What kind of professional appeals to the market and headhunters after all?

Most professionals I talk to ask me if there is a formula to boost their careers.

Is it better to go for an M.B.A. or an M.A.? Is it better to go to grad school or invest the money in improving one’s English? Is it better to have Spanish as a second language or go for Chinese? Should I really go for another undergraduate degree and take advantage of some booming industry?

Know this: the success formula does exist but it’s unique for each individual. What does draw attention of headhunters and what the market values in professionals is their ability to deliver results for the organization.

And in the job selection processes people are looking for evidence that the professional can generate such results.

Based on that, the decision to whether study Spanish or Chinese, for instance, will depend on which language will help you produce more results. The same goes for an MBA. Getting the degree and then adding it to your resume will not improve your employability in and of itself. What will make you more valuable in the market is learning from the MBA how to improve your ability to deliver results. If that happens, then yes, your value in the market will go up.

That’s why the formula for success is unique. Some professionals seek improvement with graduate courses, others in expatriate experiences. Some learn better on their own, others with a mentor who can teach them every step of the way.

That’s why you should ideally decide on your professional future—even if it’s not perfectly outlined and defined—, find out what are the things you need to do in order to get there and draw a development plan in order to learn those things.

It sounds simple, but it’s not. I believe the biggest difficulty lies in knowing who you are. That’s why there isn’t such a thing as the career of the future or the professional success secret. If a professional is excellent with numbers and likes to work in the financial market early on, it’s no use migrating to a technical career in the oil and gas industry only because this is a hot market today and offers good future opportunities. They’ll probably not do well and will not take advantage of the market boom.
It’s simple. If it’s not “you’re thing” and you don’t like what you do, you won’t enjoy this success even if the market is hot.

Therefore, studying Chinese can be an excellent bet in a growing market, but if delivering results in your area has nothing to do with the use of this language studying it will be more of a cultural investment than a professional one.

You may even ask yourself if everything in the world revolves around results. This is what I’ll tell you, “YES.” But I don’t only mean professional ones.

Results may include sales increase, employee retention, fame, credibility, profitability, geographic presence, image, or even other results which don’t mean anything to some people, but to others are priceless. Which results do you want to achieve?

GOOD LUCK!!

The Headhunter’s Radar

This is the English version of the Headhunter’s Radar blog, which is hosted in the website of Brazilian magazine “Você S.A."

This first post attempts explain two things. One of them is the reason for “another” blog and what you’re going to find in here in terms of information. The second is the rationale behind the translation of the original Brazilian Portuguese blog into English.

Let’s tackle the first one. Some time ago I was curious about searching for the number of interviews, HR events, luncheons and breakfasts with executives, and visits to clients I had participated in the Michael Page system.

My idea was to measure the amount of information I had had access to in this type of interaction with executives in the market. The number was very interesting, but that was not the most important thing. What really mattered was to be able—somehow—to gather all this type content and “give back” to the market a “synthesis” of everything I hear, discuss, and learn in my daily interactions with the business world.

So that’s how the blog idea started. In addition to that, someone’s career is an asset that very few people know how to handle properly. Everybody wants to take care of their health and invest small fortunes in gyms and balanced meals, which is very important. Likewise, taking care of your career deserves the same attention.

Our professional careers are the instrument that will provide us with not only financial peace of mind but also well being since we spend most of our time working. You’ll find in here everything that might be under the Headhunter’s Radar: discussions about career trends, HR practices, business recruiting changes, what makes people change their jobs, and other issues that will come up, including those arising from your participation and comments.

The second reason—regarding the blog’s English translation. It’s simple: discourse and practice. I always tell executives I talk to that we need to be constantly connected not only to the local market but also the global one (even I only had my blog in Portuguese!!). As of now this is different!

The most important thing is that this blog will show that apart from everything one might think CEOs, vice presidents, directors, managers, and other top-leadership professions are also “children just like you*” and this blog may help you find out “what you’re going to be when you grow up.**”

*Translator’s Note: The original Portuguese phrase is quoted from a Brazilian song by Legião Urbana titled “Pais e Filhos”. Among other things, the song cautions against blaming your parents for everything, and says that one has to remember that they are “crianças como você,” “children just like you.”

**Translator’s note: ibid.