Sharing job leads

Sharing job leads Cover Image

The sharing of job leads has been an integral part of The FENG for so long that I have come to believe that everyone in the entire world understands the reasons why we do it. Alas, it isn’t true. A few years ago, I had an exchange with a member of the search community who was upset that on...


Feb 12, 2018

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Don’t act desperate

Don’t act desperate Cover Image

The volume of your responses to job leads posted in our evening newsletter is always a concern of mine. With the strengthening job market for senior financial officers, one of the many things we have going for us AT THE MOMENT is our fine relationship with the search community. (Be sure to...


Mar 01, 2018

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Hurry up and wait

Hurry up and wait Cover Image

The mindset that is most appropriate for a job search is very much like my Army experience where we used to lament what we referred to as “hurry up and wait.” As raw recruits, we were expected to arrive at points at the previously appointed minute, whether or not others were ready for us. ...


Mar 05, 2018

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Time is of the essence

Time is of the essence Cover Image

For those of you who have had the honor of dealing with legal matters, you know that the phrase “Time is of the essence” is frequently used in contracts. The idea is that if you want to get the deal done, you better move quickly. (In other words, you will need to get off your duff.) The wo...


Mar 22, 2018

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Running around recruiters

Running around recruiters Cover Image

Several years ago I received a phone call from a long standing Friend of The FENG. This particular search firm posted with us on a regular basis. In this case, the posting included the name of their client. You see, they felt that the relationship they had with The FENG was so strong and t...


Apr 30, 2018

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Is anyone holding out?

Is anyone holding out? Cover Image

I hate to ask if anyone is holding out, but is anyone holding out? One of the core values of The FENG is that we try very hard to share our job leads. Trust me, individual job leads aren’t as valuable as you think they are. And, if you share them, not only will you be viewed as a Fanatic F...


May 07, 2018

By Matt Bud, The FENG

A rhinoceros and a piece of paper

A rhinoceros and a piece of paper Cover Image

Many years ago, my son and I were rowing out to our mooring to go sailing with my father-in-law. My son, who was probably 8 or 9 at the time, asked my father-in-law if he knew the EXACT difference between a rhinoceros and a piece of paper. After several totally wrong guesses, my son gave h...


Jul 29, 2018

By Matt Bud, The FENG

What’s the big rush?

What’s the big rush? Cover Image

As I hope all of you know, I have a consulting practice called The Financial Executives Consulting Group, LLC. (As time permits, please visit our website: www.TheFECG.com to see what we do.) Bruce Lynn is my business partner. We both also devote significant amounts of time on a volunteer b...


Oct 11, 2021

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Passive job searching

Passive job searching Cover Image

I know it may sound strange coming from someone publishing hundreds of pages of job leads a month, but job leads are overrated.If you are over the age of 40 and all you are doing is answering job leads in our newsletter or from any of the well respected jobs sites, you may as well be writi...


Aug 04, 2022

By Matt Bud, The FENG

The great white elephant sale

The great white elephant sale Cover Image

One of the core values of The FENG is our willingness to share job leads with each other.For some reason people seem to overvalue job leads. There are lots of things that are wrong with published job leads. For one thing, it is a fair fight. I much prefer networking where there is often no...


Oct 24, 2021

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Taking job specifications seriously

Taking job specifications seriously Cover Image

I just don’t think that I will ever see in my lifetime a job specification that calls for a minimum of 30 years of work experience. If you ever see one, I do hope you will send it my way so I can frame it.For those of us who are “well experienced,” it can be a difficult decision applying f...


Feb 02, 2022

By Matt Bud, The FENG

The Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus

The Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus Cover Image

I hope that none of you still believe in the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus.In much the same vein, I hope that all of you are smart enough to know that there is no job board with an exclusive list of job leads. And, anyone trying to sell you job leads should be viewed with suspicion. If you th...


Feb 13, 2022

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Reads and follows directions

Reads and follows directions Cover Image

If asked, I would be the first person to suggest that posted job leads are not where you need to focus your energies. That said, anytime you do respond to one, it pays to take a few minutes and actually read the posting and see what the requirements are.No, I am not talking about the job r...


Feb 14, 2022

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Enlightened self interest

Enlightened self interest Cover Image

Given that the number of job leads on our Job Board is growing, I thought I would repeat and expand on some thoughts I have had over the years as to why we share job leads.If I may quote from our website:The basic purpose of our group is to give individuals who have been Chief Financial Of...


Feb 16, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

More information please

More information please Cover Image

I am more often than not surprised by the amount of time it can take for a company to develop a position description and yet at the end of the day not really be able to capture the essential elements for a particular opportunity.I suppose in part this is because senior level position descr...


Jan 12, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Fool’s gold, job leads & networking

Fool’s gold, job leads & networking Cover Image

A long time ago I received an email from one of our members comparing and contrasting the job leads he was getting from various sources. The quick story is that he was a subscriber to two paid services in addition to our newsletter. What I found disappointing was his closing comment which ...


Mar 29, 2020

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Reading the tea leaves

Reading the tea leaves Cover Image

I don’t know about you, but I find it hard not to have my eyes glass over while reading job descriptions. It seems to me that they often put the most important information last, buried somewhere or disguised.I am, of course, referring to the EXACT city location of the job in question. Hey,...


Aug 22, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

The New York minute

The New York minute Cover Image

I don’t know if all of you are familiar with the concept of a New York minute, but for all intents and purposes it is generally accepted to be a micro second. For your further edification, a Google search turned up the following:New York Minute: A New York minute is an instant. Or as Johnn...


Oct 08, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

When the newsletter thins

When the newsletter thins Cover Image

I realize that on days when the newsletter thins, there is the temptation to “click and shoot” all of the remotely possible postings that appear.Please don’t.One of the core values of The FENG is that we don’t respond to postings unless we are a good fit. Very simply put, if you wouldn’t h...


Nov 27, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Why we share job leads

Why we share job leads Cover Image

One of the core values of being a member of The FENG is that we share job leads.There are a lot of reasons why we do this, and it isn’t just because it is a nice thing to do. It is actually a very smart thing to do. The only problem is that it is apparently a counter-intuitive idea. So, fo...


Jan 08, 2024

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Information please

Information please Cover Image

I am more often than not surprised by the amount of time it can take for a company to develop a position description and yet at the end of the day not really be able to capture the essential elements for a particular opportunity.I suppose in part this is because senior level position descr...


Jan 07, 2024

By Matt Bud, The FENG