Tag: profession

Professional Branding

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Anyone who has searched for work in the last decade has learned about the importance of the 15 second elevator speech and fine-tuning their personal brand.

Many have rejected this sales and sound-bite oriented approach to career progress as being undignified, unprofessional and personally demeaning.   Most have learned that this approach is required for even a scrap of success.

Modern recruiters and counselors advise that “it’s not about you”.   It’s about what a hiring manager or screener are seeking.   A generalist brand, multiple professions, multiple industries or a complex story are deal-breakers.   Hiring agents are seeking an exact match.  A Swiss Army knife has no perceived value.

Job seekers are well-advised to network broadly, but to focus on opportunities with a clear match of experience to requirements.   Hiring managers want to be sure that professional skills and experience are solid.  Degrees, majors, certification and prior job titles provide 90% of the evidence.  It is a rare recruiter or hiring manager who will really dig deeply into technical skills.  Interviewers also know if they are seeking a specialist or generalist within a profession.  Candidates should tailor their resume, cover letter and answers to one or the other.  A state and local tax specialist is hired for very different reasons than a division controller.

Most businesses strongly prefer candidates to demonstrate mastery of a single profession, even for entry-level positions.  General management majors are handicapped in the job search.

In addition to being technically proficient, most firms want applicants to be dedicated to and knowledgeable about their industry.  There are many reasons.  Learning industry jargon, technology and the basis of competition takes time.  Industry veterans truly believe that their industry is different and special.  Sharp managers understand that turnover is lower for industry specialists.  Most industries have a well-established culture and a leading function (merchants, scientists, deal-makers, architects).  Like most clubs, they prefer to hire familiar faces.

A wide range of professional, industry and project experience is of great value within a firm.  Unless an individual is able to sell very specialized technical skills or are seeking work through a consulting firm, they must stay focused on a simple story line when searching for a new firm.  “Cost accountant – heavy manufacturing” sells well.  “Management accountant with project success in various industries” sends vague signals.

A specialized industry and professional brand is required today.

Too Much Specialization

tomkapostasyLeave a comment

Companies are well-advised to temper their desires for a perfect professional and industry match in the hiring process.

For each opening, decide if a professional specialty is required, preferred or unimportant.   A senior avionics research engineer requires an exact match.  A senior process engineer might have a six sigma black belt, or not.  An entry-level tax accounting position could be filled by any accounting of finance graduate.

If a position has a clear technical career path, the specialty is more important.  If a position often leads to a manager role with broader responsibilities, the specialty is less important.

If the firm competes in a large industry like medicine or distribution, an industry experience screen makes business sense.  If the firm is in a niche industry like timeshare swaps, association management or oil drilling services, the larger candidate pool from a broader range of industries may be wiser.

Within a firm, some functions require more industry experience for success.  Product managers, product engineers and sales managers need to be experts in their field.  Support functions like IT, HR, accounting, legal and facilities may not require industry experience.  Most entry-level positions can be filled by trainees who are eager to learn.

If the firm is in a new, fast growth industry, then hiring from other industries may be a necessity.

If the firm is struggling to compete in an industry undergoing change, hiring from another industry may be required to insert world-class experience and lead that change.

In general, organizations have found that specialized professional and industry experience are good predictors of hiring success.   Adding a pinch of common sense will reduce the search cost and provide superior candidates in some situations.