In today’s problematic job market and economy, you might think it’s safer and a no-brainer to stay where you are, if you’re currently employed and not facing a layoff—as far as you know. Or you might be one of those risk-takers with an entrepreneurial spirit for whom staying in one place more than a few years, at most, is unthinkable.

On the other hand, you might be part of the great middle group that could go either way, depending on a number of factors. The question in any case is, what do you need and want to consider before pursuing a new opportunity or deciding to stay where you are?

Why might you want to move on?

You might be strongly attracted by the idea of holding an executive position overseas and wonder how to go about achieving that, or you might be asked by your current employer to take on such a position. It’s important to move beyond the perceived attractiveness of such an opportunity and take a dispassionate look at the key factors involved.
 
Two Ways to Obtain an International Position
 

Are you looking for a practically foolproof executive job search strategy? What would you say if I told you there was a job search method that yields success in the form of desirable employment more than 80% of the time? If you’re like most executives, you’d overlook this strategy in spite of its success rate. Why? Because it’s a bit more work than blindly applying to open positions on executive job boards or sending your resume to executive recruiters.
 

It’s fairly easy to craft a professional brand for career advancement when you’ve been building on the same career track the whole time. Your brand is essentially a summary of what you’ve been doing all this while and how you’re ready to take it to a whole new level. But what do you do if you’re looking for a career change?
 
The good news is that the biggest obstacle career changers face is more often one of perception rather than ability—in other words, it’s not so much a matter of having the requisite skills to take on a new role but convincing others that you can make the switch. (Of course, this assumes you do, in fact, have the technical skillset and necessary qualifications.)
 

BlueSteps chats with Suzanne Garber, founder and chairwoman of Gauze, an international healthcare technology firm dedicated to connecting patients with hospitals around the world, and author of the recently published book, SAFETY NETwork: A Tale of Ten Truths of Executive Networking.

First of all, thank you for taking the time to speak with BlueSteps about executive networking and your new book, Safety NETwork. Can you tell us a little about your background?

When writing their own resume, executives the world over tend to focus on standard job duties rather than results. This approach inevitably falls flat. It causes a resume to read like a dull, copy and paste job description rather than an engaging account of a person’s unique work record.

Every professional action has a result. At the executive level, that result is usually more interesting than the action itself. You’ve no doubt engaged in activities that changed and benefited your employers in profound ways. Describe those benefits on your resume, and you’ll have a much stronger job search document.

In career transition, it’s easy to fall into the habit of doing the same things, day after day, even if you’re not getting the results you want. But don’t let your executive job search drive you insane! If you find that your momentum has stalled and you’re not getting the leads, contacts, and interviews you need, follow these suggestions for getting out of your rut and moving forward toward your goals.

Referrals! Recruiters and hiring managers tell us that they will go through their referrals before looking at other candidates. And some companies are highly recommending that executive recruiters look at referred executives first. Industry leaders predict that in three to five years if you are referred to an executive recruiter for an open position, you are 14 times more likely to get the job.

The 2015 BlueSteps Job Outlook Report just released by Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants, shows that 72.4 percent of management-level professionals worldwide feel more optimistic about their career opportunities for 2015, an increase of 21.4 percentage points compared to the previous year. 88.2 percent of management-level professionals responded that they are open to new opportunities in 2015.