EVERY career plan NEEDS to implement this OVERLOOKED STRATEGY

Why does it seem like some people nail the interview, get the job, and effortlessly move through their career while others just don’t?  The answer is simple – they realize that every job has an on-ramp.

1.  What’s an on-ramp?

To understand what an on-ramp is … let’s talk about a scenario.  Say you want to be a CEO of a golf equipment company.  That’s pretty specific right? 

Most people don’t know that they want to be the CEO of a Golf Equipment Company when they’re born… but ….. let’s just say that you’re a bit strange, and you just have this burning desire to control how dimpled a golf ball is … or something. 

In essence, you are part of those “Group 1” people I’ve talked about.

So how would you become the CEO of such a company? 

I hear lots of people say “I want to run my own company”

or “I want to be a CEO”. 

But this isn’t like med school.  There isn’t a tried-and-true PATH to get there.  It’s kind of messy.  And, it isn’t really defined. 

Or is it?

Despite these difficulties, let me try to explain how this might work. 

Let’s break up the requirements for such a role into two components:

• Golf Industry Expertise
• CEO capabilities

NOTE:  It’s a good idea to use this technique for any role you might pursue…break the role up into it’s constituent required skills.

Golf Industry Expertise: 

How do you get expertise in the golf industry, or more ideally, in the golf equipment manufacturing industry? 

Well, that’s pretty straightforward.  Get a job, any job in this SPECIFIC industry, and spend hopefully at least a decade there so you understand the ins and outs.  Bonus points if you get promoted or rotate to other roles to get a wider organizational perspective.

CEO Capabilities: 

But then… how do you become a CEO?  This is a lot harder.  Most CEOs have previous C-suite experience as a CFO or COO. 

NOTE:  This is a common trend you can observe if you pay attention to different industries

Ok, let’s continue peeling the onion.

How do you become a CFO? 

Well.. you need a background in Finance or Accounting, work as an investment banker or an accountant, and eventually get a master’s degree, and probably serve as a controller at a company.   That’s already an almost 15-year career.

That’s a lot. 

But the truth is, if you want to become a CFO, and eventually CEO, there are a typical set of steps that people work through to be QUALIFIED for the role.

No owner of a company would hire someone to handle millions and maybe even billions of dollars if they haven’t gone through relevant experiences, and consequently gained SKILLS to do the job. 

You want to be the CEO? 

Prove to me you’ve DONE IT BEFORE.

So now you see, to be a golf equipment manufacturing CEO, you have to have a very precise set of PREDECESSOR experiences and associated skills.  Those experiences / skills are your on-ramp.

2.  Some on-ramps are longer than others.

Ok, so the CEO example is a bit extreme.  Maybe you’re happy with a middle management job and don’t want to stress too much.  Or perhaps you want to be a well-paid “individual contributor” who just comes to work, does your job, and collects a paycheck, no management of people. 

Whatever your goal, it will require different sets of predecessor experiences/skills.  Most roles don’t require 15-20 years of prior relevant experience. 

BUT!

There are TYPICAL degrees and paths people take to get to desired roles. 

I often see people get frustrated wondering why companies won’t give them a chance.

Many times, it’s because they don’t have the TYPICAL background or haven’t followed the TYPICAL path to gain the right skills. 

3.  Why don’t they spell this out?

You may then wonder, why don’t companies just come out and say this, then?

Well, the problem is that while there are TYPICAL paths, there are lots of variations.  Even in the example I laid out above… there may be OTHER ways to gain the right experience.  For example… some people may spend time at a consulting firm working with golf equipment companies and hack that experience requirement.  It just depends.

Also, if you’re the owner of a company, what do you gain by explaining this for every role you have? 

You want people who already “get it”, because that means you can trust their judgement, and they can start working day 1 without a lot of hand-holding.  To a CEO, this reduces the risk of a new hire.

That means it’s up to you as a prospective employee to plan your career in a logical way.  The more your career makes sense, the easier case you can make for a particular job.  So it’s important to aim at the right job(s) when you plan your career.

4.  There is good news.

This may seem like an impossible situation.  But in actuality… it isn’t. 

This is a test where the answer key is all around you. 

Every person you meet in an industry that you’re interested in has relevant information that can help you figure out what the right ON-RAMP is…. for YOU. 

You just have to ask them.

So …. what can you REALISTICALLY do to figure out your own ON-RAMP?

Conclusion: 

The next chance you get, think about a job you’d eventually want.  Then, do the following:

1. Research people who’ve held that job
2. Find out the previous two roles they had before landing the job you want
3. Compare these paths across multiple people
4. Do you see any common trends? How does your trajectory match?

Doing this for 5-10 people will quickly give you an idea of the typical path people take to get to where YOU want to go. 

So…there are some people who just “get it” and some who just don’t.  Which one are you? 

Need some help figuring out your career on-ramps?  Set up a deep dive call with me today!