How to land on your feet

What if you are a well-placed executive or successful business owner who must suddenly face a career shift?

Jennifer Bayuk is an independent technology risk management consultant based in New Jersey and co-author of the 2018 book Financial Cybersecurity Risk Management: Leadership Perspectives and Guidance for Systems and Institutions (published by Apress). She also was senior managing director and chief information security officer at Bear Stearns & Co. at the time of its 2008 acquisition by JPMorgan Chase. She offered this advice for displaced executives:

Leverage placement services.

“Companies offer re-employment services and placement services as an orderly transition, and employees need to call into these support programs and ensure they are receiving the help and assistance they need,” she wrote in an online article for Information Security Media Group (ISMG). Such services offer not only job placement but also individual job search strategies and counseling services. 

Define your resume.

 Look forward, not backward. “You may have been the vice president of equity, but today are looking for a consulting position as an independent professional,” she said. “You will need to change your attitude and approach to defining who you really are and want to be in looking for a new job.”

Look beyond your present industry.

Your skill sets may be easily transferable to other industries. “Broaden your search, on both the job content and geography fronts,” Bayuk advised. 

Finally, don’t rush.

“Take a logical approach toward your career, and make a thoughtful decision,” she cautioned. “Do not panic.” Network widely and share your job search and goals. “The key,” Bayuk concluded, “is to be patient.”

GERALD KORSON is a Legatus magazine staff writer.