We help departing C-Suite executives move forward with clarity and confidence.
A C-suite departure is a significant moment for everyone involved. We help companies and their departing executives navigate it well.
For a departing C-suite executive, the most urgent and important work is building a clear narrative that addresses the transition honestly, developing a value proposition that reflects everything they delivered in their career including at their most recent company, and thinking strategically about the full range of options in front of them. They may need to address broader questions than just a job search, whether that is a new executive role, a board seat, a fractional or advisory practice, or something else entirely.
Unfortunately, many executive outplacement firms are being acquired by private equity, which is both raising prices and reducing service levels. Outplacement providers are increasingly working across a broad range of management levels and career situations rather than developing deep expertise at the C-suite level.
We have found that senior leaders typically do not need to be walked through the fundamentals of a job search in the way that standardized programs offer. What they need is a highly personalized engagement that addresses where they actually are: a specific game plan for their transition, a clear value proposition, highly tailored collateral including a resume and LinkedIn profile, and a specific set of decisions to make about what comes next.
That is exactly where CXO Directions fits.
CXO Directions is here to help with:
A transition plan
The exit narrative
Resume writing
LinkedIn profile writing
Networking coaching
Interview preparation
Alternative paths: Board work, advisory, and/or C-Suite Fractional work
Executive Outplacement needs to handle the full range of choices about C-Suite leaders’ possible next steps
CXO Directions is one of the few outplacement providers with genuine expertise across the full range of C-suite career options. We help departing executives think through and pursue any combination of a new executive role, board work, fractional/consulting work, and advisory engagements, and we help them build the strategy, value proposition, and materials to pursue whichever path or paths make the most sense for where they are.
That means our outplacement engagement is a four-in-one solution. We help executives build and run simultaneous searches for jobs, Board seats, and advisory roles. As part of our service, we can also help executives build and launch a fractional practice, if they are at a point in their career where they want to pivot, have more flexibility, or bring in more immediate income.
C-Suite level Outplacement needs to build a narrative that works for everyone
C-suite executives tend to get hired into companies in the first place by networking within investor, Board and C-suite circles. When they leave that ompany, most senior leaders will return to those same trusted networks to find their next opportunity. This means that, unlike at other levels of seniority, C-suite narratives need to work exceptionally well within that network, for the good of the company as well as themselves.
A transition narrative at this level needs to meet three tests simultaneously. It needs to be honest enough to hold up when vetted by people who know the situation. It needs to be compelling enough to open new doors with people who do not. And it needs to be protective of the company that is supporting the executive through outplacement, reflecting well on the organization even as the relationship ends.
We work directly with the departing executive to build that narrative, a version of their story that is true, strategic, and positions them well for whatever comes next without creating complications for the company they are leaving.
2x faster
outplacement has been shown to help executives find roles 2x faster than the national average
62%
of applicants prefer to work for a company that offers outplacement