The Proactive Executive

Do you ever think about your professional profile relative to the supply and demand for talent in the job market? Have you considered how many people there are with profiles similar to your own? Do you have an informed appreciation for how much market demand there is for executives with your experience and skill sets? If you answered “yes” to these three questions, you are aware of your broader positioning in the market. This understanding enables you to make strategic and positive career development decisions. Taken together, these decisions and corresponding actions determine your market value. If you did not answer the three questions affirmatively, a deliberate application of basic supply-and-demand market principles throughout your career will pay large dividends. How you choose to develop, position, and differentiate yourself in the marketplace makes a definite impact on your career progression, job satisfaction, and long-term compensation.

Let’s dig deeper into four different supply-and-demand talent scenarios to demonstrate the impact that positioning can have on your career:

• High Market Demand/Limited Talent Supply Low Market Demand/High Talent Supply
• High Market Demand/High Talent Supply
• Low Market Demand/Low Talent Supply

Your positioning in one of these quadrants has a direct impact on:

• The number of professionals you will compete against for a given position
• The number and quality of opportunities with which you will be presented
• The amount of compensation leverage you will be able to exert
• The rate at which you’ll be able to advance your career