The CEO of a company is expected to run almost all of the company's operations. If things go badly, he or she gets the blame. It's a high stress position with unpredictable hours and lots of demand on your time and energy that make up for the significant rewards that come with it. A CEO Job search has been said to be the most competitive, rigorous interview process outside of running for political office.
So, if you've been looking at CEO Job descriptions and wondering if you could do that job, you may be a little worried. After all, it takes a lot to be the CEO of a company. Here's how to know whether you're right for the job, and how to get it if you are. It'll take a lot of work and careful planning, but if you can land that job, you'll be in an amazing spot in your career.
First, you're unlikely to be hired as a CEO unless you're already a top executive. COO and similar positions are generally considered good stepping stones to a CEO Job. Sometimes exceptional people are hired from lower management positions, and you can be a CEO with just about any background at all. However, you should have a lot of management experience and be very familiar with the operations of the company if you're going to be applying for CEO jobs.
Often, people hired for this kind of position have been CEO at other companies. That's because the current job tenure for CEO positions is fairly short - about four years. There's a good chance that anyone hired as a CEO will be let go eventually, and you should expect that if you're going for these jobs. What you need to do while you're in the position, or before you get there, is to take a look at what's called your personal brand.
This refers to what others think of when they hear your name. Manage your personal brand correctly, and it'll work just like a product brand. People will have good associations with your name, and they'll consider hiring you for their top positions. Manage it poorly, and they'll have bad or even no associations with you. How do you know if your personal brand is in a good place to become a CEO? There's a good chance you'll know when you start getting offers from other businesses trying to woo you away from your current position.
If your personal brand and career aren't being managed correctly, there are a few things you can do. Don't just meet expectations in your current position - exceed them. Get as high up the ladder as you can, and make sure you get noticed. Just remember that brand control requires getting noticed for the right things, not the wrong ones. Get your marketing materials in order, too.
CEOs need a lot more than a resume. They should have a current press kit in both online and paper varieties. That'll have a professional bio, articles about them, press releases, information about key accomplishments and more, in addition to a top notch resume. This press kit needs to be ready long before you get started looking for CEO jobs. Of course, most people looking for CEO positions are in demand, so even if they have the skills to put together their own press kit, their time is usually needed elsewhere. Hire a professional to manage your personal branding and put together your press kit.
You have to be proactive in managing your reputation, and stay highly visible in and out of your particular industry. Know what you look like when your name is searched for using the Internet, use social media, and know how to deal with media in general. Avoid using methods that will taint your personal brand, though. You don't want to be associated with someone else's branding!
You'll need to do some research if you're looking at a new CEO position, too. You need to always be on top of current employment and industry trends. Have a career management method in place and a good grasp on market and business intelligence. It's vitally important for anyone who wants to be a CEO to know exactly what's going on at all times.
Haven't interviewed in a long time? If you're looking at one of the most competitive types of job out there, that could be making you nervous. Treat interviews as an opportunity to communicate why you have value to the company that no one else does. Show how you'll add influence and credibility to the company. Strong branding helps here, too - it lets you communicate your value easily.
If your job search for CEO positions is taking longer than it feels like it should, there are things you can do. If you're in a position already, work harder on it. If you're between positions, don't give the impression that you're unemployed. Instead, take a sabbatical, be an entrepreneur in residence, get involved in a cause that's got a very high profile, or take a consulting assignment in the meantime. It should never look like you need a position - that'll make people wonder how good a CEO you could be.
Get a coach that knows what he or she is doing, if you can. It's like an actor having a manager, an author having an agent, or an athlete's coach. Good management will allow you to find CEO jobs easily. You've got to constantly be on the lookout for opportunities, and having good backup can help!
