Healthcare Concerns

By ALEXANDRA LEVIT

I’m frequently asked how to make the transition from working in an organization to striking out on one’s own. But here’s a question that’s rarely discussed: What if you’re an entrepreneur or solo practitioner and must decide whether to return to the business world? Can you — and should you — go from your living room back to the boardroom?

Jessica Smith, 33 years old, of Sacramento, Calif., left her career at a major consulting firm to stay home with her young son. She developed a robust online marketing and business-development practice that allowed her to witness her son’s milestones, but eventually found herself wishing she could work in an office again.

Building on the success of her blog, jessicaknows.com, Ms. Smith secured a vice president position at international communications firm Fleishman-Hillard, and her husband became the at-home parent.

A Better Fit

Once you’ve gone through the trouble of starting a business, you may feel like it’s a step back to work for someone else again. But depending on your lifestyle and personal preferences, employment at a company may simply be a better fit at this point in time. So before you dismiss the idea entirely, you should consider the benefits that office work provides.

First, adhering to deadlines without giving in to distractions like TiVo or the cheesecake in the fridge requires focus and willpower. If this isn’t your strong suit, you might be more productive with a regimented company schedule. Set office hours might also make it easier to sustain a fulfilling family life.

“Having a clear boundary between my office and my home means that family time is quality time,” says Ms. Smith.

Although I now work from home full time, I definitely miss aspects of my corporate job. I enjoy getting dressed up and commuting to work because it puts me in a frame of mind to conduct business.

I also like the paycheck that reliably arrived twice a month. And Twitter and Webinars can’t replace the camaraderie that develops in an office environment.

“Being part of a larger organization offers the ability to work with team members and see our ideas come to fruition together,” Ms. Smith concurs.

Talk About It

A move from the living room to the boardroom is one that should be thoughtfully discussed with those it affects the most — namely your partner and close family members.

And don’t make a decision rashly. Just because your business isn’t going well in the recession doesn’t mean you made a mistake in launching it. Try to envision its trajectory over the long term to see if it’s a venture you feel comfortable giving up.

Your move to an established organization should make sense in the context of the brand you’ve invested the time and energy to create.

“Don’t take the first role that presents itself,” advises Ms. Smith. “You need to be sure that your mission and values line up with those of the company you plan to work for.”

Finally, build in an adequate transition period so that provisions are made for existing customers and you aren’t leaving anyone high and dry.

Write to Alexandra Levit at reinvent@wsj.com

By JOE LIGHT

To make one hire, recruiters wade through more than six times as many applications from job boards than they do from their own websites, according to an analysis of hiring data by Jobs2web Inc., which helps companies track the sources of applicants and hires.

According to the analysis, companies look through about 219 applications per job from job seekers who discovered the posting on a major board, such as Monster.com or CareerBuilder.com, before finding someone to hire, compared with 33 applications per hire from job hunters who find the job on the company’s own career site and 32 per hire when a job seeker types the job they are looking for into a search engine.

Someone who is browsing on a job board might bump into many jobs that he thinks he might have an outside shot of getting, said Jobs2web chief financial officer Steve Shaffer.

On the other hand, someone who searches for a specific job on a search engine or decides to look at a certain company’s website probably has more relevant experience, he said.

“The fewer applicants you need to go through, the better,” he said.

There were about 116 applicants from social-media sites, like Facebook.com and Linkedin.com, for every one that was hired.

Even though job boards are more crowded, they remain a major source of hiring for many firms, noted Gerry Crispin, co-founder of CareerXroads Inc., a consulting firm. A January CareerXroads study found that about 25% of hires of external candidates came through job boards.

Still, for job seekers, getting a referral from an employee is far and away the best way to get noticed by a recruiter, Mr. Crispin said. CareerXroads found that recruiters made one hire for about every 10 referrals they received.

“It increases your chances of getting a job tenfold. If an employee makes a referral, they at least have some feeling that the individual will be a better employee,” he said.

The Jobs2web analysis included 1.3 million applications and 26,000 hires in 2010.

By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN

The job: Patent researcher

Nature of the work: These professional investigators work for law firms, research businesses, the federal government and corporations. They scour various sources to make sure an idea or invention is original and they typically specialize in areas such as electronics, computer science, chemistry and mechanical engineering. “Their job is to find what we call ‘prior art,’ ” says John Tsavaris, special counsel at Kenyon & Kenyon LLP, an intellectual-property law firm in New York.

The pay: At law firms, patent researchers with one to four years of experience earn annual salaries of about $65,000, says Gary Buckland, a vice president at Kelly Law Registry, a legal staffing firm in Troy, Mich. Those with 15 to 20 years of experience may earn upward of $85,000, he says. Patent researchers employed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — known as patent examiners — earn starting salaries ranging from $41,350 to $73,736, depending on specialty.

The hours: Patent researchers typically work during normal business hours, though they may occasionally put in overtime to meet deadlines.

The benefits: Traditional health-care packages and retirement-savings programs are common at most firms; standard for government workers.

Other incentives: Researchers get to see products before commercialization. “Sometimes a client will provide us with prototypes of the inventions we’re researching,” says Matt Rodgers, a vice president at Landon IP, in Alexandria, Va.

Best part of the job: Katherine Schultz, a patent engineer at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, an intellectual-property law firm in Milwaukee likes the variety. She does research work in addition to helping attorneys draft and defend patent applications. “When someone walks in with a new invention disclosure, it’s always a surprise,” she says.

Worst part of the job: “It can be repetitive,” says Mr. Rodgers. “You might have several projects in a row that have similar objectives, so they require the same type of research.” The job’s work environment may be a downside. “It’s pretty quiet most of the time,” says Cindy Troutt, a patent researcher at Canon U.S.A. Inc.

Education/Qualifications: A bachelor’s degree in a technical discipline such as science or engineering is a common requisite, says Dr. Tsavaris, also an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law. Employers also look for candidates with strong analytical, organizational and time-management skills, he adds. Career changers may be able to gain entry into the field upon completing internships or coursework on patent research.

Hiring: Demand for patent researchers is steady. There’s a backlog of more than 750,000 patent applications with the federal government, says Lynn Feild, a workgroup manager at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Jobs there are listed at usptocareers.gov. Openings at companies and law firms are advertised on job boards, including intelproplaw.com and patentlyo.com.

Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications
Patent researchers at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earn starting salaries ranging from $41,350 to $73,736, depending on specialty. A previous version of this column said patent-office researchers earn salaries ranging from $40,184 to $75,537.

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page D6

By BETH GARDINER

Business schools are beginning to embrace a practice that has grown popular in the corporate world—teaching and studying mindfulness, the originally Buddhist approach to increasing awareness of oneself and one’s surroundings.

In M.B.A. and executive-education courses, a handful of professors offer techniques to help students calm their minds and increase their focus. Such skills, they argue, are crucial for those hoping to succeed in an increasingly frenetic environment where distractions from an always-buzzing phone to pressure for strong quarterly profit reports constantly impinge on decisions.

While the idea of mindfulness originates in the serious practice of meditation, B-school faculty say it has many applications for executives who aren’t looking for a spiritual fix but simply want to clear their heads and become aware of reflexive, emotional reactions that can lead to bad decisions.

And it isn’t just individuals that can be mindful, they say. Donde Ashmos Plowman, dean of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business Administration, has examined the mindfulness of organizations, a concept described previously by Karl Weick, at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

Mindful organizations are those that pay close attention to what is happening within them, are ready to correct mistakes rather than punishing workers who report them and respond quickly to changes or problems, Ms. Plowman said.

She and several colleagues tried to quantify the mindfulness of 180 different business schools, asking deans and other administrators to complete questionnaires. Critics have accused business schools of culpability in the many high-profile lapses of corporate ethics in recent years, and Dean Plowman said studying the schools’ mindfulness could indicate whether they are capable of self-correction.

One thing the researchers noticed, Dean Plowman said, was that deans rated their schools’ mindfulness more highly than did those working for them.

“It’s easy for people at the head of an organization to end up in a bubble,” she said. “That really alerted me to say, ‘What do I need to do as a dean to improve the way we communicate?’”

Others apply mindfulness at a more individual level.

At IMD business school in Lausanne, Switzerland, leadership professor Ben Bryant introduces his executive-education students to techniques for concentrating on their breathing and becoming aware of sounds and sensations, which he says can help them center themselves at the office or in a business meeting.

“Hard-core meditators are horrified that this word is being used in business,” he said. “They think meditation was never meant to be instrumental in making money.”

Nonetheless, Mr. Bryant feels it is worthwhile to help those running companies to slow down and think about how best to direct their attention. Especially for CEOs, “it’s the smallest things that they do that have huge ripple effects,” he said. “Because their lives are so busy and so loaded up with things, they miss too many opportunities to make either themselves or their organizations different.”

Jeremy Hunter, who teaches at the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University outside Los Angeles, believes mindfulness should be at the center of business schools’ teaching. That, he argues, is because it is about improving the quality of attention, and in the modern workplace, attention is the key to productivity.

“To me, it’s fundamental to how work gets done these days,” he said. “Basically, that’s what work is, attention.”

In a series of four seven-week executive-education classes, and a separate course for M.B.A. students, Mr. Hunter teaches what he calls self-management, “managing your insides so you can deal with your outsides better.” He often starts class with a brief meditation, and covers topics like managing emotional reactions and dealing with change.

“One of the powers of being at a business school is that you reach an audience that would never show up at a meditation fair” but can recognize the techniques’ usefulness, he said.

After a conversation about multitasking, one student became frustrated with a weekly work meeting where staff were more focused on their cellphones than the discussion, Mr. Hunter said. When he returned to the office and insisted that everyone put their phones in a box before starting, his colleagues initially responded with irritation, but the weekly gathering soon became so much more efficient that it was cut from to an hour from 90 minutes, Mr. Hunter said.

At Harvard Business School, leadership professor William George focuses on helping businesspeople to better understand their emotions. He ran a two-day conference in 2010 on mindful leadership with a Tibetan Buddhist meditation master, and has meditated regularly since 1975.

In his executive-education class on leadership development, he instructs students who include CEOs to open up to others about their toughest experiences.

Such conversations can increase self-awareness, which Professor George sees as central to good leadership. It isn’t a lack of intelligence that causes executives to make poor decisions, but a lack of awareness of the feelings that drive their reactions, he said.

“It’s the inability to admit your own mistakes, or your fear of failure, your fear of rejection, your desire to be seen as Mr. Perfect, or Ms. Perfect in front of groups, that’s what leads to failure,” he said. “It’s amazing to me how executives in their 40s or 50s who are running giant enterprises can get really into this.”

Savvy executives know the part, act the part and look the part. That’s because they exude “executive presence,” a broad term used to describe the aura of leadership.

For Janie Sharritt, now a vice president at Sara Lee Corp., an image makeover helped her gain the managerial gravitas that she needed to advance further up the ladder.

In 2005, Ms. Sharritt was a newly promoted middle manager for another consumer-products manufacturer. She preferred to wear a ponytail, scant makeup, khakis, sweaters and loafers. But by taking a “Power of Image” workshop led by image coach Jonna Martin, she got an expert makeover. Her revamped look included a sophisticated hairstyle, dressy slacks and jackets, pumps, colorful necklaces and extra makeup.

She thinks the changes boosted her self confidence, resulting in faster acceptance of her ideas by senior management. “In the past, [that quick buy-in] wasn’t one of the things I was known for,” says Ms. Sharritt. She joined Sara Lee four years ago.

Executives with presence act self confident, strategic, decisive and assertive, concludes a study released late last year by the Center for Work-Life Policy, a New York think tank.

Presence plays an increasingly important role as companies grapple with a weak recovery and fewer management layers. “You have less time to make that lasting impression,” warns Stefanie Smith, head of Stratex Consulting, a New York coaching firm. Today, 75% of her coaching practice involves enhancing clients’ presence–up from 35% in 2007.

Several big businesses, including Intel Corp. and Morgan Stanley, recently launched programs to teach ambitious staffers about executive presence. Rosalind Hudnell, Intel’s chief diversity officer, says she created a “Command Presence” workshop for its rising female technical stars last year after realizing they needed extra help selling their ideas within the company. Nearly 200 women at the computer-chip maker have taken the four-hour session.

Jonna Martin

Janie Sharritt, a vice president at Sara Lee says that a makeover in 2005 when she was a middle manager helped her advance up the ladder. Her before and after pics are shown here.

These mid-level staffers learn how to present effectively through a discussion of “constructive confrontation” and a simulated meeting with an executive audience, according to an Intel spokeswoman.

Ms. Hudnell recalls that her survival long “depended on my being able to command a room.” She believes executive presence also involves the ability to command other leaders.

How can you polish your presence? For starters, you should pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses. “People are blind to their biggest derailers,” says Karen Kaufman, a Philadelphia executive coach.

You could glean additional clues by keeping a journal based on workplace observations of executives with authoritative presence, says James Citrin, a CEO recruiter for search firm Spencer Stuart. Imitate their behaviors “that feel comfortable and natural for you,” he recommends. Mr. Citrin cites a CEO candidate he recently watched being interviewed by the board search committee at a $10-billion company. Among other things, the prospect “looked the committee members alternately straight in the eye” as he answered their questions “slowly but very clearly.”

Formal assistance may make an even bigger difference. It ranges from extensive sessions with an executive coach to voice lessons, presentation training and improvisational acting classes.

Jason Bernstein retained coach Dee Soder in 2009 to bolster his presence while an executive of a midsized technology company in suburban New York. “People who don’t know him can miss his high energy and drive because he has such an easygoing style,” says Dr. Soder, an industrial psychologist who founded CEO Perspective Group, an executive assessment and advisory firm in New York.

To correct this misperception, Mr. Bernstein says he embraced many of her suggestions. He tried to avoid a monotone in commanding his employees, sit upright during meetings and display powerful confidence at a conference table by marking his territory with a water bottle and notebook.

Dr. Soder also urged him to wave his hand slightly rather than nod his head in agreement when someone else speaks “to show you got it,” Mr. Bernstein adds.

“Nodding your head is in some ways a gesture of deference,” Mr. Bernstein explains. “It was one of the toughest things I found to work on.” He says the executive-presence coaching “helped improve my performance reviews,” which soon praised his board-level presentations and leadership ability.

Colleagues also notice flaws in your executive presence. But it’s frequently hard to get frank feedback. “You have to take the responsibility to ask,” says Gillian Christie, a managing director of a big financial-services firm. She remembers how coworkers at a prior employer only hinted about her tendency to show off during meetings because her behavior intimidated them.

Now, Ms. Christie continues, she often solicits associates’ reaction following her presentations. Some reply, “You were a little off base.” As a result, she tones down her strong delivery.

Intel’s Ms. Hudnell finds male colleagues usually request her advice before they appear before the executive team for the first time. They want to know who will ask the toughest questions. Yet many Intel women only seek her counsel after a presentation “has not gone well,” she says.

The insight inspired Ms. Hudnell to propose the presence workshop for emerging female stars. “You have to have executive presence in ways that will set you apart,” she notes.

Write to Joann S. Lublin at joann.lublin@wsj.com

By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN

More companies are tweeting for hires.

As online job boards have grown crowded amid the recession, many big companies, including Microsoft Corp.,

Verizon Communications Inc.,

Raytheon Corp.

and Viacom Inc.’s

MTV Networks, now list job openings on the Twitter microblogging site.

For employers, Twitter—where users post updates, or “tweets,” of no more than 140 characters—offers one more way to find and attract candidates, and a cheaper alternative to big online job boards. It also helps companies target social-media-savvy job hunters and convey an innovative image. For job seekers, Twitter offers the chance to interact one-on-one with companies’ recruiters and can be more convenient than job boards.

Job hunters can sign up to follow a company’s listings on Twitter or receive tweets about jobs through a third-party service. They usually need to click a link in the tweet to access the listing online, where they can submit their résumé or application. They can also reply to the tweet with a question or comment; sometimes, employers tweet back.

With so many people looking for jobs now, some employers say they like that Twitter yields just enough job leads—but not too many. Job boards have “become saturated,” says Mike Rickheim, vice president of global talent acquisition for Newell Rubbermaid Inc.,

a global manufacturer based in Atlanta.

“With Twitter, we don’t have to go through that huge pile of résumés.” Mr. Rickheim says the company uses Twitter to fill positions that tend to attract tons of applicants on job boards, such as administrative roles, as well as to share company news.

(Of course, recruiters note, the more popular Twitter gets, the more applicants it will likely attract.)

People who respond to job tweets typically have social-media skills, and some employers say they use the service to target them. In March, MediaSource Inc., a video-production and publicity firm in Columbus, Ohio, advertised a media-relations specialist job only on Twitter, LinkedIn and two niche job boards, says Lisa Arledge Powell, MediaSource’s president.

“We needed someone that understood social media, so we thought, ‘Why not go to where these people go?’ ” she says.

Andrea Slesinski, who was following the company’s Twitter feed, saw the job listing and quickly tweeted her interest. She got an interview request within a week and was hired.

Image is a big part of Twitter’s appeal to employers, as using it to engage with job seekers can suggest they’re cutting-edge. “Verizon is a technology company so we need to be out there,” says Asif Zulfiqar, a talent-management specialist at the New York-based telecommunications firm, which began listing jobs on Twitter in March.

But the image issue cuts both ways, he notes, and job seekers don’t always pay enough attention to how they appear to employers on Twitter. Recently a follower of Verizon’s jobs feed tweeted to the company something along the lines of, “Hey dude, you got any jobs in California?” says Mr. Zulfiqar.

The writer’s casual tone made a poor impression, he says. “I want to see something more professional,” he says. “You want to put your best foot forward.”

Indeed, people trolling for jobs on Twitter need to tweet with care—not just when they’re interacting with employers, says Cynthia Shapiro, a former human-resources executive and career coach in Woodland Hills, Calif. Hiring managers could use information they find on Twitter, just as on Facebook, to form opinions about an applicant’s employability. People sometimes disclose personal things over Twitter, like work-family challenges, that an employer couldn’t ask about in an interview but which might color their impression if they knew. For example, if an employer sees on Twitter that a candidate is going through a messy divorce, they might “assume you’re going to be distracted,” Ms. Shapiro says.

Job seekers can do their own sleuthing on Twitter to research prospective employers. In June, Rob Totaro landed an interview for an account-manager job at Potratz Partners Advertising, a small agency in Schenectady, N.Y., after learning about the position on Twitter. In the meeting, he joked that he wasn’t sure he could work for a firm that supports the Red Sox, which he had discovered from reading tweets the company posted about a recent employee outing to a ballgame. “It was a great ice breaker,” says Mr. Totaro. He got the job.

Twitter users say the service can be more convenient than online job boards, allowing users to follow feeds that list jobs from a variety of companies rather than trolling through thousands of job-board listings. “It’s an efficient way to get a general idea of what type of jobs are out there,” says Ryan Kellett, a senior at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt.

He subscribes to about a half-dozen job feeds on Twitter. “It’s a little bit more of a chore to go on [job boards] on a daily basis,” he says. “You don’t know if there’s new content on there.”

Twitter’s interactivity also can provide a new source of advice for candidates. Subscribers to Google Inc.’s jobs feed, which went live on June 29, can pose employment questions to recruiters at the Mountain View, Calif., company, says a spokeswoman. Recently someone posted a tweet asking what job candidates should wear to interviews at Google.

A little over an hour later, a recruiter tweeted back: “We care more about your mind than your clothes,” the spokeswoman says.

Cost is a main draw for employers, many of which post jobs on their own Twitter feeds free. Some services distribute job listings for employers on Twitter for a fee, but they are generally less than the cost of posting on a big job board.

U.K.-based InterContinental Hotels Group

PLC, which has U.S. headquarters in Atlanta, began listing jobs on Twitter in July through a distribution service called TweetMyJobs, which charges 99 cents to promote one position for a day. The service also offers volume discounts. Francene Taylor, a talent-acquisition technology manager for InterContinental, says the service is more affordable than most job boards and she expects it to help the hospitality company save money as more job seekers turn to the company’s Twitter feed to look for postings.

“We will see a decline in a need to use the major job boards and that will mean we won’t have to spend quite as much,” she says.

Ms. Taylor says the quality of the candidates, for all positions including room attendant and housekeeper supervisor, is the same as what comes through job boards.

But sometimes, Twitter produces enough leads that InterContinental doesn’t need to advertise the jobs elsewhere. During the last week of August, she says, 4,622 people clicked through to the company’s job-listings section from Twitter.

Write to
Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com

By Elizabeth Garone

Q: As a LinkedIn user, I am seeing many people stating, “looking for a job opportunity” and other similar statements in their profile or status. If you are unemployed, is it good to announce that you are looking for a job this way, or does it potentially damage your image?

A: In the past, it was common to try to hide the fact that you’d lost your job. But that has changed in the current economy. “The stigma of being unemployed in this economy is almost non-existent,” says Terry Karp, career counselor and co-founder of the Bay Area Career Center in San Francisco. “It is commonly understood that many talented people have been laid off completely due to a business decision by the company, not their performance.”

While it’s acceptable to let people know that you are looking for a position, it’s important to approach it professionally and to be specific about your needs. One way to do this is to use LinkedIn’s “professional headline” to establish your identity. Ms. Karp recommends adding the words “in transition” or “seeking a new challenge” to your title. LinkedIn also gives you the opportunity to fill in a status box. “Use this area to describe contract or consulting gigs you have as well as any volunteer work you are doing,” suggests Ms. Karp. “This approach enables you to reinforce your brand through the headline as well as highlight current relevant projects.”

Dan Schawbel, author of “Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success,” also believes in getting the word out. “If your network is unaware that you’re job searching, then how are they supposed to support your search?” he asks. “Visibility creates opportunities, both in marketing products and with people.”

When crafting your profile, you need to be honest, says LinkedIn spokeswoman Krista Canfield. “Don’t list on your profile or résumé that you’re doing free-lance work if you really aren’t,” she says. “Hiring managers may ask you about that free-lance work or consulting gig during the interview and if you don’t have the references to back that work up, it could count against you.”

If you aren’t doing any contract or other work, then you’ll want to at least list a position that reflects the type of role you’re seeking. For example, you could include something along the lines of: “open to free-lance and consulting work in the graphic design industry” or “seeking a challenging sales position in the real-estate sector,” suggests Ms. Canfield.

You’ll also want to update your status regularly. “Status updates remind your network that you’re looking for a position and what types of jobs you’re looking for,” she says. “Plus, you never know. Someone in your network might know someone that works at the company you’re researching.”

Andrew Ravens, assistant vice president for corporate communications at Eastern Bank in Boston, credits LinkedIn status updates for helping two friends land jobs. One friend mentioned in her update that she was moving back to the Washington, D.C., area. Mr. Ravens saw the update and immediately put her in touch with an old college roommate who works in the same field. Through the connection, the friend eventually landed a job. In the other case, a friend posted an update that she was looking for broadcast journalism work. Again, Mr. Ravens was able to connect her with someone in the field. “It made me feel really good to help them out, especially with things so tough out there,” says Mr. Ravens. “If it weren’t for their status updates, I wouldn’t have even known they were looking.”

In order to have your status updates seen, you’ll need to grow your network, say the experts. “The larger your LinkedIn network is, both in volume and in real relationships, the better your chances are at finding a job,” says Mr. Schawbel. “Most jobs come from second- and third-degree contacts anyway, so it’s not just who you know but who they know and who knows you.”

Write to ELIZABETH GARONE at cjeditor@dowjones.com

After receiving his doctorate in political science, Brent Eastwood of Albuquerque became a domestic-policy and international-security expert.

A professor at George Mason University in Virginia, Dr. Eastwood was published in academic journals such as Applied Research in Economic Development and wrote the 2008 book “Solutions for a 21st Century Economy.”

Then, Dr. Eastwood was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. “I formed a political research firm called EastwoodNet, and at first nothing was working,” says the 38-year-old. “But eventually I found my niche consulting for candidates and nonprofits.”

Dr. Eastwood has made a transition we don’t hear too much about — going from a career in academia to one in business — and the two worlds couldn’t be more different. “Many professors focus on getting research grants, but they aren’t out there taking these big risks. I’ve seen academics pitching to investors at venture-capital conferences get eaten alive,” he says. “Professors aren’t used to needing such a thick skin, and they have to develop it if they want to work in business.”

Business-World Advantages

Given the picture Dr. Eastwood paints, why would the corporate world be attractive to academics? The No. 1 reason is the mentality that there’s a scarcity of resources on college campuses. “Institutions have limited resources to go around, and this creates a culture that can be stifling and frustrating,” says Cyndi Laurin, the author of “The Rudolph Factor,” a business book on innovation, and herself an academic turned businesswoman. “My ideas received a far heartier reception and were much more appreciated in the corporate world.”

Of course, there’s also the money — people with doctorates and other advanced degrees can earn tens of thousands of dollars more by making the leap.

“The corporate world also allows for more promotions and greater opportunities to take on a variety of roles,” says Dr. Laurin, who earned her doctorate in educational leadership.

Ph.D.s vs. M.B.A.s

If you’ve been mulling over a move out of academia, what are some things to keep in mind? First, don’t assume that the business world is the land of plenty. Many industries are suffering now, so you might need to wait for things to pick up a bit. Also, don’t assume that having a Ph.D. and a history of working independently qualifies you for an executive position.

“Corporations expect a track record of internal successes,” says Dr. Laurin. “Although your education, research and publications are the high points of an academic résumé, the business world wants to see how you’ve made a monetary difference to past employers.”

Those making this transition should pace themselves. The latter half of your academic career is a good time to dip your toe into business because there’s less pressure to fulfill stringent research, teaching and publication requirements. “You have to be careful not to spread yourself too thin, or you risk getting passed over for tenure,” adds Dr. Eastwood.

Write to Alexandra Levit at reinvent@wsj.com

By AMY PALANJIAN

Gigi Lee Chang was on a trip to California in 2004 when she had a realization that would quickly alter her career path.

Her young son wouldn’t eat jarred baby food and it was nearly impossible for her to make him meals from scratch during especially busy times or while traveling to visit her family. Ms. Lee Chang, who was then a vice president of strategic planning for Euro RSCG and on the fast track, quickly learned that many of her friends with babies were having a similar problem. Her years of experience in market research and planning for other companies kicked in and she decided to start a business to fill what she saw as a gap in the baby-food market: There was no convenient frozen organic baby food available to busy parents in the U.S.

Finance Background

It was a different animal than her previous work. But, Ms. Lee Chang grew up in an entrepreneurial household in Orange County, Calif., so her launching Plum Organics didn’t surprise her family. Her father ran an import-export business with manufacturing facilities in Hong Kong, and from an early age Ms. Lee Chang was involved in the family business. “I started checking my parents’ business letters for grammatical errors when I was about 10 years old,” she says.

After earning an undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Southern California, Ms. Lee Chang joined her family’s company as a liaison between the Hong Kong and China offices and clients in the U.S. Later, she attended graduate school at the London School of Business and went on to work for Oracle Corp.’s consulting group in the U.K. and at two boutique consulting firms: Tessera, where she was exposed to branding and marketing, and Euro RSCG, where she was working when the idea for what would become Plum Organics hit her.

Ms. Lee Chang’s initial research into the organic frozen baby-food market showed that the category was already established in the U.K., Australia and Canada, but not in the U.S. With the financial security and stability of her husband’s full-time job, Ms. Lee Chang, now 41, left Euro RSCG in 2005 to make her foray into the frozen baby-food business. “From past work experience, I knew I could make Plum Organics a success because I had a good comprehension of most facets of a business,” she explains.

Doing Research

Still, Ms. Lee Chang didn’t have any experience in the food industry, the natural or organic sector, or even in starting a business. She began with research, including a class at New York’s New School called “How to Start a Specialty Food Business.” She also scoped out other products targeting her intended audience, including Healthy Handfuls, an organic kids’ snack-food line that specializes in cookies and crackers. “I realized that they were a noncompetitive business with similar positioning, so I called them for advice,” she says.

Ms. Lee Chang was referred to a consultant who specializes in organic and natural-food start-ups, and a few months later, she teamed up with a research and development firm that helped her with recipe testing and branding. She also worked with a team who helped her turn the sentiments and attitudes that she wanted her products to stand for into the design of her packaging. All told, launching the company cost nearly $1 million, financed mostly through her personal savings.

Trade-Show Launch

Within a few months, Ms. Lee Chang launched Plum Organics at Natural Products Expo West, a large trade show for the natural and organic food industry. By the time she left, Whole Foods and Wild Oats stores in almost every U.S. region had committed to carry her products.

“Plum Organics was one of the first frozen baby-food lines, but what really caught my eye was the packaging,” says Perry Abbenate, global grocery coordinator of Whole Foods Market, who also liked the organic nature and simplicity of the foods.

Ms. Lee Chang’s company is positioned at the center of a booming organic baby-food market, which grew by nearly 22% in 2007, according to market-research company Mintel. But she isn’t stopping there. “I built the business to be able to extend into other product categories, like we’re doing with our new toddler-friendly kids’ line,” Ms. Lee Chang says.

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page B15

By CLARE ANSBERRY

(See Corrections & Amplifications item below.)

Associated Press

Many U.S. executives are optimistic sales will increase next year, but believe that their staffing levels will remain the same. Above, workers at a Caterpillar plant.

Corporate America is emerging from the worst downturn since the Great Depression smaller and thriftier.

To survive, companies have laid off millions of workers, closed hundreds of factories and vacated acres of office space. Like those who grew up in the Depression and still reuse sheets of aluminum foil, the experience has left them financially conservative and wary of risk.

The road to recovery will likely be marked by slow and steady acceleration, rather than speed. Some companies will see opportunities to amass undervalued assets or steal customers. But it is unclear if their efforts will create enough new jobs to spark broader economic growth.

Though appliance sales are expected to rise for the first time in four years, Whirlpool Corp.,

which closed about a tenth of its production capacity in 2009, says it will continue cutting costs and paring capacity this year. It plans to close its Evansville, Ind., plant that made refrigerators and ice makers, shifting some output to Mexico.

The appliance maker will also hold on to its cash. “Given the amount of uncertainty that remains across the globe, we will carry a high cash balance over the course of the year, and we think that is appropriate,” says Chief Executive Jeff Fettig.

Nearly every American industry ended last year in better shape than it started. Among the 95% of companies in the Standard and Poor’s 500-stock index that have reported fourth-quarter results, the majority beat market forecasts. But in many cases their improved performances were driven more by cost cutting than revenue growth. With the economy growing again, many CEOs expect broader revenue gains this year.

AP

Already corporate spending on technology has started to rebound. Computer-chip giant Intel Corp.,

considered a bellwether for the tech industry, had one of its most profitable quarters ever in the fourth quarter as sales rose 28%. The company, which a year ago announced that it would close several older factories as the economy slumped, displacing 5,000 to 6,000 workers, is investing billions of dollars in its U.S. plants as demand for consumer and business computers recovers.

The auto industry, which tanked in 2008, taking a sizable chunk of the economy with it, is starting to see some life, and the pickup is filtering down to its suppliers. Alexander “Sandy” Cutler, CEO of Eaton Corp.,

said the company’s truck and auto-related businesses, typically among the first to respond to an economic recovery, are seeing growth in both volume and profitability, and the company is carrying a hefty backlog. “That gives us a good feeling early in the year,” he says.

Stilll, Mr. Cutler, whose salaried U.S. workers were required to take four weeks of unpaid leave last year, says he doesn’t see broad economic growth until 2011. For now, Eaton can make due with overtime and temporary workers, rather than permanent new hires.

Retailers ended 2009 on a high note, as did delivery companies, as consumers lost some of their skittishness. Industries driven by capital spending, such as data processing, machinery and heavy-equipment manufacturing, are beginning to benefit from looser corporate purse strings as well as public-works spending in China, India and Brazil. Manufacturing output grew at a 20% annualized rate in the fourth quarter and the sector, which has shed 2.2 million jobs since 2007, added jobs in January for the first time in nearly three years.

“Compared to last year, this environment is like day and night,” says Klaus Kleinfeld, president and CEO of Alcoa Inc.,

which bolstered its cash holdings in 2009 in part by pressing customers to pay their outstanding balances. Mr. Kleinfeld is projecting 10% growth in the market for aluminum, half of which is coming from China. “If you ask the doomsayers, they say ‘Yeah, but that growth rate is compared to a very bad 2009.’ It’s all a matter of perspective.”

Some industries, such as aerospace and commercial construction, continue to lag. Hampered by continued instability in the housing market and uncertainty about infrastructure projects, the construction-machinery business was expected to end 2009 with an overall 43% drop in sales, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, a Washington trade group.

“I think there is a lot of lingering gloom,” says Don Washkewicz, chairman and CEO of Parker Hannifin Corp.,

which supplies hydraulic parts to several industries. A case in point: on Jan. 19, when the company reported quarterly earnings that nearly doubled market expectations and raised its forecast of profit from continuing operations by 44%, its stock, after an initial uptick, ended the day lower than it started.

Much of the uncertainty in markets and boardrooms can be traced to jobs, the economy’s big wild card. One out of four of the 8.4 million American jobs lost during the recession isn’t expected to come back, leaving it up to growing industries to fill the void. In January, on the same day United Parcel Service Inc.,

the world’s largest package handler by volume, projected better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, it also said it would eliminate 1,800 management and administrative jobs.

Having cut jobs and capacity, streamlined production, distribution and logistics, many companies like their slimmer look. “We have put the genie back in the bottle, and I’m not ready to let it out,” says Parker Hannifin’s Mr. Washkewicz.

Indeed, while some employers have added modestly to their payrolls, the absence of broader hiring remains a problem for the nation’s economy, which depends on consumer spending.

More than 60% of the 1,000 chief executives surveyed by YPO Global, a network of 17,000 executives, expect their work forces to be the same a year from now. About 30% see an increase and 7% a decrease.

Rather than hiring or adding capacity, some companies hope to use their accumulated cash to make bargain-priced acquisitions. Eaton, which has been on the sidelines for the past year, is looking for opportunities, says Mr. Cutler, its CEO.

Other companies are positioning themselves in different ways. Heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar

is preparing for the recovery by making sure its supply chain is ready to pick up pace quickly and smoothly. “Our ability to ramp up is really a function of how well we manage the supply chain and suppliers,” CEO Jim Owen told investors recently. “We’re way out in front compared to any previous cycle I know of in getting ready for that eventuality.”

Headwaters

MB, a Denver investment bank, is coming out of the recession with a new gameplan. Dave Maney, chairman and co-founder, says the board met in the fall of 2008 and gave senior management carte blanche to ensure the company’s survival. As a result, Headwaters laid off all but seven key employees, and invited the others to form independent member firms. Using its contacts to drum up business, Headwaters directed transactions to those firms, keeping a cut for itself.

The restructuring drastically reduced fixed costs and also freed management to do more marketing, rather than day-to-day investment-banking transactions. “It was a good strategy for us and positioned us for the future,” Mr. Maney says.

Headwaters expects to add more independent firms by the end of the first quarter and be back up to its pre-recession head count of 42, including its own full-time employees and those working at its new affiliates.

Write to Clare Ansberry at clare.ansberry@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications

Some of the former employees at Headwaters MB, a Denver investment bank, left of their own accord. This article incorrectly said Headwaters laid off all but seven key employees.