Mutual Finance

You held a senior management position in Finance, Human Resources, Sales & Marketing, etc for the past many years. You are now a few months away from the mandatory retirement age at your company. Although your retirement income will be more than sufficient to sustain your current life style, you are not ready to say good-bye to the corporate world, so what would some of your options be and how will you go about achieving them? Here are some options/suggestions:

When income is not a concern, giving back to the community is a wonderful thing. You may consider volunteering on a board of directors in a non-profit organization that provides services to kids, adults, or seniors. There is a very big emphasis today on improving board governance and ensuring integrity - from finance to fund raising and so on, therefore and individual holding senior management roles is very attractive and important. In case you have a non-profit organization that you believe in and would like to contribute to, simply approach the Executive Director and let them know that you would like to become a volunteer either in the Finance Committee of the Board, the Executive Committee of the Board or the Board of Directors itself. You will be pleasantly surprised to find out how many sub-committees these organizations have from fund raising initiatives to governance issues, hence non profit organizations are constantly on the look out for volunteers with rich employment experience.

When income is a concern, Private as well as Public Corporations are always in need of qualified contractors that are able to “hit the ground running”. With your extensive work experience either in finance, human resources, sales & marketing and so on you are very qualified to take on a series of interim or fixed term management roles. Your services will be welcomed by a start up organization where they require to set up policies, procedures, hire new talent and so on or a turnaround situation where they require expertise with lenders, staffing, negotiations etc. Then there are always interim roles such as covering for a maternity leave; system implementations or performing a role of a vacant position while the organization carries on its search for the permanent candidate.

Your first step in all of these situations is crafting a resume that details your professional experience and achievements. In case you require assistance in crafting your resume, there are many resume services available today. It is a fee for service, and they can be located with a simple Internet search. Prior to engaging a service, ask for references. Along with your resume you will require a cover letter. Each cover letter must be tailored to the position that you have in mind. Once again, there are services today that will be able to assist you in crafting the cover letter. To identify positions, you may want to contact your immediate network of colleagues, clients, and friends and let them know that you are available and interested in contract work or interim management assignments.

A very important link in your network is employment agencies that specialize in the placement of candidates in short and long term assignments. Research the market for these organizations; understand what kind of positions they recruit for, the type of clients they service, their recruitment process, their customer service practices and so on. Share your profile with the agency; let them know what you are looking for, follow up with the recruiter from time to time so that you may be top of mind when an assignment matching your skill set comes up.

Remember that we live in a society today that recognizes the value of a long and successful career and the varied skill sets that individuals bring to many organizations. Rest assured that you are not alone in seeking post retirement employment.

Wishing you much continued success!

Tali is the President & CEO of Controllers On Call (http://www.controllersoncall.ca), niche staffing organization specializing in the placement of middle to executive level accounting, finance and human resources professionals in contact and full time positions. She writes and publicly speaks about topics related to employment.

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Your search for a professional on contract/project is very different than your search for the full-time employee. Throughout the many years of my recruiting experience, I have collected feedback from employers and candidates alike. Fact: You will hire the candidate primarily because of their personality, chemistry and fit with the rest of the team and the organization. Hand the search over to a reputable staffing agency specializing in the placement of Accounting and Finance Professionals on contract and project basis. Once the agency presented you with the finalists, it is the interview that gives you the opportunity to watch the candidate present themselves at their best. It is the candidate’s opportunity to make a positive impression on you. You will be looking to hire the candidate, which is able to “hit the ground running, and handle the task at hand while you continue with your work.

Some of the reasons to hire someone on a contract basis: Your controller resigned, and year-end is around the corner. Your accounting manager will be going off on a maternity leave. It has been decided that it is time to upgrade the accounting software. There is a special project to get done within a tight deadline. And other circumstances, which do not require hiring a candidate on a full time basis. This is when you will hand the search over to a reputable staffing agency. One, which will do the leg work for you while you continue with your busy daily schedule.

The Process:

Invest an hour of your time and meet with the Search Consultant. It is important to understand your environment the personalities, which the candidate will be working for and with, and the skill set required to accomplish the task at hand. This one-hour of your valuable time will ensure that you will end up with the right candidate.

As you are looking for an individual that is able to “hit the ground running”, independent and does not require a lot of support, do not shy away from an over qualified candidate. The information was shared with the candidate and they are o.k. with the task at hand. Experience has taught us that the end result is a win/win situation.

Unlike the search for a full time candidate where the emphasis in the final decision making rests with the longer term contributions of the candidate and how it fits with the organizational vision and structure. The candidate may not be 100% skill developed as of yet, however they have the potential to grow and develop within the organization. Hiring a candidate on a contract basis is of a totally different mind set. It is important that the candidate be able to “hit the ground running”, have the right chemistry for the team and be able to perform the task at hand to your fullest satisfaction.

To attract the right candidate, know your specific needs. Write down the roles and responsibilities of the position, so that when the Placement Consultant speaks with the candidate they will be able to screen themselves in or out. Make sure you know how the position fits into the organization, what skills, education and personality requirements are of the successful candidate.

Know what your budget is. Decide whether you would like a fully designated candidate or whether a candidate working toward a designation, or one which has reached a certain level and gained hands on experience will be able to do the job just as well. These factors will determine your budget as well. Ask yourself: Are you getting the most suitable candidate for the task at hand? Does the level of remuneration match the candidate’s previous work history? More importantly: Are you getting full value?

We found that the candidate’s commitment to the duration of the contract is of outmost importance. You want to ensure that the candidate you are hiring through the agency is 100% committed to the assignment, will not leave in the middle for a better opportunity. At the same time the candidate seeks a commitment from you as well. It must be clear for both parties that there is a start date and an end date. Extension of the contract is an option. During the interview, ask the candidates: ” Are you looking for full time employment?” ” What would you do in the event that one of these positions comes through for you during the course of the contract”? When committing to a contract term, do not make it too short. The candidate will be planning for their next position well in advance. As soon as you know that you will need the candidate for a longer term than initially agreed upon, let them know and work out the extension details.

A successful interview is one, which is planned and prepared for. Keep the interview itself to no more than an hour long. It is important to assess the candidate’s soft skills as well as potential fit within the organizational culture. Take notes during the interview. It will assist you in your final selection.

Prior to making your final selection, discuss the business references obtained by the staffing agency you are working with. It is good practice to have obtained a minimum of 3 business references consisting of: direct supervisor, subordinate or external auditor.

When working with a staffing agency, the candidate becomes an employee of the agency. As such, the hourly rate to you is an all-inclusive rate. It is the agency’s responsibility to withhold all statutory deductions, or any other wage related costs.

Always believe in yourself and trust the process! We wish you best of luck in your search for qualified human resources! Copyright 2001 Controllers On Call. All Rights Reserved.

Tali is the President & CEO of Controllers On Call, (http://www.controllersoncall.ca) niche staffing organization specializing in the placement of middle to executive level Accounting, Finance and Human Resources professionals either on contract or full time positions.

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We’ve all seen the hype: “We’ll put your plan in front of thousands of investors!” “We’ll write you an award-winning online business plan!” “Only $3,000 for thousands of investors to learn about your company!”

I cringe every time I see one of these ads. Vultures are preying on honest business people who want to fund their businesses. Here are some ways to spot them:

1. “Only qualified investors see your business plan.” Yeah, sure. And who “qualifies” them? Have a friend try to sign up as an investor (that part is usually free). How is she “qualified”? Is there a background check? Does she submit a financial statement? Odds are that she will be asked to do nothing more than sign a statement that she has a certain net worth. That’s no “qualification” in my book. So who are these “investors”? Who knows. One could be your strongest competitor.

2. “You approve anyone who sees your business plan.” Okay. So what are you going to do to qualify the potential investor? Are you going to run a background check? ask for ID? ask for tax returns? or just be so happy that anyone wants to see your business plan that you jump on the idea? (That’s how these scams get away with charging thousands of dollars — too many entrepreneurs are desperate for funding.)

3. “It’s only $500 (or $300 or $100) to register.” What does it matter if it’s free? If it is diverting your time and energy and resources away from finding a viable investor, it’s not worth it.

4. “Your idea is great, but we need to put it into our format. This will only cost $800.” Don’t walk — run from these guys.

5. “Your idea is so great that we want to invest $2,000 in it.” (That’s after you spend $5,000 to put it into “their” system.) Do I really need to comment on this?

6. “Talk with a satisfied customer, or 2 or 3.” Here’s this entrepreneur who just got $2 million in funding, and he has nothing better to do than sell the web scam to you? Trust me, entrepreneurs who just get funded barely have time to eat, let alone talk.

7. “Look at all these written testimonials.” This is harder to disprove because the testimonials look so real — even the companies might be real. But unless the testimonials, and the companies, can be verified independently, I wouldn’t trust them. And I’ll lay odds that they cannot be verified independently.

There is one huge exception to this: ACE-Net (http://activecapital.org). This is more properly the Access to Capital Electronic Network run by venture capitalists, institutional investors and individual accredited investors. It was developed by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy to encourage the creation of a national marketplace for investors to find and invest in equity offers by small companies.

ACE-Net isn’t for all companies. Those seeking under $1 million will probably find the paperwork daunting. Those seeking over $5 million won’t qualify. There are special qualifications, and of course lots of forms to fill out — but nothing like the forms required for a formal initial public offering.

But for those who do qualify, it’s an amazing tool in raising financing. Spend some time with the website and the forms, and see if your local SBA office can put you in touch with another company that went through the process.

As with any investor tool, don’t rely exclusively on ACE-Net. Use it in conjunction with your personally developed targeted funding search. This, combined with an exceptional business plan, doesn’t guarantee success but it places your company head and shoulders above all the rest.

MaryAnn Shank

http://www.businessplanmaster.com/investors.html;
http://businessplanmaster.blogspot.com

Ms. Shank is a seasoned business financing specialist.

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