The percentage of executives who would consider changing industries has hovered in the low 70s for the last few years in response to an Executive Job Market Intelligence survey, yet search firm professionals and corporate recruiters rarely look outside the sector walls for qualified candidates.
"Industry-specific experience" remains firmly lodged in the top three critical characteristics that corporations seek; but as the talent shortage tightens, recruiters are beginning to widen their nets.
Executive search firm recruiters report that 17 percent of their 2006 assignments were filled by candidates outside the client company's industry, compared to 14 percent the year prior, and corporate human resource professionals echo the 17 percent industry switch.
"One of the primary roadblocks that executives face in transitioning to a new industry is that recruiters and employers don't see them as they wish to be seen — with the fundamental skills and knowledge to be effective in a new industry," executive résumé writer Louise Kursmark of Best Impression Career Services, Inc. told ExecuNet.
For executives who have targeted another sector and are determined to make the switch, there are tactics that can aid the transition. Immersion strategies, such as joining relevant associations, attending industry conferences and subscribing to trade publications, will help you identify the need-to-know companies, executives and experts, and the best methods for communicating with them.
"Employers don't want to hire someone who can 'transfer' to their unique environment; they want someone who is already knowledgeable about it," says Kursmark. "So bone up on the language and the environment of your target industry and speak that language in your résumé and cover letter — always within the realm of the reality of your career."
Kursmark, who presents the ExecuNet FastTrack webinar
Seven Steps to a Great Executive Résumé, says there are ways executives can use their résumés and cover letters to help create the right perception:
- Emphasize job titles rather than company names.
- Use broad rather than specific terms when describing the company and the industry, and include terms that relate to your target industry (as appropriate). For example, if you want to move from old-line manufacturing to high tech, rather than saying a "$200M plastics manufacturer," describe it as a "$200M manufacturing company with
- state-of-the-art technology systems."
- Include, as appropriate, customer and vendor names that will appeal to your target industry.
- Be careful to avoid jargon that is specific to your industry.
Networking, the chief way recruiters and executives report finding career success, becomes even more critical during an industry switch. "As with other challenging transitions, it's especially important to rely on network connections to get a referral to your target companies," Kursmark advises. "Then you're not one of hundreds or thousands of candidates for a job posting, where it's easy for the recruiter to screen you out based on industry incompatibility."
"It may be of greater value to hire someone who is successful in a related industry than a candidate from a weaker competitor," says Lauryn Franzoni, vice president of ExecuNet's Executive Career Management and Networking Services, in the company's fifteenth annual
Executive Job Market Intelligence Report.
Temper expectations with realism when making an industry change, as the end-goal may require a stop along the way. Completing a transition from the vice president of finance in the pharmaceutical industry to CFO in an entertainment company might involve a hybridized, lateral or consulting position first where experience and more specific industry knowledge — and connections — can be gained.
Robyn Greenspan
Senior Editor, ExecuNet
Robyn.Greenspan@execunet.com
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