Episode 20 - You’re Working for the Opportunity. Someone Else Is Networking for It
You can be ready for the bigger opportunity and still be looking for it in completely the wrong way.
A lot of senior executives start with what is available.
They look at advertised appointments.
They speak to recruitment firms.
They see what is currently on the market and decide whether any of it suits them.
But if that is all you are doing, you are only choosing from the opportunities that already exist.
And you are competing with everyone else who has arrived at the same starting line.
At senior level, you need to work further ahead than that.
You need to be thinking about where you actually want to work, which organisations interest you and who could help you understand what is happening inside those businesses before they are looking for somebody.
Because by the time a senior appointment is advertised, a lot may already have happened.
In this episode, I talk about:
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Why waiting for advertised opportunities can put you into the conversation too late
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Why I start with organisations rather than job listings when someone wants a bigger role
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How the right relationships can give you useful market intelligence
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Why the role you are preparing for today may look different in two years
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What happened when I helped an experienced Non-Executive Director trace where his previous opportunities had actually come from
A useful question to ask yourself is:
Which organisations would I genuinely like to work with before they are looking for someone like me?
Then look at your network.
Who do you already know there?
Who could introduce you?
Who could give you a better understanding of what is changing inside that organisation?
You are not asking for a job.
You are getting closer to the market you want to move into.
Because while you are working to become qualified for the opportunity, somebody else may already be building the relationships that put them in the conversation for it.
The bigger opportunity does not start when the appointment is advertised.
You need to be closer to it before it becomes public.
If this is something you’re working through in your own executive profile, you can find out more about my advisory work here:
And if you want to stay connected, you’ll find me on LinkedIn here:
