What NOT To Do In Your 2016 Career Brand Management Plan
As you consider your career brand management plan for 2016 there are some things you should NOT DO. I have written about these before, but as we enter a new year, and as executives and physicians attempt to wipe their career brand slate clean and start over, here are some important things to think about.
NOTE: The resume rules that people have abused and misused for eons have changed. Pay attention. The job search is now all about your ability to demonstrate to a prospective employer that you can do the job, that you have relevant prior experience, and that you are able to close the deal with ample examples of your quantifiable achievements.
- Do Not submit a Curriculum Vitae for an executive leadership position. Some people use the term resume and curriculum vitae — CV — interchangeably. Don’t do that. They are not the same thing. A resume is a chronological record of your executive/management jobs and quantifiable accomplishments. This is what executive recruiters are looking for when they are seeking CMOs or other physician executives. We do not care about your poster presentations or all your research papers. A CV is designed to highlight a candidate’s academic credentials, research and writing ability. That is not necessarily germane to hiring a leadership executive. There are times when you might submit both, based on the job description or the employer’s submission requirements, but if you think an executive recruiter will be impressed with an academically stunning CV for a CMO position, unfortunately, that is usually not the case.
- Do Not submit the same resume for every job. For my regular readers, this statement is obvious. Do not submit the same resume for every job for which you apply, it is not a smart strategy in our new healthcare economy. If you are trying to stand out, to emphasize your value proposition, this will not help. Most of the resumes I receive are generic. I am not impressed. Nor are my colleagues. You should customize your resume to speak to the issues employers are trying to address. Remember, the job search is not about you. It is about meeting the needs of a prospective employer.
- Do Not list your company without explaining what it does. I cannot tell how many times I look at resumes of candidates who only list the name of the company. I would like to think I am a smart guy, but so many of the names draw a blank in the dark reaches of my brain. I am not alone, let me assure you. Explain the company — what it does, its accomplishments, national recognitions etc. If you work for a top-tier company, tout it. It only enhances you brand. This applies to companies with obvious names.
- Do Not use dot points for scope of responsibility statements. The biggest mistake candidates make with their resume is to use dot points to list their scope of responsibility. What you were responsible for is important, but save the dot points for quantifiable achievements that relate to a future employer’s needs.
Send you questions to Ask the Recruiter and we will respond. I am a healthcare guy, but the content I discuss in this blog applies to virtually every industry.
2016 Career Brand Management Resolutions
As we begin another business year, I thought a good way to launch the 2016 version of Self Perspective would be to share a list of New Year’s Resolutions that, if we would only follow them, would produce great value in our careers.
I will treat my team — my subordinates, my peers and my superiors — with respect, and I will deliver value for my organization by executing effectively, producing the necessary results and always do the right thing, even when no one is looking.This should be a foundational pillar of any executive’s brand management plan. You can be a good person, try hard and do the right thing, but if you do not produce the required results, your brand will be tarnished.- I will write (or update) my Personal Career Vision Statement (PCVS).This PCVS, is a foundational pillar in the career brand management process. It is, as I have written before, as necessary as an annual strategic business plan. There is no excuse NOT to do this. It will always be a work in progress. Your objectives, like those of many corporations, will evolve. There may be a dramatic change but operating without a plan will result in missed or wasted opportunities.
- I will devote time each week to building my professional network.Growth is an important part of business success. It is critical to have a robust professional network that will produce value for your career.
- I will feed and weed my professional network.Feeding your network means you must provide content for your members. The content may be news articles or essays from other sources, brief case management reviews of a successful program or idea, or it may be a blog post. The important thing is to know who is in your network and then work to find content that adds value for their careers.This weeding directive of this resolution means that as you progress, older members of your network will retire and fade into the background. All but a few will no longer add value to your network. They must be replaced with fresh blood, peers and up-and-comers who will produce new energy and ideas for the group. It also recognizes that some of your earlier career networking additions may not be adding value because their objectives are purely self-serving. Eliminate those members of your network who are not productive.
- I will begin (or resume) keeping a career journal.This is a critical tool to build a successful career. Top-rated executives in many industries said this routine was one of the most meaningful and rewarding habits.I have written on this numerous times. It is worth reading and considering whether this process could add value in your life.
Career Brand Management: Nine Important Elements to Consider
Career Advice for New Grads - I will return telephone calls from recruiters.I am always amazed when members of my network, some of the same people who do not return my candidate networking calls, complain that recruiters never call them back. Really? This class of executives seems to think that when they NEED a recruiter to help them pursue a job is the best time to invest time in nurturing the relationship. Bad decision. Take the call, even if you are not interested in making a change and then introduce them to people in your network who might be interested, or who might know of someone who is. THAT is how you build a relationship with a recruiter. Invest your time. Help them and they will, or the good will, return the favor.What You Should Know About Recruiters and Job Search Consultants
- I will respond to requests from members of my network.Smart networkers understand that their network will produce more long-term value if they develop a reputation for helping others. I love the executives who like to trot out their personal motto of being a servant leader, yet they are the world’s worst in helping others in their network. Yes, there are risks in making introductions so it is OK to ask the person requesting the introduction what they are trying to achieve. If you do not know the person making the request, take a few moments and get to know them. (This of course also speaks to the type of people in your network. Get rid of those who may have a sketchy reputation). There may be a few times you decide that you cannot, or should not, make the connection. But, as a general rule, this is a beneficial practice.
Happy New Year and best wishes for a prosperous, healthy and rewarding 2016.
Doctors, It Is Time to Learn About Career Brand Management
Career brand management discussions typically are centered on executives, creative types like artists, designers, and musicians, lawyers, and, of course, entertainers, especially the up and comers of that world. Doctors have been largely left out of the conversation. Historically, the majority of physicians selected a site where they wanted to practice and most remained there for their entire career.
That is changing. The next generation of physicians will be compelled to join their brethren in the consumer-oriented subspecialties such as plastic surgery and bariatric medicine, who are increasingly brand (volume) conscious.
What is driving this change that will attract more and more physicians to the brand management discussion? I will give you three guesses but the first two don’t count.
Healthcare reform. As the delivery process — yes, process (we are a long way from having anything remotely resembling a system) — evolves, as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) initiatives reshape physician – hospital relationships, as the reimbursement system shifts from volume to value, and as the anticipated shortage of doctors comes into play as more and more Baby Boomer physicians retire, doctors will be at the nexus of much change. They will be employed, their performance in terms of quality, productivity and satisfaction will be measured, and aggressive physician headhunters will tempt them with better deals across town or across the country.
Most physicians leave medical school with barely enough business savvy to run a practice much less manage their career brands. That is just one of several essential real-world practice of medicine skills that medical schools do not teach, but brand management will become an increasingly critical skill for a successful and rewarding practice/career.
Experienced brand managers say that discipline is one key to success. Discipline in the context of selecting a practice, or making the decision to move on to greener pastures, means having the focus to make smart market choices — to do the homework, ask the hard questions, and avoid, as much as possible, fast-talking used-car sales types masquerading as physician recruiters, who promise you the earth, telling you everything you want to know and hear. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, as my grandmother used to say, it probably is. Physicians should examine the fate of executives who made one too many bad moves. They were either forced into early “retirement” or they are working in an “under employed” situation.
We are seeing more and more physicians who have bounced — moving on to a new deal after a relatively short tenure. Hospitals, clinics and others who engage physicians, do not like that type of employment record any more than they like job hopper executives.
Physicians, particularly those from undistinguished foreign medical schools with so-so residencies in the US, must be especially diligent with their brand management because there is a double standard that is applied when evaluating a career. They may be good doctors, but being a foreign medical graduate and making several career moves, will taint their brand. At the same time, American born and trained physicians, must also be careful about their career moves lest they find themselves in a job out of necessity, not choice.
The biggest risk for physicians is not having job because there will always be someone, somewhere who will engage a doctor unless their malpractice record is so bad that liability insurance coverage is not possible. Those cases are rare. No, the biggest risk is working in an undesirable community or for an ethically challenged company that will push the physician to do things they would not ordinarily consider — clinically or financially.
If you have questions on career brand management issues, email Ask the Recruiter. Moreover, if you are physician who is being laid off — something that will occur with more regularity as hospitals adjust their workforce — be sure to request outplacement/transition coaching support. You will no doubt get pushback because this is not a benefit hospitals normally provide to doctors. But in this brave new world of changing roles, doctors need the same kind of severance that most executives receive.
Editor’s Note: There will be no blog post on Friday. John is taking the day off to celebrate the arrival of 2016. John and the four-member Self Perspective blog team wish each of you a safe New Year’s Eve and a prosperous and happy 2016!
Playing Fast & Loose With Integrity
When looking for an expert source on what good leadership is, look no further than every graduate school management program in the nation, or any of the thousands of strategic consulting companies in the free world.
Everyone has an opinion. Everyone knows that truth and most are right in some shape, form or fashion.
Not to be negative, but today I want to focus on what good leadership is not.
Good leaders do not play fast and loose with the Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement system, such as engaging in treatment of faked injuries, or any number of other fraudulent billing schemes including paying commissions for patient admissions.
I am saddened that some healthcare executives think that meeting corporate-mandated revenue and profit targets is an acceptable excuse to do that which the vast majority know is wrong and more than likely illegal, their feeble defense about the complexity of the reimbursement regulations to the contrary.
As a CFO recently said, “If the scenario has been on Law & Order, it is probably illegal and will involve some jail time.”
When physicians engage in such shameful scams it is even more confounding. Why would someone who invested so much, worked so hard, endured so many incredible sacrifices and verbal abuse, risk everything trying to scam Medicare, Medicaid or even commercial insurance companies to pad their incomes? How does a healthcare professional get to the mental state where this becomes OK?
I am also amazed by executives who turn a blind eye to problems with physicians who engage in questionable patient care activities by ignoring abusive behavior against employees or by turning a blind eye to serious issues of impairment that threaten patients because they do not want to upset their financial apple cart. There will always be executives who can conjure up an excuse not to do the right thing, especially if there are consequences for their continued employment or the size of their bonus.
We will solve this problem the same way we will make progress on patient safety issues — by having CEOs and other leaders make it personal, not by just talking about integrity in the annual report or during the initial employment interview but as an everyday part of the values of the organization. Unfortunately, in far too many companies integrity is not a constant front-and-center values issue. It is implied but rarely discussed. Sadly, you can make a direct connection between the lack of emphasis on integrity with the issue of patient safety.
We can do better. Our communities, our patients deserve better.
A Wonderful Life With Great People
This is a most unusual Christmas — shorts and rain coats versus wool pants and snow shoes. In Connecticut! But regardless of the weather, or the politically charged reasons for this weird, unseasonably warm Christmas holiday in places normally covered by snow, there is much to be thankful for.
It has been a good year for our Firm. Dr. Laura Merker, RN, joined us as Managing Director of our East Coast practice. She is based in New York City and Connecticut. Laura is a seasoned healthcare executive with years of experience as a talented nursing executive, a hospital turnaround consultant, and division president of a major healthcare services firm. She is already hard at work on several important projects.
Laura Mlcak-Griffith, the other Laura, joins us initially as a researcher in the Detroit region. Laura has extensive healthcare experience in clinic management and operations support. She supports the other Laura with project research and candidate screening. We expect great things from Laura.
Meanwhile, it seems like only yesterday that Joe Boxer joined us as executive producer of our video operations, which includes editing candidate interview videos that we share with our clients. He produces our video blogs, a feature that will become more common in 2016. Finally he is our trusted technical guru for all things Apple. Actually, Joe has been associated with the Firm for more than three years. It has been a great relationship.
Jessica Gregory in Houston has led the research and screening for searches in Texas and on the East Coast, including Washington, DC. Her work included recruitment of candidates for Chief Financial Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Nursing Officer engagements. Thank you for your cheerful, positive attitude when in the toughest of tough recruitment challenges.
Nancy Swain, who leads our executive transition practice, the behavior and values assessments for candidates and clients and leadership coaching, has done some outstanding work helping evaluate candidates as well conducting executive coaching sessions and onboarding workshops for JGS+P. It is doubly nice to work with Nancy because of her exceptional depth of knowledge, keen insights and her rock solid friendship. We have known each other for a long time. In fact it has been so long neither of us can remember how long it has been. We do remember who introduced us and we are forever grateful to that kind soul.
Dennis Bridges, who came with me from my prior search firm, is a document editor. This is not a particularly romantic part of the search process but he is always at the ready and never complains — well almost — about surprise last-minute projects or changes in priorities. He has the patience of Job and the heart of a lion.
Finally, but certainly not the least, comes Becky Pearce, who has become an indispensable part of this Firm’s logistics operations. She is a capable assistant, talented social medial guru, and project manager extraordinaire. She also coordinates our accounting resources. She is a valued friend and a trusted advisor.
I mention their names in this space because I want you to know who these terrific people are and that they make my work life so enjoyable.
The career advice for today is simple: if you ever get a chance to do something about which you are passionate, with talented people who you admire and respect, by all means do it.
Don’t worry, and don’t let your “be realistic” voice deter you from pursuing your dream. There are certainly challenges and tough, worrisome days, but the good ones make it all worthwhile.
Thank you to my wonderful team for making this journey such a pleasure.
Editor’s Note: Friday is Christmas. There will be no blog post. John will post again on Monday, Dec. 28. Merry Christmas everyone.