The hot topic for this week is the executive search firms. They are much misunderstood, and indeed it would be dangerous (and career limiting!) for me to make generalizations about them. However there are some insights worth sharing with you, as follows:

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I attended a SIM Fairfield/Westchester event on Networking recently. All the panel members agreed that this was not something you start doing when you need a favor from others. Rather like skills training, it represents an investment in your future. Successful networking requires a balance of give and take. One of the panel, Adrie Reinders, has written an excellent book on the subject. In his book, Adrie explains how to be creative and make a first and long-lasting impression with the professionals you want to meet. He emphasizes the importance of e-networking tools like Read More »

Still no feedback, which means that you have not found this blog (how can you be reading this?) or we are not making it controversial enough. Pending your comments, we continue our one-sided point of view as follows:

So you want to get ahead by moving on to another company, eh? They do more interesting work, have better promotion prospects, pay more, and are all round nice people. You know some people in jobs you lust after, and you are ready to go for it. Well, hold on for a moment! Ever heard of the phrase “The grass is greener on the other side of the fence”? That is especially true in the IT profession. Take the case of the CIO at a big company you know. (S)he has all the power and ... Read More »

So, despite my gloomy warnings, you have decided that you want more – more seniority, more responsibility, more recognition, more reward, more pressure. OK, then let me give you some pointers of how to go about that. Firstly, remember that it won’t come to you; you have to go out and find it. Whether that is advancement within your current employer, or changing jobs for promotion, it means running a campaign just as if you were a Presidential contender. If you really want something, then I know of no better way of reaching your goals than to treat it as a classic IT project. Create a clear specification of the functionality you seek. Plan the milestones. Determine the required resources (quality and quantity). Acquire the resources you don’t already have. Manage and measure progress. Conduct gate reviews. ... Read More »

Welcome to our Career Management blog! The plan is to post a fresh and provocative point-of-view at roughly weekly intervals. The blog is written by a mythical character, Scottie, but is closely based on the career efforts of a SIM member who got pretty close to the top of our profession – that is, if you measure success in terms of financial compensation, number of staff managed, annual budget etc. 

That poses our first question – what does success look like in our chosen profession? Could it be these classical measures, where some SIM members earn several million dollars per annum, or control budgets of several billion dollars, or manage staffs of many thousands? Is that what you are going to dedicate your waking hours working towards, or are you more of a purist, seeking to make a real difference in a company, or waking up in the morning and really looking forward to another fulfilling day?

Well, as the saying goes, “Be ... Read More »