After being downsized the first time from this magazine publishing company, I spent the last year as Senior Controller of a free daily newspaper in NYC. I am once again in transition after being downsized again.
In speaking to many recruiters, they tell me that since I have spent most of my life in media and publishing , it would be very difficult to present me as a candidate for, say, a manufacturing company since I do not have manufacturing experience.
I have been telling the recruiters that accounting skills are transferable, and that the knowledge of the business will come in time. Meanwhile, the daily accounting functions are being addressed and completed without industry-specific experience! What are your thoughts on this matter? Does each job applicant have to have specific industry knowledge to be considered for a position, or is it more important that a person's personality be a "good fit" within the organization?
Would appreciate your thoughts and comments!
A: Let me begin by clearing up a misconception you and many others have about recruiters. The good ones are not scavenging boards looking for just anyone with the right skill sets. They are paid very good money by corporations to bring the corporations people with very specific skill sets and industry experience. The bulk of the time recruiters are doing just that — i.e., recruiting people who are already employed, typically in the industry their client is in. Remember that they are presenting you. You are not doing it yourself. You can talk until you're blue in the face or the cows come home, whichever suits your fancy, but the recruiters are telling you their reality. Recruiters are not normally a good bet to help you change industries, so why would you waste their time and yours by trying to go through them?
Now let's focus on you and what you can do.
The relevant experience that almost any employer will look at is only up to ten years in the past. So, if you were a brilliant engineer at one time but have spent the last 12 years in marketing, they aren't going to get all that excited by the engineering if they are hiring for engineering. The experience is too far back, and technology has been advancing too quickly. In your case, you were in circulation for 20 years, and that's what HR and a hiring manager are going to see on the resume.
Next, you are right about accounting as it relates to finance. It is one of those fields that should generally transfer from one industry to another, but since your last 20 years were not spent in finance, per se, your experience is not nearly as applicable.
Am I telling you all of this as a way of saying ''stick to circulation''? No!! But you have to get out of most job seekers' mindsets. I already told you to forget the recruiters. The next thing you should avoid is wasting a whole lot of time sending resumes out ''blindly,'' which includes posting to job boards, even if they are specialty accounting or finance boards.
My main points of advice are to network and get in front of hiring managers without using a resume to do it. This means that you should focus 80% or more of your time on these two things. Here are some other suggestions:
- You can't hide the fact you were in circulation, but you can focus on the accounting/finance-related skills, functions, and accomplishments (don't forget these!) while in the job. You will need to do this on the resume, in networking, and in presentations to a hiring manager.
- You have a CPA. Have you taken courses, gotten recertified, etc. in the last 20 years?
- You mention some great experience you've gained in areas that would be related to accounting/finance. Highlight these and any other helpful experiences.
- Be prepared to ''perform'' when you get in front of a hiring manager. Help solve a problem, for example. In accounting, it might actually be easier to uncover a major issue or challenge and provide solutions than it is in some other functions. You mentioned that those skills are generally transferable. A great resource for this idea of not using a resume upfront and other creative job-search ideas is the book Ask the Headhunter by my good friend Nick Corcodilos.
- Get very focused in your search. You mentioned that you could move from magazines to manufacturing. This is not always true, however. There might be some requirements that are unique to manufacturing and are needed immediately. This is probably not true in many cases, but you do need to be aware of the possibility so that you don't waste your time.
- Don't make an issue of it, but be prepared for an interviewer to bring up the fact that you worked for a single company for 28 years. That is not desirable to many employers in today's marketplace, so have some good rebuttals prepared.
Here's Wishing You Terrific Hunting,
Bill
About the Author
Bill Gaffney has 17 years experience as an executive recruiter and career coach. Bill can be reached at 937-567-5267 or wmgaffney@prodigy.net. For questions to be considered for this column or topic suggestions, please email askamaxa@yahoo.com.