Cindy Kraft wrote a blog just yesterday called CFOs Really Can Move On and Up! which deals with how a CFO can position themselves for the CEO role. 

So this CFO Move last week really caught my attention. 

Courtesy of Xerox Corporation

Luca Maestri, CFO of Xerox, let his company know that he would be taking a position with a new company. This is not an uncommon occurrence. 

He also informed his employer that he will be taking on the role of Controller at his new employer. This does not happen often. 

Now you need to keep in mind that the new employer is Apple. But it is not like he was working for a small company either as CFO. He was working for Xerox! 

So why would a CFO at one company become a Controller at another company? 

I have not had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Maestri about his decision. I’m sure he had good reasons. If Mr. Maestri was consulting with me about the move I would most probably tell him that I think it’s a great move. 

However, most CFOs are so focused on moving forward in their career and getting promoted that they often lose sight that the best opportunities for them may require ‘stepping down’ a little. 

Luca Maestri did just that.

As CFO, what can you learn from Luca Maestri?

My readers will know that I am a big proponent of LinkedIn for CFOs (or any other executive). You can read my previous blogs on the subject:

• 1 key difference between your LinkedIn Profile and Resume; and
• Does a CFO Need a Résumé?

While I am a fan of LinkedIn for CFOs, I think that people that are looking to hire CFOs (search firms included) that focus solely on LinkedIn are missing a large pool of talent.

Today, it is easier than ever to find talent using LinkedIn. This makes companies and some recruiters (retained and contingency firms) take shortcuts to find talent.

Is LinkedIn a great place to find talent?

Absolutely.

Is it the only place to find talent?

Absolutely not. (Read: When hiring a CFO, is LinkedIn the place to look? )

Finding talent is easy. Finding the best talent to meet the needs of a company is not. Securing that talent is even harder. Ensuring that the talent is hired, stays and delivers multiples of the value of the cost spent on hiring and compensating that talent is why a company decides to work with a quality executive search firm in the first place.

What lessons can CFOs (or other executives) learn from this?

Executives that are not actively searching for their next opportunity beware: You want to be hired by a company that understands the value of executive search and is willing to retain a quality search firm to not only find you, but secure you and keep you for the long term.

While LinkedIn Profiles are great for building personal brand and getting attention when looking (or not looking) for a job, there is one key difference between the LI Profile and your resume.

Your resume – needs to be updated when looking (actively or passively) for your next role.

Your LinkedIn Profile – MUST always be up to date.

 Why MUST your LinkedIn Profile always be up to date?

I will give you insight into something that annoys your favorite Executive Search consultant.

Companies hire my firm (Stanton Chase International) to help them hire the most appropriate executive. When working on a mandate, I use LinkedIn (in addition to other tools and methods) to do research on the people that I would like to speak with to see if they are a potential fit for my client.

Do you know what happens when I’m looking for someone who could be interesting for my search, yet they are no longer working for the company they say they are working for on LinkedIn?

They miss an opportunity.

Do you want to make sure you are found when people have an opportunity for you?

Keep your LinkedIn Profile up to date.

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My premise was that LinkedIn is more important for an employed CFO than a résumé. LinkedIn is a major component of CFO Personal Branding today, even if it is only 1 part of a multi-level effort.

LinkedIn Tips for Employed CFOs.

Update. Have an updated and complete LinkedIn Profile. Your profile should not only include your previous employers and dates of employment, but locations, industry and a short description of your roles. You should also have a short, readable and effective summary. People reading this summary should be able to quickly understand your unique value proposition.

Groups. Being a member of LinkedIn Groups allows other members in your group to view your profile, even if they are not closely connected to you. CFO Groups, like Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Network – The #1 Group for CFOs or Linked:Chief Financial Officers will allow people looking to hire CFOs to find and contact you. Industry Groups and Alumni Groups are other Groups that can allow you to be found. (You can visit my LinkedIn Profile to see which Groups I’m a part of.)

Smile. Photos are not a standard for North American résumés. On LinkedIn, your photo sets the tone for the image you want to project. However, no photo is better than an inappropriate one.

Connect. I have discussed my opinion about connections on LinkedIn before. (Read: LinkedIn Connections – What is your Policy?). The more people you are connected to on LinkedIn increases the numbers of people that can find you when they are looking for someone just like you.

Participate. Create updates to share with your network. Let your people know when you’ve read an interesting article. Comment on what your connections are sharing. Share your career successes. Participation creates visibility which allows you to stay top of mind so that people you know can remember you for opportunities that come across their path.

Plus, Tips for the Unemployed CFO.

InMail. Go to your settings and accept OpenLink messages. This allows people looking to communicate with you via InMails without it costing them (LinkedIn otherwise charges for InMails).

Let the world know. Change your profile heading and summary to indicate that you are looking for your next opportunity. This will let people who are looking for someone like you know that you are open to speaking with someone like them.

References. LinkedIn’s reference tool is very valuable. It allows other people you are connect with on LinkedIn to vouch for you. But use it wisely. If you want someone to provide a reference to you, I don’t recommend blasting people in your network. Choose wisely who you ask and how you ask – it will impact the quality of your public references as well as well as the quality of the people who give you references.

What are your recommendations for an effective LinkedIn Profile for CFOs?

Working in Executive Search, I have focused on delivering human resources of the financial kind to companies for over 11 years now. For the past couple of years, I have put significant time into a sustained and targeted social media effort to let companies (new, current and previous) and CFOs know that I understand them.

As part of this focus and effort, companies ask me to help them hire their CFOs, Chief Financial Officers ask me to help them build their finance teams, and Finance Executives reach out to me when they are in between career opportunities.

When I speak with CFOs, they ask me for my feedback on their résumé. Although I can say that I have read thousands of résumés in my career, I do not consider myself a résumé expert. From time to time I may have a piece of advice that could make the document more effective, but this is not where I add value to a Finance Executive in search of their next opportunity.

On the topic or résumés, I came across a couple of items that piqued my interest recently.

CFO Magazine published an article by David Rosenbaum entitled No Résumés Required. The title interested me. The article was interesting and worth reading, but it wasn’t what I thought it would be about. It did give me the impetus to write this blog piece, so I’m grateful to CFO Magazine for publishing it and to David for writing it.

Cindy Kraft wrote a blog titled I Just Disagree…, where she discusses her disagreement with résumé experts who recommend regular modifying of résumés depending on the position job applications. My comments on Cindy’s blog caused her to disagree with me (finally – we see eye to eye on many topics). It wasn’t actually a disagreement, but when someone says “Interesting perspective, Samuel” what they really mean is…

The premise I made in my comments on Cindy’s blog were:

CFOs who are working don’t need a résumé to attract a new opportunity. All they need is a well done LinkedIn Profile. If the person that finds them needs a résumé, they can use their LinkedIn Profile as a base. I’ve interviewed many quality people based on their LinkedIn Profile alone.

If a CFO has really done their homework and is visible, marketable and branded, the only time they need a résumé is when they are actively looking for their next opportunity.

In essence, there are 2 types of CFOs that can be hired.

• Employed
• Unemployed

The Unemployed CFO certainly does need a résumé, because it is (for now, this may change in the coming years) the recognized tool of a job seeker and the people that take employment applications.

The Employed CFO does not need a résumé, nor does he or she need to take the time to prepare one. They are not looking for a job. What an employed CFO needs is to have an appropriate Personal Brand developed, which includes, but certainly not limited to, an effective LinkedIn Profile. When I’m looking for CFOs, my research is wide and varied, and is based on the needs of my client. Whether an Employed CFO has a résumé or not is irrelevant to me. What is relevant is their experience. If they have a proper Personal Branding strategy that leaves an appropriate digital footprint, it certainly makes it easier for me and my team to find them.

I keep on being amazed every week when finalizing my team’s CFO Moves blog, and finding that CFOs who are being hired have a weak LinkedIn Profile, or none at all. In some ways, it makes me wonder how these CFOs get their new job. (Read: When hiring a CFO, is LinkedIn the place to look? ) It does prove that CFOs get their next career opportunities from various sources, but mostly from people that already know them and trust them.

Unemployed CFOs need marketing materials. A solid résumé is still necessary today, in addition to proper Personal Branding.

Employed CFOs do not need a résumé. They just need to have a proper Personal Branding Strategy. If a recruiter asks them for a résumé, they can politely mention that they are not actively looking for an opportunity at this time, and would ask them to refer to their (always) current LinkedIn Profile as a substitute.

Companies hire people, not résumés.

The topic of CFOs and their relationships with recruiters is not a new one for me. I’ve written about it before here, here, here, here and here.

This paragraph of Cindy’s got my attention:

What a waste of time for all concerned when recruiters contact CFOs for opportunities that are obviously not a good fit. Which begs the question, who is responsible for ensuring that recruiters can make an assessment based on a crystal clear value proposition and fit for culture?

So who is responsible?

Companies hire recruiters. Recruiters are working a search for a CFO using what they believe is the best approach to help the company hire. If the wrong approach is used for hiring a CFO, it is the company that hires the recruiter that bears the responsibility. If they chose the wrong type of firm for their CFO Search, then it shows that the company may be more interested in factors other than the right CFO for their needs.

Who do you think is responsible?

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So what am I talking about?

My friend, Cindy Kraft, wrote a blog yesterday about Lessons in Branding from Tim Tebow. Her points are very valid. There is certainly a lot for a CFO to learn from branding from Tebow.

She did get me thinking though. From my perspective, the one thing that differentiates Tebow from other players is Passion.

I speak with a lot of Chief Financial Officers. When I tell people that I speak to CFOs for a living, I often get an eyeroll, a sigh, and a look on their face that says “Oh, that must be boring”.

While some CFOs are bland, the majority of them are not. In many cases, knowing how to speak to them and get them interested and excited, I am able to get them to break through their shell and be themselves for me.

I agree with Cindy’s analysis of the poll results. I find it interesting that it is OK for CFOs to call every Executive Recruiter when they are looking for their next opportunity, while close to half of those polled don’t see the value in using a Search firm when they need to hire.

Can’t say I’m surprised by the results.

I love CFOs. Heck, they are my favourite people.

Except.

Except too many CFOs worry too much about cost, and not enough about value. Unfortunately for these myopic CFOs, this statement applies not only to recruitment, but to many major decisions that they take as a CFO.

Another point I find interesting is that while 30% of CFO see the value in Executive Search, 1/3 of these CFOs don’t know how to sell the value proposition internally.

To the people that responded to this poll, here is my feedback for you based on your answer:

Yes, but I’m not sure there is a worthwhile ROI: Then you haven’t asked the right questions or your search firm isn’t explaining the value of the services you are reluctantly paying for. Either ensure you get value for the search mandates you give them, or work with someone that will give you value.

No, and we do just fine recruiting top talent without them: Congratulations on this accomplishment. Hiring top talent isn’t easy. Be aware that you could be hiring mediocre talent thinking they are top talent. Also keep in mind that while you may be able to attract top talent in some areas of your company, you may still need to hire using an executive search firm for key roles.

Yes, and they are worth every penny to get top talent: I love you. Call me at +1 (201) 961-0838 for your next executive search to receive even more value than you are getting now.

No, but I wish we did: If you took this poll and answered this question, email me to let me know WHY you wish you did.

Thank you Cindy for bringing the poll to my attention (It was in my email inbox, but I didn’t get to reading it). And if you are a CFO and you are not signed up for SmartBrief for Finance, you really should be.

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As CFO of a mid-sized manufacturing company, I find that I am always busy. If I’m not getting things off my To Do list, I’m being pulled into company meetings.

I know it’s important to network, both for representing the company I work for as well as for getting myself known within my business community. Still, I can’t find the time. What can I do?

Too Busy in Two Rivers

Dear Too Busy,

The first thing you need to do is convince yourself that networking is important. If you believe networking is valuable, you will make the time for it, just like you make time for everything else in your life that you find important.

Now if you really believe that networking is important, and need help making time for it, then I have some advice for you.

Objectives

What is it that you want to accomplish with networking? The answer to this question sets the stage for how you will reach your networking objectives.

Venues

Where are you going to network? Are you going to go to local business or national industry events? Are you going to call on previous people you worked with to go to lunch and catch up?

Scheduling

If you don’t put it on your schedule, it won’t happen.

Follow up

It is nice to meet someone at an event, have a pleasant conversation and exchange business cards. But then what? If there is no follow up, what is the value in having met that person in the first place?

Pay it forward

When you think about the people that are in your network and how you can add value to them, they will keep you in mind when you least expect it. This will also allow you to call on your network in the future if you need it.

Advice from other experts

As an example of calling on people in your network to help others, I reached out to people in my network for advice that I can share with you.

Ken Tudhope, a finance recruiter in Orange County, California is a person I point to as an example of how to network. Ken, who writes a blog on networking, makes it a point to never have lunch alone. He believes that networking groups, like local Chambers of Commerce, are excellent, because they give you a great context to network. He advises CFOs to “Sign up, Show up, Follow Up and Step Up.” Ken says “When people are involved and the event is enjoyable they tend to make it a priority.”

Cindy Kraft, who is familiar to my regular readers, is an excellent CFO Career Coach. I asked Cindy how a CFO can make networking a priority. Cindy said “The same way you make anything else a priority: put it on your calendar and then honor the appointment. Networking, on a consistent basis, is one of the most valuable things you can be doing for your career. Schedule it, and then do it!”

So, Too Busy, are you still too busy to network?

If you’d like to ask Samuel a question, click here.

Build your recruiter relationships BEFORE you need them.

In my previous guest blog for Cindy How to Find the Best Recruiter for Your Needs, I brought up (among other points) how important it is to build relationships with recruiters.

For recruiter relationships to be most effective, you need to build relationships with key recruiters BEFORE you need them.

Here is why…

[Visit Cindy's Blog to read more]