WORKSHIFTER - Dispatches from the New Executive Frontier

Step 4: Develop your CV

Part four of our five part series looking at the steps to becoming independently employed.

Let’s face it. There will be intense competition for snagging project work, short-term or permanent jobs that may be created in the coming year. Despite the current financial market turmoil, there will be companies in need of people to help them out. You can be one of them.

In this environment I cannot stress enough how important it will be to present yourself in the best way possible. Clearly outline your ability to deliver results.

Sure, there are all sorts of theories on resume types. The curriculum vitae, or CV, is what I recommend. While a résumé focuses on your job experience, a CV highlights your accomplishments in quantifiable ways. Obviously a CV is much more impressive but also much more difficult to pull together.

Unless you’ve been diligent about tracking your accomplishments all along, you’ll need to do some digging. Your goal is to create quantifiable accomplishment statements such as “Implemented call centers in eight countries 20% under budget and 25% ahead of schedule.”

In addition to the typical job experience details contained in a standard résumé, a CV will often include work samples presentations, publications, research, board memberships – that sort of thing. It’s longer than the average résumé but well worth it in the long run.

Naturally prospective clients will want to see this type of detailed document. They’ll want to make sure up front that you have the proper credentials to perform the service you're selling.

Step 5: Develop your personal business plan

It has been a busy week for Wall Street and for EPOCH! Fortunately for EPOCH, our week has been going a little better. Now more than ever, businesses and candidates alike are questioning their next moves. I’d like to use today’s post to direct readers to recent career advice I’ve given to the New York Times and to Monster.com.

During my interview with New York Times Career Couch writer Eilene Zimmerman, I stressed the importance of laying groundwork before becoming an independent consultant. It’s important to plan six months to a year prior to going out on your own and to build a network of contacts during this time. That network includes friends, colleagues, business associates, vendors and clients. Your personal business plan is equally as important as it establishes how revenue will be generated and how you will handle sales, marketing, finance, operations, expenses and fees. More of my advice and the advice of others can be found here.

Given the current economic condition, a timely article to read is “Laid Off in Financial Services- 11 Job Options to Consider” by Denise DeZube (Monster Finance Careers Expert). In the article Denise lays out 11 different options to consider and I comment on the need for compliance during these unsteady times. Companies need professionals with deep knowledge and experience to establish and manage procedures designed to stabilize financial activities going forward. If you have this experience, you’ll become an asset to the financial services industry.

Also, congratulations to Susanne Lyons, EPOCH’s Strategic Advisor, for her feature story in the Wall Street Journal. Read all about Susanne’s ‘second act’ in “An Executive Downshifts From Marketing Fast Lane”.

Visit us again next week as I discuss part four of our five-step guide to becoming independently employed.

Step 3: Evaluate Your Behaviors and Motivators

Part three of our five part series looking at the steps to becoming independently employed.

Working independently isn’t for everyone. Do you have what it takes? How you behave in certain situations and what motivates you can shed light on that.

Examine your personality. If you’re domineering (or what some formal assessments refer to as “high in dominance”), you will run into problems. As an independently employed consultant, you need to integrate quickly into new environments and be accepted. If you’re used to simply telling people what to do in no uncertain terms, you need to stop and think about whether this path is right for you. That style may work in certain crisis or turnaround situations but other than that, it can be a bit of a problem.

If you’re highly collaborative (“high in influence” we sometimes say), that’s a good thing. The ability to project a sense of service in your project workplace is also a must. While being a team player is essential, at the end of the day you’ll need to accept that you are an outsider. If you’re highly sociable and crave close interactions, this outsider status may be a difficult adjustment.

What motivates you? If you derive satisfaction from delivering results, and can live with moving on after the engagement is done, then this independent life could be the one for you. There are many tools in the marketplace today to help you understand your behaviors and motivators.

Step 4: Develop your CV….not just a standard resume