I’ll Take Door Number Three
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m the Director of Finance of a specialty foods distributor in Mississauga and I’ve recently concluded that I need to get my resume together and start putting some feelers out on the market. It’s not urgent, but I’m getting the sense that my company’s owners are starting to think […]
Marketing Basics for CFOs
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m the VP Finance of a mid-sized CPG manufacturing concern in Mississauga. I just learned that the company’s owner-managers have decided to look for a strategic buyer so I think it’s about time to start looking at the job market again. I haven’t done any active job hunting in about […]
Job Hoppers
Straight Answers to Real Questions Answer: Every now and again you’re going to run into someone who zig-zags through their career, especially if you’re not that rigorous in your initial triaging of candidates. You may interview someone who’s spent a few years as someone’s Controller and then took a year off to learn Spanish in Venezuela. […]
Pay It Forward
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m the CFO of a $300mm software developer and I’ve recently been in the market for a Manager Financial Planning & Analysis. We’ve zeroed in on what I think is a very good candidate (she’s currently in FP&A with another software firm) but she’s close to the top of what […]
Beware Buyer’s Remorse
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I run a trade association and we’ve recently had to go to the market to recruit a Director of Finance to look after all of our finance and administration functions of the association. I don’t have a finance background so I’m basically taking the advice of the outgoing incumbent (she’s […]
10 Job Hunting Basics for CFOs
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m a CPA CA with twenty years’ experience in food manufacturing. I’ve spent the last ten years as VP Finance and CFO of a frozen food processor in Mississauga. My company was acquired six months ago by a private equity firm and so I decided back then that I […]
Important Management Tip: Millennials Like to Eat Too
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’ve just taken over as VP Finance of a Mississauga based, TSX listed, software developer. Generally speaking, I like the staff that I’ve inherited; they’re young, energetic, smart as can be and generally fun to work with. My issue is that at 5:30pm around here, you could shoot a […]
Rolling the Dice on a CFO Hire
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m the CEO of a family owned, $50mm electrical contractor in Scarborough. Our CFO decided to move on unexpectedly and we’ve been conducting a search to replace him over the past two months. I’ve tapped into my network and have seen a number of potential candidates, some of which […]
Show Me the Money
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m the CFO of a $300mm retail chain. I’ve been interviewing someone to fill a Director, Financial Planning & Forecasting position we’ve got open and we’re just about at the offer stage. The person I’m considering hiring is currently earning $150,000 (plus bonus) which is right at the top of […]
A Matter of Translation
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I have over twenty years’ experience as a finance professional and like to think that I’ve excelled at every position and every company that I’ve been a part of. I’ve spent most of my career in the food service industry and I’m looking for my next challenge. I’ve applied […]
The Truth About Online Job Applications
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I was most recently CFO of a mid-sized food manufacturer in Mississauga. Due to a change in corporate ownership I’ve been on the street for the last six months or so. I haven’t actually kept track but I’d estimate that I’ve responded to more than two dozen CFO and […]
Covering Cover Letters
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m a CFO in the food service business and I’ve just started to look around for a new position. I haven’t looked for a new job in quite a few years and I’ve been asking my pals for input on the best way to present myself to prospective employers. […]
Fifty Shades of Grey
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I just left my position as CFO of a $70mm owner-managed environmental reclamation company. We haven’t been doing very well lately and the owner has been asking me to take our accounting and financial reporting direction that I’m just not comfortable with. There may be fifty shades of grey […]
Time Is(n’t) On My Side
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I was having lunch with a couple of pals, both of whom are on the market for a new position and the subject of position tenure came up. One of my friends, Andrew, is the CFO of an industrial parts distribution company that’s just been acquired by an American […]
What to Expect When You’re Expecting
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: After ten years in my current company as CFO, I’ve decided I need a change of venue and pace. I’ve got my resume together and am ready to start my search. How many recruiters should I reach out to and what should I be expecting from them? Answer: As to how […]
Hobson’s Choice
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m an experienced financial executive, with over twenty years’ of industry experience since getting my CA designation. My last position was CFO of a $100mm logistics company which was sold a year ago to a strategic buyer in the U.S. I stayed on for a while to help with the […]
Time is Not on Your Side
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m the VP Finance of a $300mm TSX listed software services firm. My Director of Financial Reporting resigned a couple of months ago and since I don’t have the bench strength to replace her from within, I needed to go outside the firm to recruit for this position. As I […]
Attracting Big Market Talent to Small Market Teams
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I’m the owner-manager of a small but rapidly growing food services business. We have a controller who’s been handling my accounting since we started the company six years ago. However, I realized a few months ago that because of our growth curve and ambitions for the future that […]
Off the Rack vs. Made to Measure
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I own a $35mm environmental remediation company and I’m in the market for a VP Finance to replace the incumbent who’s leaving for greener pastures. I was thinking about using an executive search firm to do a search for me but before I actually did anything about it […]
Separating the Wheat From the Chaff
Straight Answers to Real Questions Question: I run a family owned commercial construction company and we’re recently had to go to the market to recruit a new CFO to replace the incumbent who’s retiring in a few months. I posted the position on LinkedIn and I’m currently in the process of sorting through all the […]
