Get yourself canned once or twice so potential employers can tell you're serious about your work.

The field of candidates to run the Securities and Exchange Commission is shifting as a contender drops out of the race. Mary Miller, a senior Treasury Department official, removed her name from consideration in recent days, according to several people briefed on the matter who were not authorized to discuss the process. While some Washington insiders considered Ms. Miller a top choice, several people close to her said she was “not interested” in the job. With Ms. Miller withdrawing, Sallie L. Krawcheck, a long-time Wall Street executive, has emerged as a potential front-runner. Over the last year, she has become a familiar face in Washington, making the rounds with lawmakers to discuss consumer issues. [...] In 2009, Ms. Krawcheck landed at Bank of America, where she ran the wealth management group. Under her leadership, the unit posted steady results, a point of strength for then-troubled bank. But Ms. Krawcheck was ousted from Bank of America in late 2011 as part of a broader management shake-up.

Since then, Ms. Krawcheck has refined her voice as a consumer advocate. On Twitter, she has drawn a significant following with her conversational style and posts on investment issues. Ms. Krawcheck is on the board of Motif Investing, an online brokerage firm geared to individual investors. She also writes a blog on LinkedIn. One recent dispatch, titled “What I Learned When I Got Fired (The First Time),” offered career guidance from her own rocky periods. “If you haven’t been fired at least once, you’re not trying hard enough,” she wrote. “As the pace of change in business increases, the chances of having a placid career are receding. And if in this period of rapid change, you’re not making some notable mistakes along the way, you’re certainly not taking enough business and career chances.”

As Miller Drops Out, Race for S.E.C. Chief Shifts [Dealbook]