When Liam McGee departed as president of Bank of America in August, his explanation was surprisingly straight up. Rather than cloaking his exit in the usual vague excuses, he came right out and said he was leaving "to pursue my goal of running a company." Broadcasting his ambition was "very much my decision," McGee says. Within two weeks, he was talking for the first time with the board of Hartford Financial Services Group, which named him CEO and chairman on September 29.
McGee says leaving without a position lined up gave him time to reflect on what kind of company he wanted to run. It also sent a clear message to the outside world about his aspirations. And McGee isn"t alone. In recent weeks the No. 2 executives at Avon and American Express quit with the explanation that they were looking for a CEO post. As boards scrutinize succession plans in response to shareholder pressure, executives who don"t get the nod also may wish to move on. A turbulent business environment also has senior managers cautious of letting vague pronouncements cloud their reputations.
As the first signs of recovery begin to take hold, deputy chiefs may be more willing to make the jump without a net. In the third quarter, CEO turnover was down 23% from a year ago as nervous boards stuck with the leaders they had, according to Liberum Research. As the economy picks up, opportunities will abound for aspiring leaders.
The decision to quit a senior position to look for a better one is unconventional. For years executives and headhunters have adhered to the rule that the most attractive CEO candidates are the ones who must be
poached
. Says Korn / Ferry senior partner Dennis Carey: "I can"t think of a single search I"ve done where a board has not instructed me to look at sitting CEOs first."
Those who jumped without a job haven"t always landed in top positions quickly. Ellen Marram quit as chief of Tropicana a decade age, saying she wanted to be a CEO. It was a year before she became head of a tiny Internet-based commodities exchange. Robert Willumstad left Citigroup in 2005 with ambitions to be a CEO. He finally took that post at a major financial institution three years later.
Many recruiters say the old disgrace is fading for top performers. The financial crisis has made it more acceptable to be between jobs or to leave a bad one. "The traditional rule was it" s safer to stay where you are, but that"s been fundamentally inverted," says one headhunter. "The people who"ve been hurt the worst are those who" ve stayed too long."
单选题
When McGee announced his departure, his manner can best be described as being
单选题
According to Paragraph 2, senior executives" quitting may be spurred by
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据题干定位在文章第二段，首先讲述了McGee这么做的原因：有时间反思一下自己到底想管理什么样的公司；随后文中举了其他几个例子，Avon和American Express的高层管理人员，他们致力于CEO的职位。由此可知，D项是促使这些高管们辞职的原因。A项中的“financial status”在本段范围内未提及；B项中的“reflect on their private life”是对文中“reflect onwhat kind of company he wanted to run”的严重曲解；C项是根据第二段倒数第二句编造的选项，选项内容与原文不符且不能回答本题提问，故排除。
单选题
The word "poached"(Para. 4)most probably means
单选题
It can be inferred from the last paragraph that
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：推断题。该段第二句提到，“The financial crisis has made it more acceptable to be betweenjobs or to leave a bad one”，意思是金融危机使得跳槽或离开糟糕的岗位更可被接受。后面引用一个猎头的话进一步证明这一观点，猎头说：传统的规则认为待在原地更安全，但是这已经从根本上改变了。那些最受伤的人是那些待在原地最长时间的人。A项是对文中“The traditional rulewas it’s safer to say where you are，but that’s been fundamentally inverted”的同义替换，故A项为正确答案。B项属于偷换概念，把“顶级经理人下台带来的不光彩”偷换成“顶级经理人的忠诚”；C项属于过度引申；D项属于反向干扰，故排除。
单选题
Which of the following is the best title for the text?