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Harness Lead5’s Company Lists to Boost Your Career Opportunities

 

Did you know Lead5 has a unique company list feature that you will not find online or with any other database?   For these lists, Lead5 focuses on US based companies that are actively recruiting executive level talent because these are the companies that are seeking the men and women who comprise the Lead5 member base.

As a busy executive, you probably don’t realize how many companies in your area are seeking executive-level professionals.   That’s because every area has a handful of well-known companies, but there are many high-growth and successful companies that often fall under the radar.   Additionally, most executive jobs are hidden or unlisted.  At Lead5, we strive to provide you with company lists that give you the full picture of the companies hiring executives in your particular function and region.   This empowers your ability to conduct proactive outreach, putting you in the driver seat of your next career move.

Here’s an example of how you can use Lead5’s company lists:

Let’s say you are a healthcare-focused CFO who wants to remain in Atlanta.  There are 27 companies in the Lead5 database when you filter for region ‘Atlanta’ and select industry ‘Healthcare Services + HealthTech’ that are private equity backed, and another 17 that are privately held with no institutional backing.  Do research and become familiar with those companies. Learn about the cultures of those companies through networking.  If you have been in the same market for some time, you will be amazed at how quickly you can connect with someone who knows the inside story or culture of the company.

Lead5 also shows you that 6 private equity deals have taken place in the last 12 months in the Atlanta market in Healthcare Services + HealthTech. Did you know that when a PE firm acquires a majority stake in a new company, that 70% of the time they replace the CFO within 12 months of the deal? PE deals are important hiring indicators for most C-level functions.

What about a newly appointed CEO? New CEOs will likely restructure their leadership team within the first 12 months on the job. With Lead5 you can track and monitor new CEO appointments for companies in your industry and region. Lead5 has recommendations for how to approach a new CEO directly or through networking contacts. Timing is key and Lead5 gives you an edge for how and when to make these connections.

Here is a breakdown of the companies we cover at Lead5:

  • US based public companies traded on NYSE & Nasdaq over $25 million in market cap
  • Private equity backed companies owned by the leading PE firms
  • Venture capital backed companies that have received $25 million or more in funding
  • Inc 5000 high growth companies over $15 mil in revenue in top 40 US metro markets
  • Private companies over $250 million in revenue in top 40 US metro markets

This mix gives our members a broad lens into the executive hiring landscape across company ownership types and market caps, allowing our members to target companies that are perfect fits for their career elevation strategies.

If you have any questions about how to yield the most value from Lead5 company lists, please email us at support@lead5.com or you can email me directly: josh@lead5.com

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Lead5 Executive Empowerment Center

Welcome to the Lead5 Executive Empowerment Center

Hello, Josh Wimberley here, CEO and founder of Lead5 – The Executive Career Platform.  I wrote this blog to help you elevate your executive career by highlighting the 5 dimensions that successful executives must master.  It’s also intended to be a reference guide for Lead5 members to help them get the most value from the platform.   I have broken this information into 6 modules.    Please email me anytime with your feedback or if I can assist you in any way!   josh@lead5.com

Your partner in success,

Josh Wimberley

Module 1: Unveiling the Hidden C-Level Career World

Before forming Lead5, I led the largest executive search firm’s CFO practice. In over two decades, I have helped 100’s of C-level executives just like you advance their careers and achieve their goals.  As such, allow me to share some important C-level recruiting insights that you were probably unaware of:

– Most of what you think about managing your executive career is wrong because most of the key information is hidden.   This hidden information includes: job opportunities, insider intel, and meaningful ways to network.  I formed Lead5 to unlock those doors and I will be covering these elements in more detail in this blog.

– The proactive executive always has the edge on new opportunities.  As an executive, you have been trained to wait on a recruiter’s call that may never come.  You’re also probably relying too heavily on your personal network.  These approaches provide you with only a fraction of the total opportunities available to you. Through a combination of AI, dedicated research teams, and crowd-sourcing, Lead5 provides you with instant access to hidden executive jobs, expanding your universe of opportunities.

– Your openness to relocation is a critically important variable for your success. Most c-levels will move multiple times over the course of their careers, and an unwillingness to relocate will ultimately hold you back in your career. Lead5 helps you find opportunities worth the move, wherever you are.

– A ‘full-cycle career plan’ is your means to continue your success in today’s challenging economic climate, and Lead5 is built around the 5 dimensions that comprise this career strategy.  Executives are often so maximized in their current role that they think about their career through only 2 dimensions: managing their current role and then scrambling to find their next one, and often, when it’s too late.   You must understand that it typically takes 4-6 months for executives to find their next opportunity, and this is during strong economies.   The Lead5 Executive Community keeps you connected throughout your career life cycle with thoughtful insights and discussion, expanded opportunities and key contacts.

Lead5 Is Built Around the Following 5 Dimensions That Successful Executives Must Master:

1.  Proactive Opportunity Outreach

2. Continuous Networking

3. Honing Your Skill Set

4. Connecting with Peers

5. Establishing Yourself as a Thought Leader

Because this 5-dimension full-cycle career plan is so important, we offer a complimentary phone consultation to help you develop this approach.  To set up this up, please contact me: josh@lead5.com

Module 2: Personalize Lead5 and Maximize Your Results

My5 is the name of Lead5’s search filters that you will set to deliver to you personalized open opportunities and career intel on the Lead5 Platform.   My5 consists of the 5 company attributes that most C-level executives consider as they pursue their next opportunity.

The My5 components are:

1. Function

2. Industry

3. Region

4. Market Cap

5. Ownership Structure

Once you’ve set your My5 filters, you will see focused opportunities and intel in your dashboard, and you can quickly apply these filters in the section called “Jobs & Intel.”

As your search criteria changes, remember to keep your My5 filters up to date so that Lead5 can work for you optimally.

My5 Search Filters are located at top of all Lead5 web pages:

 

My5 Search Filters: Simple check boxes give you complete control:

Tip: Expand the plus symbol (+) for more granular filters.

My5 Search Filters personalize your dashboard view:

Apply your My5 Search Filters with 1 click:

By selecting “Apply My5”, you quickly surface relevant intel when browsing.

Module 3:  ‘Potential’ and ‘Verified’ Opportunities on Lead5: What’s the Difference?

To maximize your total universe of opportunities for your outreach, Lead5 offers two types of opportunities – ‘potential opportunities’ and ‘verified opportunities.’  Here’s what you should know about these.

Potential Opportunity – This means that Lead5 has discovered that a company will likely be looking to fill an opening soon.   Not every potential opportunity evolves into an actual opening, but potential opportunities have significant value because candidates can enter a potential job search at the earliest possible moment, increasing their likelihood of being discovered.

– How to Pursue Potential Opportunities: We advise members to reach-out to a ‘recommended contact’ that we provide and make an introduction.

Remember: making a connection is always the first step to landing an executive role.  Even if a potential opportunity doesn’t pan out, making a positive impression expands your network and could open up new doors in the future.

Verified Opportunity – This means that Lead5 has uncovered intel that a company is actively seeking to fill this role.

– How to Pursue Verified Opportunities:  We advise members to reach out to the recommended contact and/or recruiter. In some cases, an application link is provided. At a minimum, you should strive to make a connection and broaden your executive network.

Action: Once you’ve identified an opportunity to pursue – whether potential or verified – click the “Pursue Opportunity” button on the opportunity details view.  This will trigger the ‘Lead5 Advisor’ which will make a recommendation on the best approach.

Here’s an example opportunity:

Most of our opportunities are unlisted, meaning there’s no online application. Once you click the “Pursue This Opportunity” button, it launches the Lead5 Advisor to organize your steps.

The Lead5 Advisor:

The “Lead5 Advisor” Provides Action Steps

When launched, the Lead5 Advisor gives you specific guidance, recommended contacts, email templates, and more — everything you need to pursue opportunities of any type.

Additionally, we provide suggested email outreach templates to help guide your messaging to the suggested contact(s).

Module 4: Use Your Lead5 Playbook to Maximize Your Productivity

A full cycle career approach includes proactive outreach and continuous networking.  To perform these tasks effectively, we built the Lead5 Playbook to help you organize your activities and store important data.

Your Lead5 Playbook helps you track, plan, and organize:

– Opportunities you wish to pursue in the future

–  Opportunities you’ve already pursued

– Contacts you wish to reach out to

– Phone call notes

– Future scheduled activities

Here is a My Playbook example:

Your time is valuable.  By using your Lead5 Playbook, you can maximize your productivity on Lead5.com.

Module 5: Harness Lead5’s Intel to Elevate Your Career

Utilizing insider intel is key to your executive success.   Lead5 offers actionable intel that will help you in every stage of your career life cycle.   This intel can be found in the ‘jobs & intel’ and in the ‘community’ sections on Lead5.com.

Verified Opportunity – This means that Lead5 has uncovered intel that a company is actively seeking to fill this role.

Action: You can pursue this role or make important connections with key company contacts.

Potential Opportunity – This means that Lead5 has discovered that a company will likely be looking to fill an opening soon.  Not every potential opportunity evolves into an actual opening, but potential opportunities have significant value because candidates can enter a potential job search at the earliest possible moment, increasing their odds of being discovered.

Action: You can pursue this role or make important connections with key company contacts.

Executive Moves: typically covers executive appointments which indicates a near term executive hiring (example: CEO will soon be appointed and will seek to build his/her team).  These executive appointments all signal potential changes in vendors and suppliers.

Action: This is a perfect moment for you to make a connection.

The Lead5 Executive Community: here you can exchange intel with an exclusive membership base comprised of your executive peers.   These intel focal points are: opportunities, career insights, and career best practices.

Action: This is a forum where you can establish yourself as a thought leader, hone your skills, and connect with peers in a meaningful way.

Private Equity Deals: represent acquisitions or assumption of a controlling interest in a portfolio company.  These deals indicate near-term C-level executive hiring flows, new growth capital, and potential changes in vendors and suppliers.  Most PE-backed companies replace the executive team in the first 6 months of the deal closing.

Action: This is a perfect moment to make a connection to the PE deal partner while new leadership teams are being formed.

Module 6:  Connect With The Lead5 Executive Community

Connecting with peers and establishing yourself as a thought leader are important fundamentals to achieving full cycle executive career success.   In an economic environment that is increasingly isolated, we have received feedback from members who have expressed a desire to connect and contribute.  In response, we recently launched The Lead5 Executive Community to help you exchange information with our exclusive network of top executives and executive career experts.

This information includes:

– Member-Contributed Opportunities

– Career-empowering insights

– C-level best practices

It only takes one opportunity, insight, or connection to elevate your career or the career of one of your peers.   As the Lead5 Executive Community continues to grow, our members will reap the benefits.

Here are some specific ways that you can benefit and contribute:

– Ask a confidential career question on our message board and receive insights from peers and the Lead5 leadership team who has decades of experience in executive recruiting and executive career management

– Submit an opportunity that may not be the right fit for you

– Provide impactful insights that helps your peers and establishes yourself as a thought leader

Participation is completely voluntary and you have the option to provide information under your name or anonymously.

I hope this blog has been useful to you.  Please email me anytime with your feedback or questions.   josh@lead5.com

Your partner in success,

Josh Wimberley

Lead5 CEO

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Effective Outreach: Timing Is Over Half the Battle

My name is Josh Wimberley and for over 2 decades I’ve helped top executives land prominent roles at leading companies.  Before founding Lead5, I was Senior Partner and Practice Leader at a leading executive search firm.  Both of these experiences have taught me that timing is over half the battle for qualified executive candidates.

Why is timing so important?  When an executive leaves a firm, this leaves a hole that must be filled, and the sooner this role is filled, the better.    Candidates must realize that it’s in the firm’s best interest to hire the best, most qualified candidate, quickly.   Firms understand that there’s already an inherent learning curve that any executive must scale before being effective, and lengthy hiring processes only exacerbate this hole in executive leadership.

How do you make timing work for you as an executive candidate?  

Here’s a few tips I can offer:

1.  Perform your outreach as early as possible.  Do not wait until the position you seek is flooded with CVs.    Have your CV ready to go and understand that services like Lead5 have completely transformed the executive recruiting industry.   Lead5 lists executive positions long before comparable services, and Lead5 has more unlisted executive positions than any other competitor.

2.  Services like Lead5 will grant you instant access to unlisted executive jobs including the hiring contacts associated with the search.  It’s important to review those key contacts and discover if you know these individuals, or if you know someone in your network who can properly introduce you.

3.  Be prepared for the firm’s call.  Understand their business strategy and how you can help them take their firm to the next level.   Also have a picture of what your goal compensation package will look like.

Use Lead5 to uncover hidden executive opportunities and gain the intel required to land your next prominent role.   Lead5 has been the executives trusted partner for 5 years.  

Start your complimentary trial. 

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Lead5 FAQ and Getting Started Guide

Welcome to Lead5!  I’m Vince Martin, Chief Product Officer at Lead5.  You’ve taken the first step in landing your next prominent executive position.   To help you receive the most value from our service, please review the following FAQ.  If you have additional questions, please contact us at: info@lead5.com

What is the mission of Lead5?

To equip executives for the modern executive job search.  80% of executive positions are never posted.   Lead5 empowers our members by uncovering these hidden executive roles and providing our members with the insider intel required to land these prominent positions.

Who does Lead5 serve?

Lead5 serves an exclusive community of members ranging in level from Directors/VP’s to CEO’s.  Our members have compensation starting at $200K.   We personally vet every membership to ensure that our service is the right fit for the seasoned executives that we serve.

How is Lead5 different from other services?

1. Lead5 grants you immediate access to the hidden executive job world. We understand that executives are busy, and so we vet members on the backend to ensure expediency.

2. Timing is critical to landing executive roles. With our proprietary AI, we deliver hidden positions 45 days faster than average, giving you a competitive advantage.

3. Lead5 was founded by a former Senior Partner and Practice Leader of a leading executive search firm. We know this landscape better than anyone, and our service is built on this expertise.

How do I get started?

Go to lead5.com and click ‘subscribe.’  We will ask you some basic employment and contact information to ensure that we offer the most tailored experience possible.   We offer several subscription plans.   We are confident that you will see value in our service and offer a complimentary trial.

Do I need to upload my resume/CV?

No.   Lead5 is an active (vs. passive) opportunity search service.   We provide you with the contact information for the actual hiring official(s), allowing  you to submit your resume/CV directly to them.   Our system bypasses middlemen and ensures that your search is effective and confidential.

How do I get the most value from Lead5?

After subscribing, we recommend that you set up a personalized dashboard that takes less than a minute to create.    We will ask you for 5 data points that will help us deliver to you the most relevant positions and competitive intel.

 Is my information confidential?

 Yes.  We never share any details of our member community with anyone.

 What is the meaning of the name Lead5?

Lead5 represents the 5 filters through which executive leaders manage their careers.  The 5 filters include industry, function, and region, along with the additional filters of market cap and ownership structure unique to the executive job search.  Together these 5 filters form the lens through which executives view their career trajectory.  Make sure and set your My5 filters to ensure your Lead5 membership is targeted with intel and data specific to your background and experience.

What is the difference between a ‘potential opportunity’ and a ‘verified opportunity’?

Lead5 provides our executive members with unlisted potential opportunities and unlisted verified opportunities.

The average executive search takes 150 days.  Lead5 has proprietary algorithms that identify potential opportunities often before the formal search process kicks-off.  Therefore, a potential opportunity represents the earliest possible window when a candidate can insert themselves into the search process.   If the company decides to recruit for this type of opening, our candidates are there first.

Lead5 also identifies verified opportunities that are being actively sourced by the company.  We provide key company, investor, or recruiter contacts for direct access for these opportunities.  In total, Lead5 creates awareness of executive openings that for decades have been hidden and only offered to executives on a need-to-know basis.

What are user-generated comments on Opportunity Posts?

Lead5 members have the ability to post confidential comments to opportunities such as recruiters assigned to particular search projects, whether or not a company is considering internal candidates, or other general intel related to the opportunity.  Lead5 works best as an active community engaged and sharing leads and data.  If you know of updated intel on a particular opportunity please post a comment, add an opportunity, or email the Lead5 team directly at info@lead5.com.

What is the Recruiters section on Lead5?

The Lead5 Recruiters section is an aggregate list of the top 50 retained executive search firms in the United States along with highly credible boutique search firms with specific expertise by industry and function.  Lead5 regularly audits these recruiters for updates and additions/deletions.  Each recruiter is coded by their specific area of focus across industry, function, and region. This gives Lead5 members the ability to discover which recruiters they should be in contact with for their particular job search.

Can I invite others to become members of Lead5?

Yes, you have 10 invites per member of Lead5.  We ask that you keep invites specific to C-level executives or those with the potential to aspire to be C-level executives.  If you run out of invites and would like more please email the team at info@lead5.com and we will evaluate this on case-by-case basis.

Use Lead5 to uncover hidden executive opportunities and gain the intel required to land your next prominent role.   Lead5 has been the executives trusted partner for 5 years.   

Start your complimentary trial today. 

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5 Skills a PE-Backed CFO Must Master

As the private equity model continues to build momentum, more executives from public companies are being approached to join PE-backed companies.   At Lead5, CFOs are increasingly telling us that they are considering making the jump into the PE-backed world, and they want to understand if they are a good fit before making the move.   In this blog, I’m going to share with you the 5 skills that PE-backed CFOs must master to be successful in this challenging and lucrative operating environment.   These insights are from my recent conversation with Dave Justus, a veteran PE-backed CFO, and also a Lead5 advisory board member.

1. Focus on building value in addition to the traditional blocking and tackling roles. Examples are experience in building teams, systems, and processes that allow businesses to effectively scale.  For PE-Backed CFOs, strong financial chops are table stakes.   The real key is possessing solid leadership that allows you to build value in a time and resource-constrained operating environment.

2. Bring a strategic mindset, especially to resource allocation discussions.  In the PE-backed model, you will be the driving force in delivering the ROI that your investors seek.  Finance executives are uniquely positioned to have the best data and insights about resource allocation decisions and recommendations.

3. Have an ownership mindset.  Founders have a unique perspective and passion that can be embraced.   It’s your job to tap into that passion and inspire your teams to ‘play up’ to that level.  Owners are entrepreneurial by nature, and you should be, as well.   This means rolling up your sleeves and getting important work done that may fall outside your functional area.

4. Be the type of team player that makes the rest of the team better.  Identify weaknesses and problem areas and focus your efforts on strengthening those spots.   Outline a clear vision to your team and a path on how to get there.   Know when your team needs a healthy push vs. when it’s time to take your foot off the gas.    Eliminate roadblocks and foster healthy, pro-active communication.

5. Work hard and have fun with a purpose.   Being a PE-backed CFO will challenge you in ways that traditional CFOs roles won’t.   It’s important to clarify your motivation before you even begin on this path.  Once you’ve clarified your personal focus, you’ll need to demonstrate through your work ethic that you are committed to success.   This will trickle down to everyone in your organization.   While the financial exits of these deals are lucrative to the point of being legendary, you are going to burn out if you don’t have a sincere higher purpose in mind.  There are going to be periods of high stress.   It’s during these times that you have to embrace the challenge and learn how to have fun!   The teams you lead will feed off your positive attitude, and together, you’ll be on solid footing on a path towards success.

Most PE-backed executive jobs are unlisted.  Use Lead5 to uncover hidden PE-backed executive opportunities and gain the intel required to land your next prominent role.   Lead5 has been the executives trusted partner for 5 years.  

Start your complimentary trial today.

 

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5 Tips to Mine the Hidden Executive Job Market

The challenge: 80% of C-Suite level executive opportunities are never published.   If you’re an executive looking to make a career move, that statistic can seem daunting.

In the past, due to the secretive and cumbersome process of finding executive search opportunities, executives have been trained to be passive in their career journey.   This includes waiting on a call from a retained recruiter, sending in a CV for a published executive role (where it sits on a desk with the other 1,000 CV’s), or networking and hoping that the stars align.

But there’s good news.   There is a better way.    Here are 5 effective steps to help you transition from being a passive executive job seeker to a proactive participant in your career.   Now you have the power to land your next senior role.

1. Subscribe to Lead5.com. Lead5 has helped leading executives tap the hidden executive job world for the last 5 years.    It was founded by Josh Wimberley a former Senior Partner at Korn-Ferry who recognized that executives need transparent access to unpublished senior roles the moment they become available.

2. It’s a timing game. The highest earning positions are the most sought-after.  As such, you must throw your hat in the ring at the earliest possible point in the job search.   Lead 5’s edge is timeliness driven by its proprietary AI.   Lead 5 lists jobs on average 45 days before other comparable services giving you a competitive edge.  

3. Be prepared.  Related to timeliness listed above, you must have a keen sense of what your next role will look like, and how to tailor your CV and outreach accordingly.   Remember, companies have a vested interest in landing the right candidate sooner rather than later.   Make sure you’re prepared to strike.  

4. Information is key. At the executive level, your understanding of the role, company, and industry is table stakes.   To stand out from your competition, you should leverage insider information.   For example: services like Lead5.com inform you on the dynamics of departures so that you can understand who you are attempting to replace (and in certain cases, who you should actively differentiate yourself from).

5. Continuous networking. Too often we see executives tapping into their network after they sense their current opportunity is no longer viable.   As executive job transitions often take 180 days on average, this means that they’re already behind the eight ball.  The lesson?   As busy as you are, don’t neglect the people that have played a role in your success.   Likewise, be the person that other executives seek out when they need a helping hand.   This is an exclusive world and what goes around, comes around.

Most executive jobs are unlisted.   Use Lead5 to uncover hidden executive opportunities and gain the intel required to land your next prominent role.   Lead5 has been the executives trusted partner for 5 years.  

Start your complimentary trial today.