Managing your career: the new realities

Communication World, Feb, 1997 by Sharon Voros

For communication professionals who have often spent a significant chunk of their careers positioning themselves as key corporate players, these realities mean a new set of criteria. Although communicators are still typically excluded from the small cadre of management insiders who decide to re-engineer or downsize, they are usually responsible for presenting re-engineering to employees in a palatable, credible way. Communicators risk being suspected of disloyalty when they caution top management against sugarcoating the facts, and they must walk a fine line between crafting positive "spins" and compromising their professional integrity. Although the need for high-quality communication has never been more pressing, communication executives have seen their staffs reduced or eliminated as a non-essential function. They are increasingly serving as "general contractors," orchestrating the efforts of outsourced writers, artists, publicists and other tacticians.

What to Expect from a Search Firm

Executive search professionals help clients define what kind of managers they need and advise them about the talent that's available. Most of the time, we recruit individuals who are employed elsewhere - not people "on the market." However, over the last two years we've noticed a fundamental shift in how executives view their careers. It used to be difficult to pry a top communication executive loose from a senior corporate position. Now, as one of our partners says, "No one doesn't take a recruiter's call." A survey of 1,880 executives that my firm conducted last year with Cornell University's Center for Advanced Human Resources explores why:

* Today's executives are working harder than they want to. They're also carrying a heavier emotional load. Most managers work an average of 57 hours per week, nine hours more than they desire. Since 1993, stress levels caused by 16 factors, including corporate politics, volume of work managed, time spent at the office, red tape and time pressure have gone up an average of 25-30 percent.

* Executives are less committed to their present companies, even though they are basically satisfied, receiving raises and promotions. The old social contract between companies and their employees has expired: Neither unconditional loyalty nor even doing good work guarantees a job. Unable to count on their companies for permanent employment, nearly three in 10 executives say they will leave their current positions as soon as they find something better.

* Executives are moving into high gear to change jobs. Although most executives are relatively satisfied and say they have opportunities for promotion, they are exploring the job market more actively than they did two years ago. More than three-quarters of respondents revised their resumes, sent them to prospective employers or went to job interviews. They also spent several hours per week looking for new positions and contacted 29 companies about possible job opportunities.

* Top performers are highly marketable. Despite re-engineering and downsizing, companies are actively seeking management talent. In the past year, respondents were approached by more than six companies and received an average of one job offer. Three-quarters of survey respondents believe they have alternative employment possibilities.

* Culture fit is a key indicator of job satisfaction and job search. If the corporate culture of their current employers closely matches the culture of their ideal companies, executives are significantly less likely to explore new opportunities. The survey findings show that executives want their companies to be market-driven, innovative, outcome-oriented and respectful. The greater the discrepancy between executives' ideal corporate cultures and the cultures of their current employer, the more likely they are to be dissatisfied and to explore new jobs. This culture fit discrepancy accounts for more than 60 percent of executives' job satisfaction levels and intention to leave the current company.

* Most executives actively practice "defensive career management." Three-quarters say they try to stay aware of alternative job prospects - even if they have no intention of changing positions. Nearly 80 percent do so as part of their "career management strategy." As the corporate world continues to downsize, eliminating employees at all levels in the interest of productivity and profitability, executives have become more aggressive about managing their own careers. The survey results confirm that individual career management is now widespread and systematic, and that executives spend a significant portion of time directing their own career paths. The key to career success in the new executive marketplace is not just networking or being in the right place at the right time. It's accepting the idea that it's good for your career to change jobs every two to four years. Corporations seek executives with a variety of experience: 15 years with one organization suggests an inability to adjust to new circumstances and lack of flexibility. Employers are less interested in how many promotions you had at your last company than the various functions you've managed. Recently we recruited a vice president of communication for a Fortune 1000 telecommunications/computer corporation. The client sought an individual who had PR agency experience, marketing experience at a consumer products company, and background designing and executing a global identity program, preferably from an overseas location, on an outsourced basis. They also wanted superior oral and written communication skills and boardroom presence.