Career chess

Hello!

One of the most important concepts you can keep in mind as you plan your career is "chess moves".

In fact, I found myself sharing this guidance with 2 coachees who sought my help through my career advice drop-in sessions this week.

One is looking to break into Private Equity, having never worked in a PE fund, on a PE related project or in a PE portfolio company before.

The other coachee is aiming to join an SME, having only ever worked in global enterprises.

Let me explain...

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A common confusion. 

It's very easy and common to confuse a career goal ("C-suite of a PE-backed SME in Healthcare") with a realistic career move. Just because you know in yourself that you could do your dream job now, unfortunately, doesn't mean that you're going to be able to land it.

Having helped 5,000+ organisations hire, let me explain why.

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 1 gamble at a time.

The best way to understand this limitation is to get inside the head of the hiring manager and understand how most of us make hiring decisions.

When we hire, almost all of us become irrationally risk-averse.

Rightly or wrongly (a lot of academic research shows wrongly), we perceive most risk from people we don't know and who "have not done the job before". 

In my observation, this means that most hiring managers are willing to take 1 gamble at a time. But very rarely more than 1.

An acceptable gamble could be:

• "has never worked in a PE environment" or,
• "has never worked in an SME".

If that's the only gamble you are asking someone to take - i.e, you HAVE worked in the same or similar function and industry - then you are in with a fighting chance.

If you're asking someone to roll the dice twice at the same time i.e,

• "never worked in this industry/sector" and
• "never worked in a PE environment",

For the vast majority of hiring managers, that is a bridge too far.

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Chess moves.

So, if your ultimate career goal requires a pivot, the most realistic path to reach the goal will be a series of moves. Not one big one.

Hence the chess analogy.

Assuming your dream is to be a CXO in a PE-backed SME. Your chess moves could be:

1. Get into a PE environment (likely same industry, similar company size, same function  & similar seniority as your most recent role). Deliver well.
2. Move internally into a P&L or operational role. You've built the trust & sponsorship needed to move across.
3. Move externally, into another PE asset targeting an MD role, e.g., leading a business unit.
4. Progress either internally or externally into a C-Suite role (if external, could well be an SME of a similar size to your business unit in move 3).

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The 2 gamble exception.

If you're determined to make an immediate leap that requires a hiring manager to take 2 gambles on you, then that requires trust.

Trust is built through relationships.

So the most likely channel through which to make this happen is your network. 

People who know you well will gamble on you. And people you are referred to by them, might gamble on you too, based on their respect for the opinion of your mutual friend.

In turn, this makes the most likely place to pull off a "double gamble" to be within your current organisation.

Your relationships are live.

Your track record is well known.

So if you know that reaching your ultimate goal is going to require a whole series of moves, don't overlook the upside of manoeuvring to make those bigger shifts happen internally. 

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My thanks go to the 2 people who asked these great questions yesterday and inspired this newsletter. I hope you found it valuable.

Wishing you a great weekend.

All the best,

Rich

p.s, if you fancy dropping in for a career advice session, let me know, and I can share more about how they work.