I have been searching for a new job for almost a year now and am wondering if there is something in my CV and /or background that is holding me back.
My professional career started in a treasury business; first as a dealer and then as a treasury manager in one of the most international engineering companies in Finland. Following this I moved to a public listed company which was unfortunately taken over by a larger firm leading to the elimination of my position as treasury manager. However I remained in the company as a Business Controller, predominantly in charge of the international growth projects (acquisitions); going on to become both the Business Controller of the press distribution division and the Director of the International operations of the same business area.
During the last six years I have been working mostly with the acquisition projects; heading market studies, entire business plans, commercial deal negotiations, valuations and takeovers/integration projects. As well as dealing with the daily routines of running businesses in five former Eastern-European countries, with turnover of approximately EUR 90 million and with personnel of almost 600.
Last year I received many good job offers through BlueSteps. All of which were unfortunately based abroad which is unsuitable for me as I have 3 small kids. I still regret passing up one job offer, which I received approximately 3 years ago from one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in Scandinavia, for the position of Director of Finance.
For the last year I have been searching for a MD position in small/medium sized companies. I feel I have broad enough experience with this type of position and I don’t have any particular preference for an industry. I haven’t yet had the chance to show my skills in a MD position, but I would certainly like to do that sooner or later. Any advice or comment on my background and what I am looking for?

I want you to take a step back and re-read your question from the position of an outside observer. If you do this with honesty you will see that your question is not really a question at all, but rather a discussion; and while interesting, it raises several points and detours that could confuse and lose your audience.

Let’s look at the big picture. If you had a job offer that you now regret you did not take, that leads me to believe that you may not have fully thought out or articulated what you really wanted at the beginning of your search. Since most searches end up having unexpected twists and turns and opportunities that you did not consider at the outset, it is advisable to outline some unexpected opportunities and think about how you would react to them; and this is the key, before you are presented with them.

You need to determine what your goals are and prepare a concise outline of who you are and how your experience can solve problems for future employers. You need a compact elevator pitch that has impact. This will come after you have worked your background into hard hitting storylines that have meaning. When confronted with a work problem what did you do? What actions did you take and what were the results? After you have searched out your work experience you will have several storylines to work with. Now work them over until you distill the essence from it. Now you will have the ammunition for relaying relevant elevator pitches in your search.

If you do this and re-write your question, how would it look? I am looking forward to reading that question so please do some homework and feel free to write again and we can go back together and explore your background further.

Categories: Executive Career Management, Rubin's Cube - Career Q&A
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Is a well written 1st person narrative resume style acceptable? Some recruiters obviously prefer a bullet style resume while others prefer a narrative style. Should I have two?

Yes a well written 1st person narrative resume is acceptable, and further it is suggested that you have both. I think that this approach is a good way to develop hard hitting story lines that have impact. Further distilled, these story lines become background for developing a traditional bullet point style resume.

The narrative and bullet point style resumes can become circular and reinforce each other. Reading a narrative style resume before an interview will help the job searcher when it comes time to expand on those bullets that the interviewer is reviewing.

Categories: Executive Resumes, Rubin's Cube - Career Q&A
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I left my previous employer, initiated by them but mutually agreed, in mid-January. Given my seven years of company experience, they requested and I agreed to continue to work as a paid, retainer-based consultant. As I am still actively engaged (as a 1099 resource instead of FT employee), is it reasonable to state that I am still “with” my previous employer, or do I have to amend my resume to denote my change in employment status?

Let’s think about this from the employer’s perspective. What would you think if you found out that a prospective employee had offered information in their resume that was questionable? The facts suggest that you are no longer a FT employee. Transparency and clarity play to a person’s character. I would suggest that it is appropriate to list the change in employment status on your resume. That said there is a reason why your employer is offering you this work. You are adding value to your former employer. Now let’s examine this value you are providing and search out some talking points on this work that you will be proud to outline in an interview. By the way you structured this question, your gut was telling you something and my recommendation is that you follow your instincts on this one.

Categories: Executive Resumes
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There are more and more talks about US companies expanding their international activities in order to make use of the low USD currency.
Do you see this reflected in the demand for high level executives with international experience?
I am German, working in the US for 1.5 years as CEO of the Americas activities of a German multinational, 2 bn USD sales in North and South America.
Having lived and worked in Mexico and Portugal before, I consider myself as a strongly internationally experienced general manager.

How do you see the market for people like myself evolving?

The recent surge in US exports is partially a result of the falling value of the USD. As low cost economies continue to expand around the globe, this expansion creates opportunities for US companies to supply them goods and services. These economic trends are supporting a growing demand for skilled managers that have international experience. Your background will lend itself well to participate in this global expansion.

Categories: Business Trends, Expatriate Careers, Recruitment Trends
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By Louise Fletcher

When you go shopping for a new car, do you send an email to all the dealers in your area, asking if they’ll please let you buy one of their cars? How about when you need a new pair of shoes. Would you walk around the mall looking for a store that would consider accepting you as a customer?

Of course not! You choose the car you want. You look at all the shoes on offer and select the ones you like. You are in control of those decisions – you make a choice.

So why is it so different when it comes to job search? Why, instead of shopping around for a position that suits them, do so many executives ask random companies to hire them?

And why do so many people jump at the first job that’s offered, whether or not it’s a good fit?

I really don’t think it needs to be that way for most people. I think it’s possible to completely change the way you think about your job search - to shift gears from asking someone to hire you, to shopping around for the opportunity that best suits you.

Don’t get me wrong. I understand that financial concerns can sometimes force us to take less-than-perfect positions - but in those cases, you can take the emergency job and still apply the principle I’m going to talk about here to find the job that is right for you in the long-term.

The shift I want you to make is to first understand that you are uniquely valuable. You have a set of skills, experiences and accomplishments that no one else has. And there are many organizations who need what you have to offer. This applies whether you are a new entrant into the job market or a seasoned executive.

Your goal during job search should not be to randomly fire out thousands of copies of your resume - but to find and contact those companies who need what you have to offer. In other words, look for the people who are buying what you’re selling.

There are 3 steps to shopping for the right job:

1) Know who you are.
You can’t know who needs you, until you truly understand what you have to offer.

I call this ‘defining your value proposition.’ To do this, think about what others say about you. Consider when you’re at your best. Think back over your work history. Identify exactly how you add value to your employers. As an example, my value proposition is:

I combine prior experience as a Human Resources executive, and my knowledge of marketing, to write resumes that help people get the job of their dreams.
What’s yours?

2) Define your Target Market
Now that you know what your strengths are, you can start to select companies who value those strengths. For example, if you’re a retail employee whose biggest strength is being able to connect with customers and make them feel good, look for retailers who truly value customer service - not just in their slogans but in their actions - and then write a resume that highlights your customer service talents.

If you’re an executive whose strength is turning around struggling operations, research to find companies in need of those skills and approach them directly with a resume that highlights exactly what you have done in those areas.

If you’re a web designer with a special talent for designing websites that sell, highlight that as your value proposition and create a resume centered on that to send to all the web design agencies in your area. Your resume will appeal to the agencies who value and need that skill set.

Will you eliminate a lot of possibilities this way? Absolutely! But they’re the wrong opportunities anyway, so they’ll eat up a lot of your time and should you be unlucky enough to get the job, they won’t make you happy.

3) Communicate Your Value Proposition
Don’t try to make your resume and cover letters a catalog of everything you’ve ever done well in your career - instead focus on communicating why you are uniquely qualified to meet the company’s needs. If customer service is your message, make that the focus of your resume and cover letter. Quote from customer ‘thank-you’ letters or performance reviews to support your claims. Highlight accomplishments that relate to good customer service. Use every word to show why you are the PERFECT fit.

And carry this over into your interviews. Make customer service the focus of your answers to questions like ‘why should we hire you?’ and ‘What’s your greatest strength?’

This approach would be cold and manipulative if you didn’t start from your own strengths. It would be wrong to just identify what a company wants and then target all your communications towards showing you have those skills if you don’t. But when you’re starting from your authentic self - your unique value proposition - this approach is not only the most likely to secure you a position quickly, it’s the most likely to secure you the right position.

Louise Fletcher is the President of Blue Sky Resumes and the co-founder and managing Editor of Career Hub. You can read her blog at www.blueskyresumesblog.com.

Categories: Executive Resumes
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