I did something I’ve never done before this week.
I met a recruiter.
Dear Reader, I did it for you. For research purposes. Ok, I’ll admit I was also mildly interested.
They’d had a job posting that I quite fancied which could work around my other commitments.
I wasn’t a good fit for the role, which I knew, but the recruiter wanted to meet me to explore other options.
I was sceptical, but it was only a 20 min drive away, so I met him – but with a different goal from finding a job: I wanted to understand how he’d describe and position someone like me.
One of the exercises in Corporate Escapology is called Six Shoes and it’s designed to help you build a much broader view of your skills, experience and know-how. By stepping into other people’s shoes (Manager, Colleague, Coach, Friend etc) you can see you how they see you.
One of those ‘other people’ is a Recruiter.
I picked them because their job is to sell you. So, you would hope, they’ll do a good job of it.
I’ve got no idea how a recruiter would position me these days – maybe I never did, since I was never a classic Marketing Director. Now, with startup accelerator, author, coach, consultant etc added to my portfolio I suspect I’m even harder to define.
But it turns out I was wrong.
He cut to the chase straight away: “I don’t see you as a Marketing Director, or even marketing really. I see you as innovation, corporate innovation.”
“OK”, I said, “But I’ve never actually worked in a proper innovation team or in new product development.”
“It’s the corporate startup collaboration work you’ve done at BP and now Shell that’s the most interesting; everyone’s wrestling with it. Everyone sees startups as a major source of innovation, but they can’t seem to make it work. Especially in more complex technology areas.”
Mike drop. 20 years in marketing. No longer valuable.
He was brutal: “I don’t think you’ll compete for anything other than freelance now. Most hiring managers I meet are looking for Marketing Directors who’ve run big teams, big campaigns or digital marketing. I’m sure you’ll get freelance or advisory type roles, coaching junior teams but not Marketing Director.”
Oh.
The good news however is he still thinks I am valuable, should I want to re-enter full time work. And he thinks he could position me for roles with corporates.
I was surprised how reassured I was by this as I left. I told my wife straight away as I knew it would make her happy.
But the main outcome was getting a more objective perspective on my sources of value – and how to describe them to others.
I’d really recommend it.
Especially for getting the language right for your ‘customer’ (which could be a client, an employer, a partner – or even an intermediary, like a recruiter). You may need to update how you identify – so you sound like something they want or would buy.
On a similar vein, I talked to my friend Sarra this week about the word ‘Fractional’ as a prefix to her offer. It could sound reassuring to a client that can’t afford you full-time, or it could sound alarming to others that you’re not very available, or it could be just downright confusing to others.
You’ve got to test it.
For a long time I wrestled with ‘consultant’ because I didn’t like the label – but it turns out most clients are very comfortable with it.
In the immortal words of the Godfather of Customer Development, Steve Blank – you have to “get out the building” or your head – and talk to customers, or people who can help you find customers.
The insights you get can be very revealing and save you a lot of time guessing and going wrong.
I’m running three Escapology Lives right now. The first cohort of the year is on its last session this coming week. Had some lovely feedback, like this:
“Thanks so much for the course so far, I’m really enjoying it and particularly the group dynamic of learning and exploring together.“
I’ve almost filled Cohort 6, starting March 4th (7-8pm) and the next four Tuesdays. There are just two spots (of eight) available if you or someone you know might benefit. Just £70. I’m going to raise the price after this one to £90. https://www.corporateescapology.com/escapology-live
