How Executives can Reinvent Themselves in Order to Enhance Job Prospects

Faced with redundancies, decreasing budgets and unemployment, many executives are now confronting the first major setback of their careers. Here at TheLadders we have been casting a watchful eye over the serious current challenges facing the executives to whom we offer our career services. As a result of our findings, we have devised our Top Ten ways in which executives can re-evaluate their skills and recreate their careers. We believe in turning necessity into the mother of invention.

Whilst latest figures suggest that the increase in unemployment is slowing, the ONS reports that even those who have retained their positions throughout the recession are now at risk as corporations continue to cut overheads. However, we are not the bearers of doom and gloom. According recruiters posting jobs on TheLadders.co.uk, salaries continue to rise in areas such as consultancy jobs and financial management jobs.

In early 2009, an executive survey carried out by The Korn/Ferry Institute asked over one thousand unemployed executives about their experiences and expectations for the continuation of their careers. The results showed that twenty nine percent of those partaking in the survey had never previously required more than three months in which to find a new position. In stark contrast, eighty three percent said that they now expect it will take them upwards of four months to find their next position.

With statisticians predicting a long haul ahead before our economy allows for the same opportunities as before, we are offering the following suggestions to executives to enable them to find the best managerial jobs in areas such as marketing, finance and technology in order to move forward with confidence in the current climate:-

1. Confidence. Change your attitude and discover personal confidence. For many long term employees, believing they are part of a company and a skilled individual is the first hurdle.

2. Have an idea of what you want to do. Before packing up your desk it is important to know what makes you tick. What pastimes do you enjoy? What challenges do you relish? What motivates you? Write them down and think about them. This may indicate a new direction or highlight skills you can bring to your existing organisation.

3. Be ambitious but be realistic: Everyone dreams of writing a novel. However, without any experience of writing a story, the leap is simply too risky. Invention is about turning what you know into a reality.

4. Make sure you have a market. Research your new career goal online to ascertain if there is a need for your new skill package. Look at which companies are doing well and how your skills could transfer into a role there.

5. Rebuild your CV. Look at your career goals, your skills and your experience and go to a professional CV writer. Their experience will enable you to translate those skills into demonstrable claims on your CV.

6. Go back to school. Learning new skills may be important to your career change. T his process will require commitment, so consider carefully which classes will enhance your prospects. Additional training and University courses can lead to qualifications which can help you move to the next level, or make a change in direction with confidence. Network at local business events, attend Conferences and go to exhibitions.

7. Discuss your career change. Confide in trusted colleagues past and present. Seek the help and advice of their friends and businesses colleagues. They may be able to give you directional feedback and help you focus with the benefit of their wisdom and insight.

8. Find the Opportunities. A new direction may mean a new route to finding roles. Look on executive job sites like The Ladders to find positions that tick your requirements. Identify which type of companies and recruiters are advertising these roles. Look at industry associations, networking groups online and offline to produce a target companies list.

9. Don’t leave it to the letter. Too many job applicants send their CV and wait to hear whether they made the shortlist. A new career seeker needs to sell his or her self. Be prepared to call recruiters and outline why you should be considered for the role. Sell yourself as you would sell your business.

10.Stay focused. Your ideal role may not fall into your lap immediately so you may end up having to work elsewhere to continue to earn. However, stay focused and keep applying. Don’t lose sight of the opportunity that this downturn could present. Be positive and honest about what you offer.

There are still many important and exciting opportunities out there to be filled. Companies are looking for talented individuals, so executives may need to start showcasing skills that they have thought of as unimportant until now. Being part of the recovery is a valuable position to hold, and executives who have the experience and skills to reinvent themselves and the sectors in which they will work are worth their weight in gold. Stay positive and be flexible. Change means opportunity and it’s often a time when individuals can make an even greater impact.