There are a huge number of jobs at the executive level and many of these positions are very critical to the success of an organization. There are chief information officers, chief privacy officers, directors of personnel and directors of advertising that are vacant in many companies.
At some companies, even the chief executive officer slot has been vacated through retirement, voluntary termination, or by mandate of the board. In many of these instances, they have other officers; usually the CFO who will step in as acting head but this is a stopgap measure. A CEO must be selected in a timely manner. If a company is going to make the CFO its new chief executive officer, it will need to be done in an expedient manner so the business will again have the official direction that it needs.
If you are hoping to find a job of a chief executive job, you need to be prepared before you begin searching for these positions. This preparation begins in college. Marketing studies, finance, accounting, and business are all courses that will help you be prepared for the responsibilities that come with many executive positions. You should concentrate on your studies in college and try to take courses that will provide you with a well-rounded background and education. International travel is also a useful tool to have in your arsenal. Even if you have limited oversea travel, it will help you move up the career ladder.
When a job hunter wants to increase his chances of getting the executive level position he is interested in, he will often engage the services of a recruiting firm. These are specialized executive recruiting companies that only deal with the higher-level management positions. A job applicant can sign with them and ask them to help get his/her resume to the company’s personnel department. These executive headhunters often work very closely with certain companies. They do have connections that they can use to help their clients. This does not guarantee that you will get a job or even an interview; it is just an available avenue that some people use.
An executive job applicant is expected to turn in a professional resume that is neat, concise, and up to date. The resume should have a cover letter attached. Well-prepared executive job candidates will also have a short list of references that they can provide at a moment’s notice.
Networking and contacts will definitely help someone who is aiming for one of the company’s executive jobs. Who you know is important, but also what you do is very important. The people who are tapped to move into chief executive officer jobs are usually those who started with the company when they first graduated from college. If you have been working with the same company for at least 20 years, you have already positioned yourself to at least have a shot at a CEO position.
On an average, when it comes to executive level positions, employees will spend about 4-5 years at each post and then be advanced one level higher. Higher-level management employees who take jobs at other companies have less chance of moving up the ladder than employees who are already there. There are some exceptions to this rule. Companies love to wheel and deal and attract the superstar executives of other competing businesses to their own ranks. These people are often given higher pay and higher positions as a reward for making the move.
More companies today are also tapping people who are in the finance divisions of a company for CEO slots. In fact it is a statistical fact that if you are a CFO now you have an excellent shot at the more lucrative and prestigious CEO position.
The financial reporting at board meetings, which take place every quarter, is becoming more important and the people that are successfully handling this responsibility are garnering more interest. As a CFO, you are responsible to the CEO and the board but when you become a CEO, the stockholders will pressure the board any time they are unhappy with your performance.
