Darrell W. Gurney, Executive/Career Coach’s Post

Today's Article: May 1 symbolizes many ideas surrounding love, virility and the new life of spring. For putting some "spring" in your career transition, consider eliminating your job dating neediness. #career #executivetransition #jobsearch #Mayday #ceo #careerguy

Tech has taken it in the assets for the last couple of years, hasn’t it? “Last year, 2023, saw a big jump in job cuts, reaching a whopping 270,416—a staggering 396% more than the year before. The tech industry took a hard hit, losing over 240,000 jobs, marking a 50% increase from the previous year. The tech world, already facing upheavals in the last two years, is set to continue its challenges in 2024. In just the first four weeks of this year, big players like Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, TikTok, and Salesforce let go of around 25,000 employees. According to Layoffs.fyi, 93 tech companies laid off 24,584 employees in 2024.” – Forbes’ Goldie Chan If you consider your people your #1 asset, that’s a pretty hard pounding on tech. This has impacted not only the newbies who came into and onto the field during boomtimes of the pandemic, but those folks who had been at the top echelons for years. . .and sometimes their whole careers. Obviously, the tech CEOs know that, if you’re going to make cuts, it’s way more efficient to see where you can lop off a higher-level person than 3 more junior folks. I’ve become very involved over these last years in helping these senior tech execs and sales leaders make unexpectedly upwardly mobile moves at a time when simple survival in one’s job would be gratefully accepted. In order to stand out and rise up in a challenged industry, you need a superpower that others don’t have. For those I’ve supported, that superpower is learning to approach their transition from a “backdoor” angle. The three pillars of that approach that enables their unexpected upwardly mobile results are:   👉 Leveraging their unique career experience into a holistic narrative – a career inventory – that clarifies their one-of-a-kind value. 👉 Creating a positioning platform around that narrative – their personal brand – to stand out among other leaders. 👉 Accessing hidden, “backdoor” opportunities through strategic relationship building for higher impact and pay. If you’re in a similar tech dilemma – or really any field, as this approach is agnostic and not limited by industry – take a few minutes to hear Maurice’s experience below. After 20 years with one of the main marquee companies of the tech world, he found that a whole new world awaited him outside of the nest. Want to insure your own unexpected upward mobility, no matter how your industry or the economy in general is performing? Answer a few questions and then schedule a complimentary Career Elevation Assessment here: https://lnkd.in/euyryaSk When your industry or the economy is questionable, there are ways to set yourself up to be unexpectedly upwardly mobile, and unquestionably indispensable. #executivetransition #toptalent #personalbranding #careercoach #backdoor #jobsearch #ceo #careerguy https://lnkd.in/gZWK67AE (You can see the same video on his profile from last year.)

Revisiting the benefits of The Great Resignation/Reshuffle that can still help you today. You know how in summertime the television advertisers show winter scenes, and vice versa during the winter? They play off the fact that it’s always enticing to remember what it’s like on the other side of life, right? So, while we’re now in a different job market, it’s good to remember how organizations respond when their already existing talent stands out and demonstrates unique value. Today, when layoffs abound, particularly in tech, it’s empowering to know that when YOU are good talent and take control of your own career that you’re always going to come out on top. Not only can you set yourself up for getting the best hidden-job-market roles that DO exist (there’s ALWAYS hidden, high-level roles being filled, no matter what the economy), but you can also demonstrate far more value for any organization you’re currently with. . .which can result in raises and promotions to keep you there. Joe is a great example. If any of what is mentioned above intrigues you, I encourage you to hear his story below. It will give you a taste of how investing in your own career management and discovering and owning the unique value you bring to everything you touch sets you up for greater success: either UP in your current organization (which happened for Joe) or OUT into organizations that will truly appreciate your value. If you’d like to ensure that your own unique value is better appreciated either within or outside of your current role, learn how to make yourself indispensable by scheduling a complimentary Career Elevation Assessment here: https://lnkd.in/euyryaSk When the economy is questionable, there are ways to set yourself up to be unquestionably indispensable. #executivetransition #toptalent #personalbranding #careercoach #backdoor #jobsearch #ceo https://lnkd.in/ei6Z2piq

Case Study: when the “hidden” market delivers opportunities that are only wishful thinking through standard job search. Sundar was COO of an $80M division of Teledyne, one of the old stalwart tech companies that arose in the bustling cold war. Interestingly, it was founded by the Dean of my own business school at the University of Texas, George Kozmetsky, whom I got to meet a few times in my undergraduate years. A great Fortune 500 company for sure, but after 20years in the same organization, Sundar felt he was operating in old tech vs new tech, and in an old, hierarchical management style vs the freer forms of modern tech management in the modern world. So, he wanted out! Getting into the job market after 20yrs in management with an old-style resume and operating from only "front-door" past job search experience: not powerful We connected and, to his credit (hey, he’s a PhD!), he was keen to learn a new way to go about making a conscious and effective career transition vs being limited to his old, outdated understandings of job search: searching for openings, submitting applications, trying to impress interviewers, etc. He actually HEARD what so many don’t: that roles showing up through the “front door” of posted openings or recruiters are only 20% of the available roles out there because 80% are filled before they’re ever advertised! He embarked on a career transformation program with me which included 3 phases: 1) Understanding and being able to see from an observer’s point of view his unique and transferable “essence” 2) Distinguishing that unique essence into a personal brand and narrative that set him apart 3) Learning a “backdoor” method by which he could become known by those in fields that truly fascinated him and havce opportunities chasing him vs him needing to chase anything He was very different than when he had started with Teledyne two decades before and wanted to explore and entertain his fascinations in all things new tech: AI, driverless cars, 3D printing, etc. Through a consciously designed, systematic and strategic “backdoor” campaign, he ended up making connections and having conversations (not “interviews”) that never happen through the front-door. In the end, he became Mitsubishi’s representative to the World Economic Forum for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and increased his salary a good 30% in the process. Pretty wild, huh? Where do you ever land those kind of sweetheart roles via the front-door? Never. Hear his story below and, if this approach sounds like something you deserve for yourself after having developed your own senior-level stripes, learn how it’s done by scheduling a complimentary Career Strategy Session here: https://BackdoorStrategy At high levels of executive experience, there’s a far better way of approaching a career transition befitting of your earned stripes. #executivetransition #career #dreamjob #personalbranding #careercoach #backdoor #jobsearch https://lnkd.in/dS-DaFfK

“Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.” – John Lennon I find that the same goes for careers. Good planning and purposeful preparation is essential, and yet very often it just opens up a door to something completely unexpected. Take for example Georgia in the video below. She came to me several years back when an organization in which she had been a financial executive began to falter. Her golden goose of cashing out with equity in a start-up fizzled and, beyond the midway point in her career (and life), she was left holding the empty bag. Should she try to land another senior role at a point in life where ageism can covertly crop up? The great thing about the conscious, systematic and stealth “backdoor” method I teach is that challenges like ageism, career gaps and even complete industry/career changes dissolve in the light of the relationships and opportunities that begin to form with this approach. And, even as an individual moves through those dissipated challenges (that can stop one dead in their tracks through the typical, front-door application/interview approach) toward opportunities that they would have never imagined can come to them (a.k.a., chase them), doors often open up for a turn they would have never expected: starting up their own business! This happens for a third of my transition clients. At a beyond-the-midlife point, Georgia used the same principles I teach senior executives and sales leaders to unlock their next multiple 6-figure role and move up or out within 90 Days without the resume/interview hassle to start up her own business as a fractional CFO. She’s successfully grown that business for over 8 years now and gets to grow her income far beyond what a continued corporate role would have afforded while having the freedom and flexibility of calling her own shots. If you had your own druthers, which direction would YOU go: Up in your current organization? Out into another organization? Completely out into your own thing? Yup. We got you covered either way. Learn how I help senior executives & sales leaders explore their options by watching the video here: https://lnkd.in/gmTHy26U #career #executive #transition #entrepreneurafter50 #coach #backfortyoptions #midlifecareer #professional https://lnkd.in/gpkdvq_6

An inspiring story with several layers. 1. I originally supported Lee several years ago when he was leaving a senior sales role at Dell. Initially, he used our work together to make a big industry shift from hardware to ecommerce leadership (when making the video below). That’s the first layer. 2. Then he made a couple other strategic upgrades using those new career skills and is now in the upper leadership heading digital sales for the northern region of the Americas for a premier worldwide software organization. The enduring value of his career coaching experience is that it wasn’t just for his next role but, rather, an education that altered the way he managed his career from that point forward. I call it “lifetime career management.” That’s the second layer. 3. What's great about Lee is that he’s always been a leader committed to the growth and career development of his people, from his days at Dell onward. He knows that if he invests time and resources to have his people know their value – even if it makes them more valuable to other companies who could try to snatch them – they will value their relationship with him and that enduring relationship could be priceless. This time last year, in the throes of The Great Resignation, when some (but not all) companies began prioritizing corporate culture and employee experience, Lee reached out to me to train one of his top salespeople in the same career management techniques which he had learned with me years earlier. That’s the third layer. And that’s a pretty significant layer: his commitment to his people and courage to give his top person the same training he had received many years earlier which made him a personally-branded, backdoor-connected, thought-leader-endowed executive to be reckoned with. Hey, she could have become more aware of her unique value and taken her new personally-branded narrative to seemingly greener pastures! But, instead, Lee ended up with a leader who knows all the value she brings while both 1) appreciating his care for her growth to provide such awareness through my coaching, and 2) being an even MORE contributing force within her current organization. It's rare that management and organizations will risk leaders on their team learning and truly standing in their own value. Kudos to the brave who do for, in exchange for their courage and commitment, they get even more committed and valuable leaders on their teams. Enjoy more on Layers 1 & 2 with Lee’s video from years ago below, and see more details on Layer 3 and how organizations can take this career-management and self-empowerment wisdom and use it to have their top people stay put here: https://lnkd.in/g4rmfyZE Finally, for you or your organization, learn how I help senior executives & sales leaders become more valuable by watching the video here: https://lnkd.in/gmTHy26U #leadership #coaching #career #team #growth #value

I’m inspired by stories like this. I coach senior executives and sales leaders to stand out so as to make profitable and fulfilling career transitions by no longer hiding their light under a bushel, getting themselves out there and making sure the world is aware of their unique capabilities, value and “brand” WITHOUT any need to sell themselves, apply for jobs, or deal with that whole standard front-door interview hassle. A big part of how that happens that is the SELF-awareness that comes about through an initial personal branding process. It actually has folks see and carry themselves differently so that afterwards, when initiating a backdoor relationships-building campaign to research the areas they want to explore (sometimes in a COMPLETELY different field), they truly do stand out. The cool thing that often happens, however, is that even though many clients first come to me because they are considering a career transition out of their current organization, specifically BECAUSE of that new sense of themselves gained through the personal branding process, they show up more powerfully in their current workplace and end up getting promoted within! Below is one of a few recent stories of exactly that happening. Malini was only halfway through her coaching program, but with the new sense of herself she gained – and the way she conveyed that new sense of herself in her current organization – they woke up and put her into another role more in line with her growth trajectory. . .with a pay increase to boot! The important thing is, whether she stays or still eventually goes, she's growing along the way. Too often companies loose great people by not paying attention to what they have. But it’s also a senior professional’s job to know their worth and get it: to either move up in their current organization or out where it will be better appreciated. I invite you to hear Malini’s story! Are you fully aware of your own unique value going into a New Year? #personalbranding #careercoach #executivedevelopment #positioning #selfesteem #careergrowth #nextlevel https://lnkd.in/gFMBA9tm

Oy Vey! A New Year is less than a week away? Maybe while in the lingering high spirits of the holiday it's a good time to start thinking of what next year will bring. Here are some tips to help 2023 be a little edgy and playful, if that's what you're into. https://bit.ly/BFTopTen #newyear #playtime #backforty

With the New Year two weeks away, it's a good time to start thinking of what's next. Here are some tips to help design the mindset that will shape your 2023. https://bit.ly/BFTopTen #newyear #playtime #mindset #backforty

2023 Best Year Trifecta: Money, Health & Purposeful Play Join the Trifecta Team on Monday, Nov 21, at 4:30pm PST for a 20-minute jump start to designing your plan for money, health and purposeful play in your Best Year Trifecta 2023 Links from the Broadcast: Darrell W. Gurney TheBackforty.com https://bit.ly/BFBigGame Maria Mizzi MariaMizzi.com https://lnkd.in/gH7r6fY6 Dawnette Palmore YourMoneyOnPurpose.com https://bit.ly/YMOPReset