In Transition

I launched my executive search practice nine years ago with a focus on the social media, content and creator space.  Over time the practice expanded to include midstage technology and commerce startups as well as brands in need of leadership to help them engage in the rapidly growing influencer, social, creator and commerce world.

As recruiters we have always tried to give people good advice and we take referral calls whenever we can to offer guidance on job searches and transitions.  But three years ago - in November, 2022 facebook announced their first wave of executive layoffs and then nearly every tech platform followed.  Within three months I had personally taken over 100 referral calls with people who were displaced and were “in transition.”  And I started to see the following patterns:

Its really hard to figure out what story you want to tell. And it gets even harder as you get more senior.  Here’s why:

• You’ve been out of the job market for a long time and its totally different now - all on line or virtual and AI enhanced - which is intimidating.

• You have had so much success that you don't know what not to talk about so you end up rambling on every interview or networking call.

• You’re so well thought of that you’ve always been recruited and realize you have never really had to look for a job on your own.

Instead of thinking through what you want to do, people are hoping that their successful work history will speak for itself and someone (who you would like to work for but didn’t realize it) will notice that and come calling with a great opportunity that makes sense

You are blowing through your network with conversation after conversation hoping that someone will have an idea or opportunity that sparks for you.  You’ve talked with most of the people who you think can help you.  So far nothing. Here’s why -

There are basically only two impressions you can leave in a networking call:

1. This person doesn’t know what they want to do next and they are hoping I can help and I'm not sure I can. I’m super busy and don't know where the jobs are.

2. This person has “done the work” and figured out what they want to do next and they are asking me if I can connect them with someone in their new area of interest to learn more about the space/that company/that category.

Which person are you?  Which person would you like to be?

This is why we launched an executive transition coaching practice 2 ½ years ago as a complement to our recruiting practice.  We have since worked with nearly 100 leaders in transition across a wide range of businesses - social & digital media, technology, finance, film, television and consumer products.

We also have two other coaches who specialize in transitions - both successful business leaders with different backgrounds and perspectives:

David Gale - a former MTV executive and President of MTV Films has spent his career producing award winning television and film projects.  Despite his extraordinary success as a Producer, David later realized that mentoring and coaching team members and industry colleagues was more rewarding.  David began his coaching career in early 2024.

Darryl Winter was an early mover in the digital media space and spent much of his career building and leading digital sales and marketing teams for leading television and digital media companies. Darryl has inspired, trained and led hundreds of digital media sales leaders and is now putting all that he has learned to work as a transition coach.

Over the next several months,  we will collectively share our learnings and perspectives regarding the challenges and realities of the current job market along with techniques and solutions designed to help you with your transition journey.  We’ll cover everything from networking to building your story to the role of AI.

If you are looking for job search perspectives, subscribe to In Transition and watch this space!

John McCarus is the Founder and President of Content Ink - an executive search, coaching and advisory firm that works with brands, media and tech companies and funding partners focused on the creator, social and influencer space.