You should always be looking ahead in your career. Even if you are happy with your current job, you should prepare now for a future job campaign. One way to prepare yourself is through your performance on the job. Work hard to excel at your present position. You aren't going to have much of a career if you can't do something, and you aren't going to move up unless you can do it well.
You should also work hard to make yourself visible. Make sure that you are observed while performing and that the right people know about you and recognize your accomplishments. For example, if you just got a new job, ask to have a publicity release sent to trade magazines, your local newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications. It's good publicity for your company, but more important, it's good publicity for you. Headhunters use such releases as a source of candidates.
Another way to be visible is to write articles for professional magazines and journals, and present papers at professional conventions and symposiums. Become an active member of professional associations so that people from other companies get to know you and the type of work you can do.
If you are called by a headhunter, either for a job or for recommendations, cultivate the contact and be as helpful as you can. If you are asked about your own background and are interested in the job, take the opportunity to advertise yourself and your accomplishments. In general, do everything you can to become an expert in your work, improve your performance, and let as many people as possible in your industry know.
Should I try a new function in midcareer?
It is very difficult to change functions, especially if you are unemployed. Once you are hired, you will need to invest considerable time learning the new function before you reach parity with your old job level and compensation. On the other hand, changing functions may be worthwhile to get you out of a rut or allow you to attain a new level of achievement. In this case, you may need to take one step backward in order to take three steps forward.
Whether you want to accept the risks of a midcareer change for a career in a new business function is a decision that you must make yourself. To minimize the risks, you should find out as much as you can about your aptitude in the new area. Take interest tests at a local college or a psychological testing service. Next, talk to your present employer about your desires. You may be able to transfer departments in your present company. In this case, you need only adjust to a new function, rather than to both a new function and a new company.
Do you have any special tips for women executives seeking jobs in traditionally male fields?
Not too long ago, I was approached by a young woman who had been a buyer in a major aerospace firm for several years. She had recently obtained an MBA in marketing and wanted to be a marketing manager.
Her own company discouraged her, however, and would not permit her to transfer to marketing. She wanted to know whether I thought she could become a marketing manager in a major aerospace company, a function clearly male dominated.
My answer was that she could, but that it was going to be tough and that she should be prepared for some hard knocks and a longer than usual campaign. The key was to use the techniques I recommend for everyone: She must prove that she was clearly superior by documenting past accomplishments in the same or a similar job. And, more than ever, she must thoroughly understand the market, the customer, and the product before she interviewed. I sent her on her way thinking that if she was willing to relocate geographically she could probably get the job she wanted in three or four months.
But I was wrong. She applied the techniques and got the job she wanted after only a six week campaign. Nor did she need to relocate. Although this type of job in this particular industry is still usually held by a man, any manager has to be primarily interested in the bottom line of his (or her) organization. If you can convince the people that your presence will improve the organization's performance, you'll get the job.
