Career Chaos

EXECUTIVE EXODUS

Despite the improving employment market, there are still a lot of unhappy executives out there. According to a recent survey of 147 employed executives by ExecuNet (executive job search and employment network), "67% are not satisfied with their current jobs – up from 55% in July 2005 – and of those who are not satisfied, 78% plan to change companies in the next six months."

What's up with that? I thought executives called the shots. Why are they so unhappy?

The survey gave five main reasons:

1. Poor company culture
2. Limited opportunity for advancement
3. Lack of challenge or personal growth
4. Compensation (not high enough? - come on!)
5. Boss is not a good match

Dave Opton, founder of ExecuNet, summed it up this way: "Companies have neglected retention for too long and now that the competition for talent is heating up, many are responding with too little, too late."

The executives that responded to this survey had been on their jobs an average of 6 years and earned around $171,000. (I repeat - compensation not high enough? - come on!)

My response to this survey is mixed. If executives are unhappy with the company culture, why don't they try to change it? At their level, wouldn't they have some influence? As for not getting along with their boss, in what perfect world are they looking to live? This survey just goes to prove that executives share the same job satisfaction issues as the people they are trying to lead.

MANNERS MATTER

"Being gracious in life will carry you far," espoused United States Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser. Attending my son's college graduation ceremony, I listened intently as Kooser delivered the keynote address. Speaking to the graduates, he assured them that his words would be brief and forgave them in advance if they didn't remember much of his speech. I was instantly attracted to the manner of this 35-year-career insurance man turned poet, so hurriedly reached for a scrap of paper to scribble a few notes.

Kooser told the graduates that when they left the university with diploma in hand they needed only one other thing to enter the world - a box of blank thank you notes. He asked these young achievers to heed his one bit of advice as they began their new lives. Yes, they needed thank you notes to acknowledge their graduation gifts, but more than that, they would need thank you notes throughout their journey of lifelong learning.

Graduates aren't the only ones who can go far by being gracious. How many bridges can be built with a simple thank you! Looking back over the years since I launched my coaching business, I can point to several instances when doors were opened due to my thank you notes. One particular time stands out.

After finding my website on the Internet, a local television reporter contacted me for an on-camera interview about career coaching. Immediately following the interview, I wrote out a thank you card and mailed it to her. She called me a couple days later, pleased to get the thank you note, saying this was the first one she had ever received for doing an interview. We chatted briefly, and she asked if she might refer another reporter to me who was doing a feature series on career challenges. Meeting with the second reporter resulted in my being interviewed two more times on local TV in one summer! Would this have happened if I had not sent a thank you note? Maybe, but I believe my thank you note to the first reporter caused her to refer me.

Everyone wants to feel appreciated, even a television reporter who finds herself in the spotlight everyday. When we omit the "thank you," we take people for granted - in a way telling them that they don't really matter. Showing your appreciation is not only a matter of expressing good manners, it is a gesture that will help you reap many rewards.

GET KNOWN TO GET RESULTS

Since the demise of job security, YOU are in charge of your own career as if you were in charge of your own company: CEO of Me, Inc. (Branding Guru, Tom Peters, first labeled this workplace shift in 1997.) Just as entrepreneurs are advised to build business by integrating four key strategies - publishing, public speaking, networking, and creating a website - these actions can also work for you!

To close a business deal (i.e., get a job!) as CEO of Me, Inc., do the following:

• Publish - Write expert articles to attract interest in YOU, your personal brand. Research what your target market (i.e., potential employer) reads, then submit articles to print and online publications. Get acknowledged!
• Present - Develop expert presentations using the above approach. Contact event organizers to offer your speaking skills. Professional groups welcome presenters who don't charge fees. Get seen!
• Network - Meet and greet hiring authorities where they hang out: civic organizations, nonprofit boards, fund raising events, the golf course... Get involved!
• Create a Website - Put your resume on its own website, then list the URL on your business cards used for networking. Get connected!

Visibility builds credibility. Become a commodity a company must have!