“No one wants to hire a CFO in their mid-to-late 50s"
“No one wants to hire a CFO in their mid-to-late 50s with extensive experience and achievement”
This was a comment I received on one of my LinkedIn posts a few months ago. And it's something I’ve heard before, even though ‘CFOs are hot property’. Of course there are always two sides to every story, but what could be going on here? Well obviously, I don’t know about this specific situation, but it did get me thinking …The default option when we are between jobs or out of a job, is to get another one, right? That’s what we’ve always done. It’s normal. Or is it?
What's the alternative to traditional employment?
There is an alternative… and that’s to move to self-employment, join the C-suite access economy, and build a portfolio of clients to work with over the long term, each on a fractional basis.
This brings freedom from corporate life:
Variety
Flexibility
Meaning & purpose
Control over our lives
It is a way to future-proof our careers forever, because we diversify our risk by working with a range of clients where it is highly unlikely that they will all stop on the same day. We won’t have all our eggs in one basket like we do in employment, putting us at the mercy of sector shocks or corporate restructurings. In fact, I firmly believe job security is a myth, an illusion.
Instead, portfolio work gives us income security and if we take the time to learn the skills to find, win, and keep clients we will always be able to access the market when we have a gap in our portfolios, and we can keep going all the way to retirement.I firmly believe the C-suite access economy is part of the Future of Work. It’s emerging and gaining traction.It does, however, take time to learn the skills to build a portfolio and yield a financial return
This is not a temporary solution to not being able to 'find a job'
I recommend framing it as a change of career. It requires an investment of time and money to support ourselves as we learn the ropes, which is unfortunately something CxOs typically don’t have if they have first spent time doing the recruitment rounds unsuccessfully.This leads to a scenario I often come across...CxOs seeing self-employment as that stopgap or filler between jobs and not giving it their full commitment.
Instead, they go into it thinking they will ‘give it a try’ but still carry on looking for a job, to hedge their bets.I have seen it time and again and it just doesn’t work.It’s understandable because it’s a relatively new way of living and working and we won’t know if we are any good at it until we try.But the best advice I can share, is make sure you give it serious consideration before you start and be all in. For 12 months.
My 4 biggest tips for going 'portfolio'
Here are some key learnings from my own experience:
Lesson #1: Get the finances sorted
If possible, try to secure the financial runway during that time to live with reduced earnings.
Lesson #2: Turn off the job ads
If you go down the portfolio route but aren’t fully committed and don’t turn the job ad notifications off and let the head-hunters know you are out of the full-time game, then it’s very unlikely to work. You aren’t really committed. It sounds harsh but I would recommend not to bother starting.
Lesson #3: Involve your loved ones
It needs to be a family affair. Those close to you must be right behind you and believe in your choice. You will need them when it gets tough, and invariably it does at one point or another. The last thing you need is to be constantly asked at home about when you are going to get a proper job. This is a ‘proper’ job. And it does take time.
Lesson #4: Chase value not fees
Think value to client not fees to you. When building your portfolio, it’s easy to think in terms of revenue to you, especially if you haven’t earnt for a while. That’s a dangerous game. Entrepreneurial business owners can sense this. If you chase fees, they will elude you. Instead, think value to the client. There will be an element of short-term sacrifice here that will earn you the right to a long-term relationship which is far more valuable.
Onwards and upwards
Once you’ve built your portfolio and learnt the skills to keep it going, there’s no better place to be and you won’t go back. Those that are prepared to stick at it, who really do want to make it happen, and believe portfolio is their future will be the ones who make it.So, if no-one wants to hire you in your mid-to-late 50s with your extensive experience and achievement, I recommend turning the tables.It’s a mind game. Rather than thinking I can’t get a job, think, I don’t want a job!
What do you think?
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