Last updated: 19th Apr 2026
Here’s what I see constantly: a senior executive decides to go active and immediately defaults to the broadest possible positioning.
“I’m looking for a significant leadership role” – because they’re very experienced – “in any industry” – because they learn fast – “based in a major city” – because the kids need a good school.
That’s not a career brief. That’s a Google search with no filters.
Many senior leaders fall into this trap. They try to keep their options open by staying broad.
It also makes you almost impossible to place.
Counterintuitively, narrowing your focus increases your opportunities – because the market will recognise your value and know when to think of you.
Expert Tip.
When you tell someone you’re open to anything, you’re actually telling them you haven’t done the work to figure out what you want. And if you haven’t figured it out, why would a search consultant or a hiring manager do it for you?
Before you reach out to a single person, get three things locked in.
1. Position Yourself Correctly.
Reflect on the last 15 years of your career with brutal commercial honesty.
Don’t ask yourself “what have I done?” but “where has my work created the most measurable value“?
A CFO who led a $2.4B portfolio through a restructure has a very different positioning story than a CFO who maintained steady-state operations.
You may arrive at one clear theme. More likely, you’ll arrive at several. Eliminate ruthlessly – until you’re left with one that 1) aligns best with your values and 2) meets real market need.
(Related: How Arielle Executive Strategic Positioning Works).
2. Set Concrete Boundaries.
Decide which sectors are wrong for you – so you can stop pretending they’re not.
Determine which cities actually work for you as a base.
If you want a role with specific impact, define what impact means in dollar terms, team size, or mandate scope.
Important!
The tighter your criteria, the easier it is for other people to connect you with the right opportunities.
3. Build A Narrative That Sells.
You are now in sales mode, and the product is your leadership brand.
But you can’t go to market with a $25 AI-generated resume from Fiverr.
Invest in an executive resume and a LinkedIn profile that convey your commercial value. Because at your level, these documents are not rearward-looking chronicles of your career.
They’re future-looking business pitches that:
- Bring the positioning you decided on in #1 to life.
- Put forward the business case for hiring you.
A professionally written executive resume and LinkedIn profile will cost you a few thousand dollars. At your level, that number is almost beside the point.
Think about it this way –
If better positioning moves you into a role that’s even $20,000 higher in base salary, 6 months earlier, the documents have paid for themselves before your first performance review.
Important!
That salary differential doesn’t just happen once. It compounds across every role and every negotiation you have over the next 2-3 decades.
The real cost isn’t the investment. It’s staying invisible for another six months while you wait to see if the DIY version works.
Never Spray And Pray Search Firms.
Once your positioning is clear, the temptation is to go wide.
Blast your resume to every recruiter on LinkedIn. Send a generic note to two hundred people with “exploring new opportunities” in the subject line.
This is the executive equivalent of spray and pray. It feels productive. It achieves almost nothing.
Strategic outreach means three things:
- Reach the right search consultants. Find the firms serving your target sectors. Identify the one consultant most likely to be running mandates you’d fit. Write them a SHORT, personalised note that demonstrates you’ve done your homework. Request a meeting, but don’t be offended if they don’t respond. They probably won’t.
- Go directly to decision-makers. The role of a past client of mine was made redundant. He spent a few weeks researching the companies he admired most. He identified the regional business heads at each one and reached out for coffee conversations. Three months later, his brash approach landed him a VP role. The hidden job market doesn’t reveal itself to people who wait. It reveals itself to people who show up.
- Find the connectors. Every industry has a handful of people with an extraordinary knack for making introductions. They know everyone and they genuinely enjoy linking the right people together. You may not be one of them – but you need to identify who they are in your network and invest in those relationships. They are the fastest path to opportunities that never get advertised.
What If You Want To Escape Your Industry?
You’ll be tempted to outsource your search to recruiters and hope they deliver.
They won’t – at least not on their own.
Search firms are one piece of the puzzle. The rest is on you.
One executive I know wanted to move from FMCG into renewable energy.
He spent six months visiting wind farms across Europe and solar projects in the US. He learned the language, understood the dynamics, and compressed years of industry knowledge into months.
He secured a role at a wind turbine manufacturer shortly after.
Visit frequently. Connect with local business communities. Be present and visible in the market you want to enter.
And if you’re between roles, stay active. Join a board. Start an advisory practice. Take on interim work. The worst thing a senior leader can do in transition is disappear – because the market reads silence as decline.
The Real Shift Isn’t Tactical.
It’s mental.
Active job seekers treat their search like a campaign – with a target market, a value proposition, a channel strategy, and a timeline. Passive candidates treat it like a lottery.
The stakes are too high for a lottery.
Irene
Pat says:
Hi Irene, Amazing article. Really helpful. Thanks.
Martin says:
Helpful reading. Especially for those who just have come to Australia and try to apply for a suitable job.
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Steven McConnell says:
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Thanks!
Steven