicking here

If you are interested in the "conversation" we had we Peter, the link to the interview is here.

The Zig Zag Networking Trail

We have a special feature in our CareerSmart Advisor newsletter which we call Learnings From Landings. As you can probably guess, it is an opportunity for us to share those things that various members tell us which they feel would be helpful to others who are interested in making a career change.

When I first started to share these stories almost twenty years ago now, I didn't realize just how valuable these "learnings" were. It did not take too long, however, to recognize that most of us (if we're lucky) don't go through changing jobs all that often, and given the pace of change in today's world, most of us, if we go through that door again, it is hard to recognize what we find on the other side.

Recently, I got a note from Patrick Cotter. I recognized his name instantly because some months before he had written to me to let me know that he had accepted a senior level executive position in China about which he was understandably excited. Just over a year later, this is what he had to say:

My message is basically one of not giving up even when nothing is coming to a close and there is nothing promising on the horizon.

Last year through ExecuNet I had secured a senior management position in China. However this job became short lived when the Chinese Chairman took off with about $ 100 million at XMas. The company went into receivership and I came back to CT to mull things over. I am 57, overeducated and overqualified in a dozen fields and scare most directors, so my prospects were dim as to whether or not I would ever find that "last Big Job".

I reactivated my contacts and did a few networking meetings with not much happening. I picked up on the side however some occasional consulting jobs where due to the complexity of the issues surrounding global logistics and related support systems, I could charge $1000 a day with nobody complaining. So that covered the bills but still no Big Job.

Last month while networking ( i.e shooting the breeze) with an investment banker about buying a small company in Fairfield, he asked me if I could recommend a prep school with a high degree of security for the Chinese son of one of his clients. I told him I knew just such a school in Vermont which handled kids from very high profile parents. For example in May President Putin's son had graduated from there ( under an assumed name until G-day). I followed up that request for lack of anything better to do that day and got the boy admitted after a few calls and promises of (hopefully) much endowment funds.

Lo and behold two weeks later Chairman A. and son plus retinue show up on my doorstep on the way to Vermont to give thanks. We start talking a bit about my Chinese retail experience as I know he has about 650 stores covering over 100 million SF of space and growing at about 30% per annum. All I'm hoping for is maybe a consulting job out of it.

A week later I get an email from China asking me when I could come over to visit some operations in Shenzhen and Shanghai with the Chairman. So off I went 10 days ago with a consulting deal in mind. I ended up spending 6 days (and nights) with the Chairman and his retinue at the conclusion of which I gave him a short list of priorities needed for his organization to survive its growth rate. He stared 30 seconds at the list turned to the translator to make sure I had not misunderstood that he wanted me as his COO, not as a consultant. I accepted on the spot.

So far I had run a faultless course bypassing 4 killer issues but had one final one where no US business rules would apply and that was: How much do you want?? My mind froze for a minute as I knew the going US rate, but this guy was a Buddhist who thought radically differently about values than I did. After all he could buy anything in the world, yet all he had brought back from the States was a small(tree)plant for his garden....So I low balled a base and waited.

I knew that was the right answer because he then immediately came back with a 7 figure bonus and stock package plus car, driver and housing. If I had gone full market rate (like in the US) I probably would not have benefited year one from the Chairman's discretionary bonus pool money. When the dust settled later that evening and I was ruminating why I had low-balled. It came to mind that the salary question had been the final test and what the old man wanted to see was passion and a deep understanding of the business more so than the ol' MOB. He knew I had low balled him . That had pleased him and in return it amused him to throw lots of money at me...and I wasn't complaining.

I'll be moving back to China in 2 weeks. I just need to find my my book on "Mandarin for Dummies" in 10 easy lessons !!.

Bottom line, even when you think you've hit the end of the road professionally it pays to keep networking. You just never know what can pop up.

When I finished reading Patrick's email, it served to remind me of a couple of things:

1. Given the business world in which we all find ourselves, it is very understandable why the biggest change I have seen in our membership since we began way back in 1988 is that 70%+ of our membership is made up of senior executives who are currently employed and who consider their membership a form of career insurance, and

2. At the end of the day, effective career management is about perserverence and linkages (aka networking). You just never know where the links will begin or where they will eventually lead.