How To: Five Steps Toward Getting on Boards

Demonstrate to the board a skill that they could be lacking. Some skills that are in demand are auditing and CFO experience along with cybersecurity and social media backgrounds. Another key attribute for successful directors is having a skill in building consensus.

It cna be difficult to serve on a board if you've never actually tried to be one. To see how it's like try joining a nonprofit's board then an advisory board -- they provide expertise for a smaller company that does not have in-house.

A firm working with your current employer doesn't mean that they'll place you on a board but they could possibly be able to counsel you and help you gain entry into corporate databases as a potential candidate.

Before getting into the ring, keep in mind that directors are increasingly held to account for decisions made by the CEOs and even if the board members aren't made aware of the risks, it still happens. Most public companies carry directors and officers liability insurance, but smaller companies do not.