Bankers make especially great business contacts, according to Ron Proul, CEO of Century Group, a professional search and consultancy specializing in finance and accounting. Further, both investment bankers and commercial bankers have vested interests in placing a CFO at a client or portfolio company, says Proul. And so, too, do angel and venture capital investors. Such a placements could strengthen the leadership of the company, which in turn protects the company's prospects. In addition, the placement usually creates a better personal relationship between the lender and the company's CFO.

Proul recalls a recent interview with a finance chief who had made the jump to the president's role. The former CFO said he and his prospective employer had used the same banker, and that connection had played a role in the president's hiring. Financing had been a crucial part of the company's expansion strategy, and both the employer and its lender wanted to hire someone for the president's role they had confidence in. "The bank's endorsement sealed the deal," explained Proul.

A Good Opening Line
Networks never die, no matter how dormant they seem. "It's okay to call up someone out of the blue, someone you haven't talked to in four years," suggests Seidel. "Remember, they haven't called you either."

It's easier than you might thing to call an old associate, says the outplacement expert. He suggests starting with a line like: "I wish I was making this call under better circumstances, but I'm looking for a new job and was wondering if we could get together so I could pick your brain about the market."

Some out-of-work executives see a stigma attached to job transitioning, and keep their situation a secret. Bad idea. It's counterproductive and limits the network, says Seidel. Instead, talk about your job search with friends and neighbors, who may be inclined to pass along a résumé or keep their eyes peeled for opportunities.

Networking isn't about getting a job. "It's about seeking advice," he maintains. The goal: learn something new every time you network. Add to your knowledge of the market, a company, a potential new boss, contacts you have in common. Inviting someone for a cup of coffee just to discuss job openings leads to a quick yes or no answer — and disappointment. The job seeker feels the conversation was a waste of time, and the colleague feels like he or she was useless.

End all conversations on a positive note, suggests Seidel: "Is there anyone else in our industry that you think I should talk to?" or "Do you know anyone at that company that I could call?"

He cautions against relying on formal networking groups. While they should be a component of a networking plan, they require traveling from meeting to meeting, taking time from the building of a personal network. The same is true for virtual networking via online sites. Make virtual networking a component of your plan, but don't use it to replace "old fashioned" personal networking.

Have Spreadsheet, Will Travel
"Don't take yourself out of the market," counsels Korn/Ferry's Eldridge, who sees a job transition as the wrong time to take a vacation or sabbatical. Delays between an executive's departure from one company and arrival at the next creates questions for potential employers.

Even taking on consulting assignments is "tricky to balance," he claims. Every hour job hunters spend on freelance work is an hour subtracted from the search. He admits that there are practical considerations — most important may be needing income — that take precedent over full-time networking. But he warns against the dangers of not doing enough.

Some finance chiefs in transition accept assignments with interim CFO firms or finance and accounting consultancies, figuring they will provide sustenance while helping identify jobs among client companies. Clients sometimes do buy out the contract of an acting CFO or consultant. But be careful. It doesn't happen often enough to make interim work a job hunting strategy.

While being a temporary CFO can be a terrific career, says Eldridge, "I wouldn't go to an interim firm with the idea of becoming permanent." Pro tem CFOs have specific skills. They're "relationship kings and gurus," he says, adept at forming solid relationships quickly and developing intensity about a project over a short period of time. It's similar to the model used at Big Four accounting firms, or at interim CFO firms, notes Eldridge.

At least one interim CFO firm, Tatum LLC, has a slightly different take on the subject. Tatum chief executive Richard D'Amaro explains that while Tatum is a career destination for many temporary CFOs — with CFO assignments ranging from 13 years to a few months — it also generates about one-third of its revenue as an executive search firm, placing interim CFOs at client companies for a fee. One reason for the high instance of placements may be that finance chiefs joining Tatum as guns for hire typically have the credentials to remain at a company as a permanent member of the management team, rather than being a more narrowly focused project specialist.

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