The average outplacement time for executive professionals in the labor market is one year, according to Paola Chocano, CEO at Career Partners. However, she said that this period can be reduced if a series of measures are taken.

In a dialogue with gestion.pe the executive pointed out that currently only 15% of the executives who are looking for a job prepare themselves to access a new position, which means that the rest only send their Curriculum Vitae (CV) and do not carry out an active search.

In this way, he said that most executives do not prepare themselves to be able to achieve the objective (getting a job), which leads them to not understand what the market is demanding or do not research about where that company is at the moment of their insertion.

“So if an executive is not prepared, it will be difficult for him/her to achieve an outplacement in a short period of time. Unfortunately, doing a process without preparation can take you a year of waiting, but when you prepare yourself you can see faster results because you are a person who becomes visible, attractive in the market, you are identified by your value and companies seek to know this executive,” he explained.

What actions to take to relocate faster?

The first thing the executive must do when looking to relocate is to discover what is a main value, that is, what makes him unique in the market, mentioned Chocano.

At this point, he said that it is not only to make known the functions or responsibilities, but, the contribution he can make in the organization that seeks to be hired. In this sense, he pointed out that this value should be reflected in all employability tools. As an example, he said that if the executive knows that he is good at transforming businesses, his CV should state this competence.

“It is very important that all the employability tools you develop are in your cover letter. Here you should work on an impactful CV that reflects your main achievements. A CV ceases to be of impact when it only mentions responsibilities and functions, the executive has to make his value visible, make his achievements or results known. As a company, I will be interested in the executive’s achievements and thus invite him/her to the interview”, said Chocano, specifying that the professional resume should not exceed two pages.

He also recommended working on his/her personal brand, i.e., positioning his/her name in the market. He explained that the personal brand is gained with a networking strategy, for which you must have a good network of contacts. According to him, networking is the permanent building of relationships and the market is driven by recommendations. “If the company wants to hire an executive with certain characteristics, they will first ask who they would recommend and then the names start coming out. There are very good executives who have a hard time finding jobs, not because they are bad, but because they are not visible,” he said.

In that line, he considered that you should be visible on LinkendIn, due to the fact that it is a social network mostly used by executives. “The same thing that is on the impact CV has to be on this social network, but in a smaller way. Before calling the candidate what the company does is to research him or her on LinkendIn and then they contact immediately,” he specified.

She also recommended preparing for the possible job interview and not waiting for that moment to think about your weaknesses or some other question that is usually asked at that moment.

Strategy for the new job

For her part, Claudia Merino, Associate Consultant at LHH DBM Peru, told gestion.pe that an executive needs to direct all his strategies to achieve an outplacement that is – above all – valuable for his career, for his growth and his professional prestige, as well as fast.

In this sense, he said that the first factor that determines his success is to have a well-defined job objective, where he can be clear about the sectors, types of companies and functions with which his competencies fit and the value offer he proposes and offers.

“An executive’s value proposition must be conscious, precise and well-structured: based on experience acquired, positions held and achievements attained. In addition, have the ability to logically order the discourse on their contribution to solutions and strategic contributions to their previous employers,” he said.

As a second factor, he said, it is important to emphasize the management of contact networks, but even more so, perseverance in the management of the strategies corresponding to this management, which includes discipline and careful and attentive preparation for each message, communication channel, meeting space, among others.

“Networks are undoubtedly very effective in periods of labor transition, but they are also very prone to deteriorate due to a bad management of the opportunities they offer,” he said.

Because outplacement processes still have a high degree of human involvement, a third relevant factor is to have impeccable interviews that demonstrate that the executive can and knows how to do, but also that he or she can and knows how to communicate it.

At this point, he said that well-articulated language is the vehicle of thought and the means to transmit the value offer; and non-verbal language is the ‘ice-breaker’ of any communication, including through screens. In addition, he said it serves to consolidate – with certainty – what words say.

“Energy to connect with the interviewer, sensitivity to detect – and subsequently – solve problems from their experience, become relevant in an encounter of this type,” said Merino.