If you’re in this situation, it’s best at this stage to inventory your qualifications, examine your company preferences, and research industries.
To begin, create a list of personal preferences including:
- Values, interests, and aspirations
- Innate talents, greatest strengths, and core competencies
- Preferences regarding corporate culture and values
- Company size – small-, mid-, large-cap
- Structure – public, private, non-profit
- Source of funding – VC, PE,
- Growth model – organic or growth by acquisition
- Footprint – local, national, international, global
- Type of organization – traditional, pioneer, hyper growth, etc.
- Governance – board, regulatory bodies
- Leadership style – hierarchy, flat
- Reputation
- Executive turnover rate and reasons
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NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes: http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html.
- NYSE Euronext: http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lc_all_industry.html. The Industry Classification Benchmark* (ICB) — which comprises 10 industries, 18 supersectors, 40 sectors and 114 subsectors — provides accurate and globally accepted industry and sector classifications.
- Polson Enterprises: http://www.virtualpet.com/industry/. This site provides an online step-by-step process for researching industries and companies with links to thousands of resources.
- Hoover’s Online, http://www.hoovers.com – Site has an Industry Master List with drill down capability to industry trends, industry snapshots, major companies in the industry, associations, organizations, publications, press releases, glossaries, and more.
With proper due diligence, executives are able to change industries smoothly. You simply need to identify key industry characteristics and aggressively pursue the transition to achieve the success you desire when landing an executive position at a new company or in a new industry.