Get Found

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

Many years ago, a friend of mine was an assistant vice president running a department in a bank that has since been acquired. He felt roadblocked by his boss and asked for some advice. “I don’t hate my job,” he said. “I have a good team supporting me but I know I’m not going anywhere here. I want to explore alternatives, but not aggressively.”

The strategy offered was simple. “Become an expert. Start writing for trade publications; become a public speaker. The calls will come.”

When I heard from him ten years later, he had changed jobs three times ­­once to another bank as a VP; then to a management consulting firm as a partner; and finally, on his last stop before retirement, back to banking at a salary of $750,000 a year with a two-year guarantee.

For years, savvy job hunters have been using trade publications to be found for new positions. They write articles that brand them as experts in their disciplines and wait for calls to come. They will be public speakers; they will write for trade publications; they are published regularly. You can Google their name and get results.

Some professions lend themselves easily to this strategy ­­finance and technology are two obvious ones. But what can you do to be found?