Resumes | CFO Coach

Social Media Overreach

April 2, 2018 by Cindy Kraft, the CFO-Coach

If you’ve been following my articles and posts for any length of time, you know that I am an avid believer that Linkedin is a MUST for CFOs and Finance Executives. From a professional perspective, Linkedin is the best of what is available for building a robust and compelling digital footprint, sans your own website. And today, a digital footprint is a necessity for any Finance Leader who anticipates a job search at some future point.

As in any job search, maintaining control is imperative. In order to retain control of your Linkedin profile, I suggest becoming familiar with the privacy settings in your account.

To do that, log into “Settings & Privacy” through the dropdown box at the top left underneath your picture. Once you are there, take a look around. You might be very surprised at the default settings Linkedin has chosen for you.

For example, under the first section in the “Privacy” category, there is a sub-category called “Microsoft Word” which says this …

I don’t know about you, but after I invested sweat equity in creating a compelling profile that is unique to me, I am not at all interested in Microsoft Word “taking” my carefully crafted language and using it in their “Resume Assistant” feature.

Which brings me to a second point. If you really want to stand out from the crowd, don’t use a resume template program that gives you canned phrases to fill in the blanks. You need to own your message and it needs to convey your marketable value. Otherwise, you run the risk of being perceived as a commodity -or- inauthentic when your verbal message doesn’t align with your written message.

A resume and Linkedin profile are not superficial strategies, or at least they shouldn’t be. They are, and should be, the culmination of the hard work to uncover and hone your value messaging to your target audience. And a resume template program should not be permitted to “take” your carefully crafted messaging … at least in my humble opinion.

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Cindy Kraft is the CFO-Coach and America’s leading Career & Personal Brand Strategist for Corporate Finance Executives helping clients understand their marketability, articulate their value, and position themselves as the clear and compelling choice. She is a Certified Reach Personal Brand Strategist, Certified Reach Online Identity Strategist, Certified Career Management Coach, Certified Professional Resume Writer, and Job & Career Transition Coach. Cindy can be reached via email Cindy@CFO-Coach.com, by phone 813-727-3037, or through her website at www.CFO-Coach.com.

4 Effective Career Management Strategies for 2018

December 21, 2017 by Cindy Kraft, the CFO-Coach

Have you noticed that the older you get, the faster the years seem to fly by? I sure have! We are sitting on the cusp of yet another new year, and it has never been more important to take control of your career. If you are a CFO who is anticipating a move in the next year or so, here are four strategies to help ensure that you achieve your goal.

Update Your Resume

Yes … it’s painful.
No … it isn’t fun.
Yes … it takes time and effort.

But when a recruiter calls you because he thinks you are a viable candidate, you are in a position to forward him a resume when he asks. Otherwise, you run the risk of sending him something outdated or rushed and incomplete … both at the risk of losing a potentially great opportunity.

Update Linkedin and Leverage Its Power

Linkedin is a tremendous passive strategy for current and future jobseekers, but especially for future jobseekers. There is nothing so appealing to a recruiter than the opportunity to lure away a passive candidate into a new position.

For active jobseekers, it is a passive strategy that works 24/7 in concert with your proactive strategy … enticing recruiters and prospective companies who need the skills you have and are willing to pay, and pay well to get them, to look at your profile.

To believe Linkedin is a non-player in the job search process is to risk missing opportunities you may never otherwise discover.

Network with Intentionality

A common response by my Finance Chiefs to the question, how is your network, is either …

– I don’t have a solid network, or

– I have been so busy working my job that I have not had time to build a network.

Resolve that this will be the year that you commit to building and nurturing your network. It will pay huge rewards when you are ready to make a move.

Raise Your Branded Visibility

This strategy ties into the other three, because without branded positioning there really is no reason to be visible. If you aren’t visible, it is very difficult for the recruiters and companies to find you rather than discover your very visible competition. If recruiters and companies aren’t finding you, you may be missing out on dream opportunities.

Execute the first three strategies, and then work consistently and constantly (whatever that looks like in your busy schedule) to ensure that the people who need to know about you do, in fact, know about you!

Call me if I can help! Please note my NEW phone number … 813-727-3037.

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3 Reasons NOT to use Resume Templates

November 19, 2017 by Cindy Kraft, the CFO-Coach

Last week I saw comments by the CEO of Linkedin about the evolution of resumes. He is right that resumes are changing. Actually, they have been changing for a good 10 or so years with a clear focus on the ability to solve problems and deliver impacts rather than duties held and responsibilities performed. But …

A few days later, I saw that Linkedin and Microsoft have joined forces for a new Linkedin feature called “Resume Assistant.” DING DING DING! Perhaps Linkedin’s CEO had a bit of an agenda in mind when he made his resume comments.

Despite the fact that I hate resume templates, that is the first of my 3 reasons I would advise my CFO clients not to use this feature.

I hate resume templates

And most recruiters can spot them a mile away. All a resume template does is make you blend in rather than stand out from the competition. In this competitive job market, it is imperative to differentiate yourself from other candidates. What is different about how you, as a Finance Leader, solve problems and deliver impacts speaks directly to the challenge a company faces in hiring for culture fit.

Additionally, most templates do not allow you to use strategy to drive format. Rather, the templates are often format driven relegating strategy to second place.

Passive candidates are in high demand

When your resume is posted, the message – intentional or not – is that you are in active job search mode. Even if you are, advertising that can dilute your negotiating power. The perception is that something seemingly unattainable or hard to get is much more prized, valued, and desired.

My #1 reason for advising you to NOT use this template is …

If your resume is front and center on Linkedin (or any other public job board for that matter), there is no reason for a recruiter to pick up the phone, discuss his job requisition and search, give you an opportunity to articulate your value message, and ask for your resume. If you give them your resume upfront, the conversation may never take place. As a candidate, you want that conversation!

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If Only Finding Your Next CFO Position was This Easy!

October 3, 2017 by Cindy Kraft, the CFO-Coach

I just saw another CFO organization jump into the “job board” postings game. If only finding your next Chief Finance role could be that easy. See a posting, send off your resume, get the job. Except, it’s not that easy and it rarely works well for the candidate. The truth is, job searching requires hard work and effort … and finding that next right opportunity often takes longer than anyone anticipates.

Please don’t misunderstand. I am not dead set against job postings, although I can’t say I am in favor of them either. The important thing is to keep the job board strategy in proper perspective. Since only about 10% of positions are posted – and most of those are NOT the top-quality positions a CFO is usually seeking – that means only about 10% of your overall job search time should be spent playing the job posting game. It seems like an easy way to find a job. It isn’t. Maybe attaching and sending off your resume is easy, but usually it is not fruitful because thousands of other candidates think it is easy, too.

If you really want to move into that next, right-fitting opportunity, avoid the posted position trap as the sole strategy for finding it. Know your value, practice articulating it clearly and succinctly in a manner that begs follow-up questions, and build and nurture a vibrant network. Those activities will yield far better results than sending off your resume to a job posting.

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The Proverbial Elevator Speech

September 13, 2017 by Cindy Kraft, the CFO-Coach

Every time I hear the term “elevator speech,” it makes me cringe. I know it serves a purpose and I’ll talk about that in a minute, but most people use an elevator speech to talk “at” people – about themselves – far too often. That is especially true when one is in job search mode. Think about a wife talking at her husband, or vice versa. How much listening is really happening? Or, is the other person …

– planning what s/he is going to say next;

– mentally wondering what else is on his “to do” list;

– trying to determine how soon he can disengage from the me-centered conversation; or

– strategically scanning the room to see who else is there?

That is a consequence of using an elevator speech when a back-and-forth conversation would be much more effective. Such communication is much easier when you understand your value and can articulate it in problem-solving language. When asked what do you do, there are conversation stoppers and more intriguing conversation hooks with which to respond. For example,

I am a CFO for XYZ Company; or

I help small mid-cap companies meet their growth objectives.

The first response is typical and completely misses the value piece of a message. Short of something like how long have you been there, the conversation is on its way to a quick end. Conversely, the latter response invites a follow-up question. If you are skillful at handling the follow-up questions, you can keep the conversation flowing while simultaneously creating rock-solid problem solving positioning.

Save your elevator speech – that 60-to-90 second spiel that tells people about you – for round table networking events and when answering the question “tell me about yourself” during an interview or in a conversation with a recruiter. At that point, it is both appropriate and useful because your written marketing documents (resume, cover letter, leadership brief) and digital footprint have already answered the value question.

Proverbial or not, I do not believe an elevator speech is appropriate when you are standing in an elevator or attending a networking event. Talking at people will never be as effective as engaging people by talking with them.

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5 Reasons to Hire a Resume Writer

September 3, 2017 by Cindy Kraft, the CFO-Coach

Last week one of my colleagues wrote an article opining that no one should ever hire a resume writer. Rather, candidates should all enroll in her *paid* class so she can teach them how to write their own resume. It is definitely a choice.

I’m going to offer the flip side of why it makes sense for most people, particularly C-suite executives, to hire a resume writer.

Writing is not your forte

As a CFO, your area of expertise is finance, and operations, and possibly IT, and quite possibly you oversee HR, legal, real estate, construction, purchasing, to name a few. None of my finance clients, though, have ever told me that they felt they excelled at writing their own marketing documents.

However, if you do excel at writing about yourself … fabulous! Just be sure you are writing through the lens of value.

You are surrounded by your own paradigms

And those paradigms are usually responsibilities held and duties performed. It is tough to be competitive when relying on things you did rather than how you delivered. And sometimes, it is challenging to step out of that perspective and look at your contributions through the lens of value. It is precisely why athletes hire coaches. The coach can see and evaluate performance from a different perspective.

My one caveat to hiring a resume writer would be when working together is all superficial without being an authentic representation of who you are, how you communicate, and your clear and compelling value as a leader who solves problems. In that case, save your money and do it yourself.

You have one chance to make a first impression

Whether that first impression comes through your resume or a networking contact or your Linkedin profile, your written documents, elevator pitch (if you use one), and introduction all need to convey an integrated value message.

Your value message must be cohesive across all your marketing documents

That does not mean that your documents should be repetitive or redundant. In fact, they should be the opposite. Think of your marketing documents (resume, cover letter, Linkedin profile, leadership brief) as building blocks. Every time a company decision maker or recruiter looks at another one of your documents, they should see more and more evidence, credibility, and viability as the problem solver they want and need.

You have support with a vested interest in your success

Job searching is not for the faint-of-heart. Even with a top-notch resume, if you don’t know how to use it effectively, it probably won’t do what you need it to do. Sometimes, it is nice to know that you have an objective coach in your corner who can keep you accountable and provide support and insight.

If you are a Chief Financial Officer or up-and-coming CFO who is ready to make that great first impression with a compelling value message as a problem solver who delivers tangible impacts, let’s talk. Historically, we see the middle of September as the beginning of an active job search season so the time to get ready is now!

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The Dog Ate My Homework

August 22, 2017 by Cindy Kraft, the CFO-Coach

With that cliché title, I am no doubt dating myself. That’s okay. You already know I’ve been in business for 23 years so I’m definitely not a young pup.

This bit of sage advice from my colleague, Barb Safani, came through my Linkedin newsfeed this morning.

“If recruiters ask you to ‘walk them through your background,’ focus on your core messages of value, not the five positions you held pre-1985.”

This wise counsel is true not only when you are talking with recruiters, but is also critically important when crafting your resume, Linkedin profile, cover letters, leadership brief, and every other written marketing document you use. Not doing your homework, which in this case is not doing the hard work to clearly understand your value so you can articulate your value messaging, won’t result in a 0 grade for homework not done. Rather, it may cause you to miss out on a very lucrative opportunity; maybe even your dream opportunity.

Here area 4 tips for honing your value messaging in the competitive world of CFO job search:

– 10 to 12 are the magic numbers

While a recruiter and/or a company is interested in how you got where you are, what the hiring company most cares about is your ability to solve the kinds of problems they are currently experiencing.

In the fast-changing world of technology, that means your tangible impacts over the last 10-12 years matter much more than what happened in the early years of your career or your degree. Those foundational things matter, but they will not help a company with a problem understand how you can resolve their issue, challenge, or situation.

Which brings me to …

– It is not what, it is how

What you did only matters in the context of how you delivered value as a finance leader who knows how to step in, eliminate or mitigate issues, and make a company stronger and better. That is your track record; that is your core value; and that is what matters to a prospective company.

– Self-identify by value rather than job title or worse, lack thereof

Besides screaming desperation, which shifts the balance of power, identifying by your job title is absent any value to a potential employer. Find your value and then, use it as a neon sign at every opportunity.

– The more you blend in, the less you will be noticed

When I made the decision to work exclusively with CFOs, it was based on two things:

– With whom did I most enjoy working, and
– Where was a gap in the saturated resume writing/job coach market?

The answer was the same for both questions. I loved working with accomplished finance executives and there were no resume writers or job coaches working exclusively with CFOs.

That is true for you as a job search candidate whether you are currently in a search or anticipate a move within the next few years. Identifying how you are different from all your competitors will help to ensure that you stand out from them rather than get lost in the masses.

Your core value and strongest positioning are the most visible when you have identified what you love doing, quantified your track record of success doing those things, clarified your target market, and taken ownership of that space.

If I can help you hone your value messaging, give me a call!

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Cindy Kraft is the CFO-Coach and America’s leading Career & Personal Brand Strategist for Corporate Finance Executives helping clients understand their marketability, articulate their value, and position themselves as the clear and compelling choice. She is a Certified Reach Personal Brand Strategist, Certified Reach Online Identity Strategist, Certified Career Management Coach, Credentialed Career Master, Certified Professional Resume Writer, and Job & Career Transition Coach. Cindy can be reached via email Cindy@CFO-Coach.com, by phone 813-727-3037, or through her website at www.CFO-Coach.com.

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The Chief Financial Operations Officer

August 1, 2017 by Cindy Kraft, the CFO-Coach

Today’s CFO is really a CFOO … a Chief Financial Operations Officer. And it has been that way for at least the past 5 years. There is no going back. The CFO is now the CFOO and in some cases, the CEO … Chief Everything Officer.

I almost didn’t read this article because of the title. Despite the title and my disagreement with his last statement, the article makes some valid points. Like …

<<In fact, today’s CFO is more like a COO in disguise.>>

Maybe it would be a tad more accurate to say that today’s CFO position demands a deep knowledge of operations and how numbers interact with operations to drive profitability. I don’t believe there is anything concealed about that fact.

<<… there’s so much overlap with what a COO does that
it seems to me like having both is redundant.>>

I agree. However, it also seems to me that a strategic CFO is in a much better position to do that than a COO, even with a strong controller in place.

My focus, though, is how the CFO evolution impacts a finance leader’s market positioning. Pure number crunchers are rapidly going the way of the dinosaur. Articulating value as a finance executive with a track record of both visioning and executing initiatives that positively impact operations is imperative within a competitive market. That imperative is even more so when there are a limited number of positions available at the top.

Believing that “if you just got the chance to talk with a prospective company, you could close the deal” is understandable. My clients are always very accomplished. However, without strong marketable value positioning that gets you noticed, those chances may be significantly diminished.

– Does your resume contain more than duties and responsibilities? It must demonstrate your ability to take your financial and operational expertise and execute corporate initiatives.

– Does your digital footprint convey your compelling value messaging? Being a wallflower or using your Linkedin profile as a placeholder can significantly reduce your ability to get noticed by a company who needs what you do and would be willing to pay, and pay well, to get it.

– Does your network know and understand how you solve problems over and above the responsibilities you held and duties you performed? It is always about how you have stepped into a problematic situation, resolved the issue, and delivered a tangible impact as proof that you can solve the kinds of problems a prospective company is having.

Without solid operational finance messaging, perhaps there could be some truth to the author’s statement that the CFO may become a relic of the past.

If you are a CFOO who wants some help identifying your compelling value messaging – whether that is in your resume, your digital footprint, and/or among your network – give me a call!

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Cindy Kraft is the CFO-Coach and America’s leading Career & Personal Brand Strategist for Corporate Finance Executives helping clients understand their marketability, articulate their value, and position themselves as the clear and compelling choice. She is a Certified Reach Personal Brand Strategist, Certified Reach Online Identity Strategist, Certified Career Management Coach, Credentialed Career Master, Certified Professional Resume Writer, and Job & Career Transition Coach. Cindy can be reached via email Cindy@CFO-Coach.com, by phone 813-727-3037, or through her website at www.CFO-Coach.com.

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Lead with Problems Solved

July 25, 2017 by Cindy Kraft, the CFO-Coach

Whether it is in a resume, a Linkedin profile, or a networking conversation, most prospective candidates, even very accomplished candidates, forget to tell the beginning of the story. While measurable impacts are critically important, they become much more impressive and relevant when told within the context of problems solved. By contrast, default position focuses on responsibilities held and duties performed.

A CFO’s value will never be found in duties and responsibilities. Those things only serve to ensure the candidate looks like every other competitor vying for the coveted finance leader position. Standing out from the competition means answering the need the company has by leading with your proven track record of solving problems, resolving issues, and unraveling challenges that serve as roadblocks to a company achieving its goals.

Because it is uncomfortable for most people, maintaining value positioning requires intentionally. How you brought resolutions and delivered impacts will always trump what you do / did in your appeal to a prospective company. Unfortunately, it is easy to default to talking about duties and responsibilities when we are not crystal clear about where our value lies and how to make value our single focus.

Default positioning can also impact your salary package. Your worth to a prospective company and negotiating power with that company hedges on your ability to take away its pain (problem, situation, issue, or challenge).

Take a look at your written marketing documents and your verbal messaging. Are you telling the whole story of your value by leading with your problem-solving ability? If the answer is no, give me a call. Helping my CFO clients identify and stand strong in their value is what I do!

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Cindy Kraft is the CFO-Coach and America’s leading Career & Personal Brand Strategist for Corporate Finance Executives helping clients understand their marketability, articulate their value, and position themselves as the clear and compelling choice. She is a Certified Reach Personal Brand Strategist, Certified Reach Online Identity Strategist, Certified Career Management Coach, Credentialed Career Master, Certified Professional Resume Writer, and Job & Career Transition Coach. Cindy can be reached via email Cindy@CFO-Coach.com, by phone 813-727-3037, or through her website at www.CFO-Coach.com.

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Your Home on the Web

July 11, 2017July 11, 2017 by Cindy Kraft, the CFO-Coach

For many people, and particularly for most CFOs, the home of their digital footprint is Linkedin. Short of having your own URL, Linkedin is the only real neon sign option. That means having a robust profile is a critically important piece of managing your career … because it is where you can be found and where you are in control of the message.

Two posts came through my feed this last week regarding Linkedin, generating very interesting comments. The first was about headlines. The second around whether Linkedin replaces a resume. Let’s start with the headline.

The first question was asked as a yes/no poll … do you like headlines that are not standard fare? (i.e., your job title). I don’t have a good handle on the exact statistics, but there were strong opinions on both sides of the fence. Here’s my two cents.

Standard fare is a commodity, generic, and lacks value.

First, it is called a “headline” for a reason. If you believe your current job title is compelling enough to promote interest, do a search on Linkedin to see how many CFOs also use that headline. It’s tough to stand out with “just” a job title as your hook.

Second, companies hire because they need a Finance Leader to solve a problem, get them unstuck, or move them to the next level. The moment you define yourself by your job title, rather than your ability to solve problems and deliver impacts, and you lose your job … is the moment you become much less competitive and lose your power positioning. While nothing has changed for you except your location (outside vs. inside), companies and recruiters view that change quite differently.

Whether you choose to use a branded value-oriented headline or your job title, here are some things your headline should absolutely not say …

– Looking for a job or next opportunity

– Currently looking

– Anything that is not relevant to your branded positioning

The second issue was quite interesting, and there were certainly vocal opinions about whether the candidate needs both a resume and a Linkedin profile … and even whether a candidate would stoop so low as to create a resume if they already had a Linkedin profile. Goodness. While one day, perhaps, sometime in the future, a platform such as Linkedin may well replace resumes … that time is not now.

A Resume and a Robust Profile are Both Necessities

A Chief Financial Officer who wants to be competitive in the marketplace needs both a value-oriented resume that showcases his problem-solving skills AND a robust Linkedin profile that does not replicate his resume.

Your profile will get you noticed. Your branded value-oriented resume will solidify your credibility. They are two different, but necessary, pieces of the same job search puzzle.

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Cindy Kraft is the CFO-Coach and America’s leading Career & Personal Brand Strategist for Corporate Finance Executives helping clients understand their marketability, articulate their value, and position themselves as the clear and compelling choice. She is a Certified Reach Personal Brand Strategist, Certified Reach Online Identity Strategist, Certified Career Management Coach, Credentialed Career Master, Certified Professional Resume Writer, and Job & Career Transition Coach. Cindy can be reached via email Cindy@CFO-Coach.com, by phone 813-727-3037, or through her website at www.CFO-Coach.com.

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