Does it ever really work that way? Maybe on occasion, but never as a rule.
Recently I saw this post on Facebook …
“I want a really good guitar but I don’t want to pay very much for it.”
It made me think about the career management / job search process as most candidates view it. Even though your career is “the” thing that funds everything else in your life … provides housing, clothing, and food for your family; a vehicle to get to and from your employment and the ability to pay for the gas it guzzles; the means by which to get away from work, a/k/a vacation; the over-priced coffee on the way to the office … the reality is that a career is given little thought until it is threatened.
Career management should be in place in order to minimize and perhaps even permanently eliminate job search. In this economy is that a certainty? It sure is not. But it is certainly a great strategy to minimize the risk, and the associated financial impact, of finding oneself amongst the unemployed-and-desperately-seeking crowd. You not only lose income, you lose power and positioning.
At the Chief Financial Officer level, 9-to-12 months is still a realistic expectation for making a move. And that, is much more realistic as a passive candidate.
Expecting maximum results for minimum effort can turn out to be very costly.
