100 Tips for Free Agent Executives

By Dale Melin

Positioning

1. Exceptional senior executives are human assets, not human resources.

2. Human assets 'Free Agents' Human resources become unemployed.

3. Human assets are investments. Human resources are expenses.

4. CEOs generally chair the 'Human Asset Investment Committee.'

5. Like most investments, human assets must be effectively marketed to realize their full market value.

6. Marketing a human asset requires positioning, packaging, promotion, selling, and negotiation.

7. Positioning defines how a person presents themselves to a market. E.g., 'Crisis manager.'

8. Position yourself according to your market(s), your competition, your objectives, and your strengths.

9. Position yourself in your written and oral presentations differently in different markets.

10. Define your competitive advantages and present them in 'Others say I'm…' form.

11. Consider whether your objectives are consistent with your strengths & performance. Adjust into balance.

12. Actions taken during the first 30 days of being a free agent are pivotal in defining an executive's future.

13. A senior executive's market value begins to diminish exponentially the tenth day of unemployment.

Packaging

14. Getting the right person's attention amidst the competitive clutter is the principal challenge in 2002.

15. Packaging includes all presentations, written and oral.

16. Package yourself according to your positioning, Create multiple packages for multiple markets.

17. Package yourself carefully. It's normal for people to try to box and label you by their perception.

18. Limit others to your choice of boxes and labels by what you write and say.

19. Create a one page Advance Letter which incorporates a mini-resume.

20. Advance Letters are less likely than cover letters with resumes to end up in Human Resources.

21. When you fall into the human resource black hole, don't get mad: Get out or move on!

22. Send a resume only when it is personally requested.

23. Maintain your resumes in modular form on computer to enable different positioning and packaging by market.

24. Create a one page introductory resume suitable for a twenty minute discussion.

25. Create a multi-page resume for in-depth consideration.

26. Present only that information in your resume about which you can be enthusiastic.

27. Place priority on quantitative accomplishments, not activities, in your resumes.

28. Keep written and oral presentations in good taste. No criticisms, 'war' stories, etc.

29. Format any resume with at least 30% 'white space' to make it aesthetically pleasing. Keep it crisp & clean.

30. Print resume on bright white, 100% cotton, high quality stationary. E.G., Crane's Crest. It is your prospectus!

Promotion

31. Never send a communication regarding your availability without calling first to open the door.

32. Send your advance Letter only to your potential boss. (CEOs, Board Directors, etc.)

33. Utilize your potential bosses' assistant to get to the boss. Most are pleased to assist when politely approached.

34. If a potential bosses' assistant is a rigid 'gatekeeper,' call the potential boss at 7 AM or 7 PM.

35. FAX and mail Advance Letters for speed and quality, respectively, and for double exposure.

36. Take copies of your resume with you when you travel.

37. Travel first class. You never know who you'll meet. This is the time to use your frequent flyer upgrades.

38. Define 'best fit' employers by matching your strenthgs and objectives with their needs.

39. Senior executive positions are seldom advertised.

40. Most senior executive positions exist in someone's mind before they materialize formally.

41. Know and use your active supporters, passive supporters, passive opponents, and active opponents.

42. Select your references only from your list of active supporters. The others may hurt you.

43. Advise executive directors of trade associations, personally, of your availability.

44. Advise centers of influence, e.g. attorneys, corporate bankers, consultants, CPAs, of your availability.

45. Chambers of commerce and local newspapers publish lists of major area employers.

46. Utilize the Internet to research companies and to learn of current opportunities.

47. Stay abreast of business changes that signal possible executive opportunities.

48. Corporate clients pay retained search firms well to pirate executives who are not looking.

49. Contingency search firms seldom receive legitimate senior executive search assignments.

Selling

50. Request a brief personal meeting with a potential boss. 1 face-to-face visit = 3 telephone visits.

51. Prepare for any interview by learning in advance as much as you can about the potential employer.

52. Research private companies by contacting knowledgeable third-parties and employees.

53. Research public companies through annual reports, proxies, 10Ks, etc. Check the Internet.

54. Interview Uniform of the Day: Navy suit, white shirt, tasteful 'power' tie/accessories, black shoes.

55. When meeting & greeting, address by surname, shake hands firmly, smile and maintain eye contact.

56. Most people, including senior executives, can learn to meet & greet better. Rehearse your first impression.

57. Interviewers try to make you comfortable: It is not an invitation to be a friend. Be respectful and enthusiastic.

58. An insightful question is worth two solid answers.

59. Prepare to ask at least ten insightful questions during any interview.

60. Be prepared with ten adjectives which best describe you. Sprinkle them into your responses.

61. Describe differences with former employers as resulting from strategic, not personal differences.

62. Strategic differences are more easily explained, are generally excused, and can be overcome.

63. Personal differences with a former boss are difficult to explain, are seldom excused, and tough to overcome.

64. Be prepared to give succinct, enthusiastic, explanations of anything on your resume.

65. If asked about your weaknesses, describe weaknesses that are strengths, e.g. 'I take my work home with me.'

66. Develop responses to all the questions you can anticipate. Have a person you trust drill you.

67. An effective interview requires confidence and competence.

68. Confidence is believing that you can handle anything that's thrown at you.

69. Competence is possession of the necessary education, experience, and skill sets to meet the challenge.

70. Stress is synonymous with 'unconfidence.'

71. Interviews should end like a successful sales close. Attempts to sell a second time may kill the sale.

72. When an interview is completed, thank the interviewer, and confidently depart.

73. Send a note of appreciation within twenty-four hours of the interview.

74. Wait silently after an interview for at least ten days, no matter how difficult.

Compensation

75. The primary pay motivation for most human resources is income generation.

76. The primary pay motivation for most human assets is wealth creation.

77. In 2002, senior executives are paid primarily for performance, reputation, and risk assumption.

78. Free enterprise is fueled by Prices & Prizes. Pay is an executive's Prize and an employer's Price.

79. Some companies pay while the sweat's wet; some to get people to hang around; most don't know why they pay.

80. Incentive compensation and bonuses are different.

81. Incentive compensation is paid while the sweat's still wet for achievement of predefined performance targets.

82. Bonuses are defined subjectively after the performance.

Negotiating

83. Consider the total executive package (TEP) when negotiating.

84. TEP consists of job content, culture, location, fixed & variable pay, benefits, retirement, perks, etc.

85. Negotiate directly with the party to whom you will report.

86. If asked, 'What will it take?', mention no numbers. Instead, respond according to Tip #87.

87. Describe categories of expected package in general terms, e.g., 'Fixed & variable pay, stock options,' etc.

88. After some discussion, request that the employer initiate negotiation by making an offer.

89. If an offer is made orally, request that it be put in writing for you to review.

90. Once an offer is on the table, negotiations can begin in earnest.

91. During negotiations, time is a luxury which you should take if it's offered or request if it's not offered.

92. Negotiations are about Prices & Prizes.

93. For every Prize they offered, there will be a Price that they expect you to pay.

94. For every Prize you offered, there is a Price that you should expect them to pay.

95. Insist that negotiations be held face-to-face where body language is on full display.

96. Good eye contact, genuine smiles, facial and body ease are typically positive body language.

97. Breaks in eye contact, body shifts, clearing throat, and hands to the face are typically negative body language.

98. Use another persons' positive body language to advance; negative body language to pause or retreat.

99. If negotiations falter or fail, express your desire to get them back on track. Keep bridges intact!

100. It's said, 'Cry when they laugh; laugh when they cry.' Never laugh in personal negotiations without leverage.

Chiefs copyright 2002 dalemelin1@aol.com