The document provides information on mid-career transitions. It discusses how mid-career transitions can feel like changing planes in mid-air. It notes that 45% of mid-career professionals feel stuck in their jobs. It also explains that hiring managers look at senior professionals through three lenses: demonstrated skills, resume skills, and who they know. The document emphasizes that demonstrated skills weigh more heavily than resume skills. It encourages individuals to understand their career anchors, the maturity of their organization, and global trends to find the right career path.

1. Mid Career Transitions

2. Most Recently
Global Vice President Product
Management McAfee, USA
CTO Office, NetIQ
Director of Engineering
15 years in Product Industry
Angel Investor, Board Member of
several startups
Prof. Pinkesh Shah
Faculty, Institute of
Product Leadership
pshah@ipl.edu.in

3. Learning #1
Mid Career Transitions are like
changing planes while in the air

4. Understanding the feeling of being “stuck”
45% mid career professionals feel they are stuck – SHRM
Survey 2016

5. Learning #2
When your value in your
company is higher than your
value in the open market -
you are possibly stuck!

6. Learning #3
Hiring Managers look at Senior
Professionals through 3 lens

7. Learning #4
Demonstrable Skills weigh 80%
more than Resume Skills.

8. Learning #5
WHO YOU KNOW IS AS IMPORTANT AS WHAT YOU KNOW

9. Learning #6
Balancing “your” T may not be enough

10. BUILD CROSS
FUNCTIONAL
UNDERSTANDING

11. Learning #7
Knowing != skill
“Because every person knows what
he likes, every person thinks he is an
expert on user interfaces “
PAUL HECKEL

12. Learning #7
FINDING THE RIGHT “GROOVE”
INDIVIDUAL:
Find your right Career Anchors
FIRM:
Maturity level of Org
MARKET:
Understand Global Trends
FIRM
LEVEL
INDIVIDUAL
LEVEL
MARKET
LEVEL

13. career
an occupation undertaken for a significant
period of a person's life and with
opportunities for progress
/kəˈrɪə/

14. career anchors
is the evolving self concept of what:
• you are GOOD at
• your NEEDS and MOTIVES
• VALUES that govern your work choices
-MIT Research led by Edgar Schein

15. CAREER ANCHOR ASSESSMENT REPORT
READING YOUR REPORT
Using the personalized
psychometric test the result
is a score across each
career anchor
TF5.8
GM6,2
EC3.2
AU7.5
4.2

16. GET YOUR CAREER ANCHORS ASSESSMENT
(WILL BE USED IN THE WORKSHOP)
1. Install the app “UAssess” (iOS, Android)
2. Login in using LinkedIn
3. Go to Menu and choose
4. Use Code 338266
5. Start the Assessment
“Answer questions based on reality not future”

17. TESTED ON 1000s OF
SENIOR MANAGERS
BASED ON MIT RESEARCH
LED BY EDGAR SCHEIN
TF GM AU SE EC SV CH LS
CAREER ANCHORS
Technical/
Functional
General
Management
Autonomy
Independence
Security /
Stability
Entrepreneurial
Creativity
Service /
Cause
Pure
Challenge
Lifestyle

18. TECHNICAL/FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCE
● WORK TO BECOME GURUS
● WORK ON HONING THEIR SKILLS
● LOVE COMPETENCY BASED CHALLENGES
● THRIVE ON CHALLENGE
● SEEK PROFESSIONAL ASSN.
● LOVE MENTORING OTHERS
MOTIVATORS BENEFITS
● PEER RECOGNITION
● ABSOLUTE PAY
● THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
CTO
PRODUCT
SPECIALIST
ARCHITECT

19. GENERAL MANAGERIAL COMPETENCE
● CROSS FUNCTIONAL SKILLS
● GENERALIST (balanced T-career)
● INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
● DECISION MAKING ROLES
● PROBLEM SOLVING
● MOTIVATING OTHERS
MOTIVATORS BENEFITS
● PROMOTIONS
● RANKS
● SOPs
PRODUCT MGR
CEO
BUSINESS HEAD

20. AUTONOMY/ INDEPENDENCE
● NO RULES
● INDEPENDENT DELINEATED WORK
● CONSULTING/PROJECT WORK/PART-TIME
● FLEXIBLE EMPLOYMENT
● SELF MOTIVATED
● NO CONSTRAINTS
MOTIVATORS BENEFITS
● IMMEDIATE PAYOFFS
● MEDALS/ TESTIMONIALS
● RECO LETTERS
STRATEGY CONSULTING
AGILE COACH
PROD. MGMT.
CONSULTING

21. SECURITY/ STABILITY
● TENURED JOB
● STEADY PERFORMANCE
● FINANCIAL SECURITY
● JOB SECURITY
● CONFORMITY/LOYALTY
● PREDICTABLE FUTURE
MOTIVATORS BENEFITS
● STEADY INCREMENT
● RETIREMENT PLANS
● RANK SYSTEMS
OPERATIONS
MANAGER
HR MANAGER
LARGE ORGS
TCS/HCL

22. ENTREPRENEURIAL CREATIVITY
● NEW PRODUCTS/BUSINESS
● CREATIVE CHALLENGE
● URGE TO CREATE NEW
● NEW IDEAS
● OPEN MINDED EMPLOYEES
● HIGH ENERGY LEVELS
MOTIVATORS BENEFITS
● MAKING MONEY
● HIGH PERSONAL VISIBILITY
● BUILDING FORTUNES
STARTUP FOUNDER
ENTERPRISE HEAD
PRODUCT CREATORS

23. SERVICE/DEDICATION TO A CAUSE
● MAKE THE WORLD BETTER
● WORK-VALUES ALIGNMENT
● DESIRE TO SERVE
● MEANING AT WORK
● OPENNESS
● LIVING ONE’S VALUES
MOTIVATORS BENEFITS
● SHARED VALUES
● FAIR PAY
● AUTONOMY
TECH SUPPORT
MENTORS
PRODUCT
EVANGELIST

24. PURE CHALLENGE
● SELF TESTING
● OVERCOMING THE IMPOSSIBLE
● CHALLENGING ONESELF
● WINNING
● TESTING ABILITIES
● COMPLEXITY
MOTIVATORS BENEFITS
● CHALLENGE
● BENEFITS ARE SECONDARY
STRATEGY
CONSULTANT
MANAGEMENT
CONSULTANT

25. LIFESTYLE
● CAREER AS A MEANS TO LIFESTYLE
● FAMILY VALUES
● FLEXIBILITY
● WORK LIFE BALANCE
● FLEXIBLE WORK PATTERNS
● PERSONAL NEEDS
MOTIVATORS BENEFITS
● MINIMUM GEOGRAPHICAL
MOVEMENTS
● SABBATICALS/LEAVES
FREELANCE DESIGNERS
CONTRACT WORKERS
EVENT/MARKETING
MANAGERS
SALES

26. IN REALITY - CAREERS ARE COCKTAILS
EC:
ENTREPRENEURIAL
CREATIVITY
SV:
DEDICATION TO
CAUSE
SOCIAL STARTUPS

27. IN REALITY - CAREERS ARE COCKTAILS
EC:
ENTREPRENEURIAL
CREATIVITY
SE:
STABILITY &
SECURITY
INTRAPRENEUR

28. IN REALITY - CAREERS ARE COCKTAILS
EC:
ENTREPRENEURIAL
CREATIVITY
CH:
PURE CHALLENGE
DISRUPTIVE STARTUPS

29. IN REALITY - CAREERS ARE COCKTAILS
GM:
GENERAL
MANAGEMENT
TF:
TECHNICAL
FUNCTIONAL
R&D HEAD OF CISCO

30. IN REALITY - CAREERS ARE COCKTAILS
GM:
GENERAL
MANAGEMENT
AU:
AUTONOMY
INDEPENDENCE
CONFUSED ??

31. Learning #7
FINDING THE RIGHT “GROOVE”
INDIVIDUAL:
Find your right Career Anchors
FIRM:
Maturity level of Org
MARKET:
Understand Global Trends
FIRM
LEVEL
INDIVIDUAL
LEVEL
MARKET
LEVEL

32. Maturity Phases for R&D Centers
Phase 1.0
Value
Optimization
Phase 2.0
Value
Co-Creation
Phase 3.0
Value
Productizing
FIRM LEVEL: Maturity of India R&D Centers

33. MANAGING PROJECTS TO EXPERIENCES
Deliver for Delight, Customer Centricity
BUILD DEMONSTRABLE ASSETS
Show portfolio vs resume
RESKILLING FOR
FUTURE
Staying Relevant
The“perfect” time to start this is NOW!
How are others doing it?

34. IPL CAREER LABS ARTEFACTS
PREPARING YOUR CAREER TO SHIFT INTO NEXT ORBIT
CAREER LABS
ANALYZE STRENGTHS
PICK A CAREER DIRECTION
RESEARCH COMPANY/JOB/ROLES
BUILD NETWORKLAND INTERVIEW
CRACK INTERVIEW
BENCHMARK & NEGOTIATE OFFER
1
2
3
45
6
7
1. Strengths Finder Report
2. 1Pager Resume
3. LinkedInProfile
1. Career Anchors Report
1. List of Top 10 Target
Companies / Jobs/ Roles
2. Company Research Reports
1. Personal ElevatorPitch
2. Blogs on Social Media
1. Tell Me About Youself (TMAY) Video
2. Library of StockAnswers
1. Visual PDA (Portfolio of
Demonstrable Assets)
1. Negotiation Strategy &
Benchmark Data

35. Questions?
Pinkesh Shah
pshah@ipl.edu.in
Mid Career Transitions –
Plan, Invest, Make it Happen!

36. Additional Visuals

37. Entrepreneurship is different from
being an Entrepreneur.

38. Entrepreneur vs Intrapreneur
Entrepreneur is a digger
When will I get water?
Intrapreneur is a plumber
There is enough water,
Open the right tap!

39. Feel Uncomfortable with
your Comfortable Life

40. BUILDING THE PRODUCT &
BUSINESS PLAN
FINDING THE
RIGHT CHAMPIONS
COMPELLING
BUSINESS PLAN
EXECUTIVE BUY IN
SALES EXCITEMENT
ENGINEERING ENTHUSIASM
BU TO ULTIMATELY OWN
PROTOTYPE
CUSTOMER INSIGHTS
LATCHING ON TO
“KNOWN PAINS”
REVENUE/SALES
FORECAST
STRATEGIC OUTCOMES
EXIT PLAN
GETTING READY FOR THE CEO PITCH

41. The biggest difference between an
Intrapreneur and Entrepreneur
is whose money you’re risking.