Top 5 CFO Career Trends
by Cindy Kraft, the CFO–Coach
Sarbanes-Oxley compliance has generated headaches, spurred job growth, contributed to CFO
churn, and boosted senior finance executive compensation packages by 20% … and now there is
IFRS. None of those factors are likely to change in the foreseeable future.
Whether you are working for a public or private company, knowing how to play the game will
ensure that you stand out and get noticed in an extremely competitive market. Oftentimes,
finance executives are so busy working in their jobs that they don’t have time to manage their
careers. Then the decision to move on is made, or made for them, and they suddenly find
themselves in unfamiliar territory.
Here are five trends you can embrace to proactively increase your value and competitiveness in
the marketplace.
 Ratchet Up Your Credentials
More than 75% of Fortune 1000 hold an MBA and/or CPA. That number is up from 59% in
2003. CPA CFOs are the candidates of the future.
As companies like Starbucks eliminate COO positions and fill them with operational CFOs, CPA
CFOs with proven operational contributions will offer a compelling value proposition and be in
high demand.
 Exploit Market Differentiation
Companies will be looking for candidates who demonstrate and articulate a clear understanding
of their value proposition … how can you positively impact their bottom line? Focusing on
“what” you did, much like every one of your competitors, creates commodity status. When the
focus instead is on “how” strengths and talents combined to guide strategic initiatives that
positively impacted the bottom line and positioned the organization for brilliance … you have
been repackaged as in-demand, top–talent.
Create the WOW factor by combining your unique promise of value (brand) with your financial
genius to create clear and compelling market differentiation.
 Leverage Your Marketability
Marketability is never higher than when you are gainfully employed. In fact, recruiters have
referred to the unemployed as “low–hanging fruit” and “not the best–of–the–best.” That
perception is likely to continue for at least the foreseeable future.
Web 2.0 technology is forever changing the way candidates are recruited. With the average
tenure of a CFO at three years and falling, leveraging employed status is critical. Regardless of
the great contributions you have delivered and the hefty severance package you negotiated, your
marketable value will be negatively impacted by the stigma of being “unemployed.”
 Become Visible to Those Who Need to Know About You
Even if you are clear about your executive brand, it is of no value unless the people who need to
know about you can find you. This fast–growing trend is also causing a major shift in the job
search paradigm with the traditional job “hunter” now becoming the “hunted.”
Statistics from Forrester and Harvard Business School point to somewhere around 40 million
resumes being floated on the Internet. As the job boards become more and more congested,
executive recruiters are turning to social and business networking sites such as Linked In,
Facebook, Ziggs, and Zoom Info to find passive candidates.
How important, really, is a branded online presence versus a job board presence? One speaker
at the Kennedy recruiting conference said having resumes in job boards was “akin to committing
career suicide.” You can be perceived as “high value” with a branded and visible online presence;
or, you can carry the title of “not” the best–of–the–best.
 Embrace Strategies that Promote “Hunted” Status
Tied closely to creating valuable market differentiation and visibility, is embracing ongoing
career management strategies to transform a “stop and go” mentality into a perpetual flow
strategy.
In the past, it was time to gear up a search strategy “when” a career seeker was in the market for
a new position. Today and in the future, executing ongoing career management strategies that
consistently and continually position a passive candidate … employed but open to hearing about
new opportunities … will become the norm among high–value talent.
These strategies could include maintaining a vibrant network; keeping an online web portfolio
current to maintain visibility; participating in round tables, master mind groups, or learning
forums to leverage best practices; and even venturing into the blogosphere to win positioning as
an industry thought leader.
 Churn is UP
A surprising 33% of corporate recruiters don’t believe their executive management team will be
in place longer than one year. Studies suggest 40% of new leaders fail within the first 18 months.
And Aon Consulting reports a 50% chance an executive will quit or be fired within his first three
years.
CFO churn is trending upward as the average tenure is 18 months to three years. A sound career
management plan, that includes networking, will provide a hedge against extended
unemployment.
Bottom Line: The competitive CFO of the future will understand how his value proposition is
unique and differentiating from others seeking the same positions; develop competitive, value–
oriented marketing documents that position him as in demand; create a visible presence to shift
the job search paradigm to become the “hunted;” and embrace a perpetual motion mentality to
counter the high churn rates of CFOs.
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Cindy Kraft is America’s leading Career & Personal Brand Strategist for Corporate Finance
Executives. She helps clients understand their marketability, clearly articulate their value, and
position themselves as the clear and compelling choice. Twit Pitch: Repackage … Position …
Land! More information is available at www.cfo-coach.com and she can be reached via email
cindy@cfo-coach.com or by phone 813-655-0658.