For consumer goods candidates between the ages of 45-50 who are contemplating change.

It is becoming more common within the consumer goods industry for candidates to explore new opportunities when they are between the ages of 45 and 50.

We are seeing more candidates make moves to smaller companies where they are offered more diverse job descriptions, more interesting mandates, less bureaucracy and the ability to earn substantially more money.

There is a certainly a market for well-seasoned and well trained cpg candidates to bring structure and direction to new companies as well as new industries with many being considered “start-up”

in size.

This opportunity for more challenge and compensation also comes with a higher risk that many candidates are willing to accept.

Fortuity Group has tracked the reasons for candidates making these types of career changes and the reasons below are ranked in order of frequency. (note: these rankings apply only to consumer goods industry candidates)

1.The bonus payout within the industry is not strong enough to balance out the ever increasing energy and time investment needed in order to meet personal targets.

2.There is an internal pressure within the candidate that they are not earning as much as they should be given that they are now in the prime earning years of their life.

3.Concern exists over the passion that they have for their job and company.

Many candidates feel that without the passion, they are more likely to become a casualty of downsizing as their salary increases.

4.The company and/or industry performance does not seem to be trending in the right direction.

5.There is a feeling that the candidate is losing control of their destiny when they witness respected colleagues leaving their positions.

6.Concern exists about eroding skill sets or that they are likely to become type cast within their company or category.

My only advice to candidates that are contemplating this type of career change is to do as much research on the company AND industry as possible.

I am often surprised when interviewing very intelligent candidates about how little research that they did prior to making a major career move, only to find out later that they made a poor decision.

It is almost as though a candidate can become so enamoured with the idea of leaving their current situation and excited about the prospects of a new opportunity that the required due diligence gets forgotten.

In order to avoid making a mistake, it is essential to do more than move based on a gut instinct.

Remember to do the following and to avoid getting caught up in the excitement of potential earnings or to get taken by a really good sales pitch.

1.Read Financials – If you cannot get any because it is private company, than all other areas of your research must be increased.

Don’t assume the numbers that are given to you are correct.

2.Google as many articles as possible on the company.

3.Google as many industry relevant articles on the company.

4.Check out the websites of their top competitors.

5.Speak with a customer regarding what they see and what they would like to see from suppliers.

6.Speak with one vendor of the company.

7.Speak with 2 employees of the company that have not been hand selected for you to meet.

8.Speak with any past employees.

LinkedIn is great for this and you would be surprised at how open people are to speaking about their experiences.

Farewell,

Mike