EditorialsBy Matt Bud, Chairman, The FENG

The volume of your responses to job leads posted in our evening newsletter is always a concern of mine.

With the strengthening job market for senior financial officers, one of the many things we have going for us AT THE MOMENT is our fine relationship with the search community.

(Be sure to have recruiters register at our website if they are not already Friends of The FENG. There is a new “Recruiter Toolbox” available to them once they do which allows them to explore our demographics. I can assure you they will find this toolbox to be of great interest.)

While it may be true that the viability of the major posting boards as a resource for recruiters is limited for senior level jobs, that in no way relieves each of us individually of the responsibility to respond to jobs posted in THIS newsletter ONLY if we are reasonably qualified. (If you wouldn’t hire you, don’t respond.)

In our niche of senior financial officers, our goal is to be the best resource for search professionals, whether they are with corporations or with recognized search firms. Every day, those who are trying to find qualified executives for their financial assignments make a choice whether to send in a posting to our organization or whether to try to quietly network their way to the right candidate. With all the folks out in the market, an over response pushes them in the direction of not posting.

Throwing paper against the wall on the off chance that someone won’t notice that you are in no way a fit doesn’t benefit you and harms The FENG. I don’t in any way want to sit in judgment as to who should and who shouldn’t respond to our postings. I have neither the time nor the inclination to do so. After all, you know your background better than I do.

I would only ask each of you to consider the possibility that we live in a finite world. By this I mean there are a limited number of search professionals. And, those who work for search firms tend to specialize. If they identify you as wasting their time, they are liable to just hit the delete key for that one opportunity where you actually are a good fit.

To send your resume by “clicking and shooting,” with no cover letter and no explanation as to why you are applying, gives off a clear signal that you are not taking your application seriously. It has been my experience that when you receive a resume from someone who is a fit, they will have taken the time to make their submission customized in some manner. By their taking the time to demonstrate their fit, they are assuring the reader that they aren’t wasting his/her time.

If you want to be perceived as someone who is desperate, that is your decision, but it won’t help your case. The court of appeals for job search doesn’t require anyone to show you more courtesy than you have shown them.

If you see an opportunity of interest, please apply. If it isn’t local and they want only local candidates, be sure to include information on why this location makes sense to you and your family. If you don’t have direct industry experience and they have asked for it, take the time to draw an analogy between where you have worked and the opportunity in question.

The FENG is the goose that lays golden eggs. Let’s keep our organization in good health by showing respect to those who post with us.

Acting obviously desperate isn’t going to get you where you need to be.

Regards, Matt

Comments are closed.

OUR SPONSORS:

cfo