You Played By the Rules and Somebody Changed the Game

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen that look in someone’s face that says, “I did all the right things. Went to school. Got the degree. Got the job and worked hard everyday and now they lay me off!“.  You played by the rules that said  if you were loyal and worked hard the company would stick by and up for you.  You could have moved to other companies, but you thought if you stuck with them, you’d have a job for the rest of your life.   Someone changed the game while you weren’t looking.

What are the new rules of the career game?

You must be:

• Employable for a lifetime.  There used to be a notion of employment for a lifetime which put your career responsibility in the hands of employers. Now it’s up to you to make sure you have the skills and knowledge base to be employable.

• Flexible and Adaptable. Employers want a more flexible workforce, which means they will look for more contract workers who can step in and perform on a moments notice. They want a workforce that can easily gear up and gear down depending on how business is doing.

• Educated and Upgradable. The trends for the future are in the knowledge based economy.  Employers will be looking for people who are educated and can learn new skills to adapt to the changing needs of the organization.  This doesn’t mean that you will always have to have a degree, but that will help.

• Able to work cross-functionally. There will be a time in the near future ( 5 to 8 years) when there will be fewer workers than companies need. When the baby boom generation finally retires, there is going to be a leadership and talent gap everywhere. In order to be successful, companies and organizations will need employees who can work  across functions.

• The manager of  your own career. No one is going to manage your career for you. In fact, no one can manage it better than you.  Take advantage of employer training, conferences, trade and professional associations, and trade journals to keep up your knowledge and skills.  Learn a new knowledge base outside of your current job function and look for opportunities to work in new functions.

These rules aren’t impossible to follow, but they do put the responsibility of your career firmly on you.  The world of work is changing, and it’s not going to be all bad. You are going to have great opportunities for rewarding and fulfilling work, but you need to keep learning, adapting, and upgrading your skills.  This will help you be more competitive in a challenging economy and it will help you adapt to a future where talented people will be in great demand.

You Are Tougher Than You Think

This has been a rough couple of years for our country and our world. Record unemployment, a tight labor market, and dwindling resources have led some to a sense that they won’t be able to survive this time in their life. People have lost their homes, their savings, and their retirement. There are too many stories about those who thought they were safe in their jobs, only to be laid off for the first time in their lives. What do you say to those who have been impacted so harshly? What I want to say is, “You are tougher than you think”

The reality is that life can be harsh. It can really kick you in the teeth when you are down. But here’s what is true: You’ve been through hard times before and you are still here.

What you can do to help yourself through difficult times is to put this moment into the context of your whole life. Tap into the resources, your internal wisdom, your family, and community that helped you get through your last hardship. Look back at what you did to get through that time and apply those solutions to your current situation.

Hard times will test you. It will also provide you a chance to demonstrate your creativity, internal strength, and resiliency. You will learn about yourself in ways you never would in good times. Some things you learn you may not like, but they will be lessons that will help you through your next rough patch.

Here are a few things I’ve learned when my life has been hard:

• Isolation during hard times is brutal. Surround yourself with good people.
• Be open about your difficulties to others. You’ll be amazed about how helpful others will be to you.
• Reflect on the last hard time you went through. It didn’t last forever, this one won’t either.
• Focus only on the things within your control. Give up on those you can’t.
• Do something everyday that will move you forward, even if it is a small act.

Here’s the truth: You and I are tougher than we think.

It’s the Holidays: To Search or Not to Search?

Rumor has it that searching for work over the holidays is a waste of time.  These are the common complaints (and misconceptions) I hear around this time of the year:

• People are out on vacation, so it’s impossible to get networking meetings.

• Companies are holding their breath to the end of the year and don’t hire between Thanksgiving and January 1st.

• It’s the end of the fiscal year for many companies, so they will wait until next year to hire.

If this is true, then maybe it doesn’t make sense to search for work until after the holidays. But these statements don’t reflect the whole reality.

Think about this.

• People you want to network with might be open to meeting because the holidays is a an upbeat time. They are in a good and giving mood. They may also be getting fewer networking requests because too many people believe the above statements to be true.

• Holiday parties are abundant this time of the year.  This gives you opportunities to connect with people in a relaxed atmosphere.  Networking is about building relationships and gathering information.

• Some companies are hiring at the end of the year because they need to get you on board and ramped up so you can hit the ground running by the first of the year.

• Some companies are hiring now because it’s the end of the fiscal year.  They need to get you on the budget now, not later.

• You are networking now for future jobs.  If you take six weeks off of networking and other job search activities you will lose momentum and have to worker hard to regain it.

The short story is this:  You can’t afford to stop looking for work during the holidays. Act as if the holidays are a great time to find a job and keep up the good work.

Suckered By Statistics: Why Unemployment Numbers Don’t Add Up

Well, the latest national unemployment numbers are at 10.2%. That’s pretty bad.  According to economists we could see this number approach 11% sometime in 2010.  That’s worse.  Worse yet, in individual states the rates are higher. And these numbers don’t even include all the people who have given up looking.  This week I also heard that one of the biggest employers in the Twin Cities was receiving over 700 resumes per day for open positions.  With so many people out of work and so much competition for existing jobs, what’s the point of even trying?

Don’t get Suckered by Statistics.  If you take these numbers at face value, your prospects look bleak.  But they don’t tell the whole story. Here’s a few things to chew on.

• Not everyone is your competition. Sure, 1 out 10 are out of work, but not everyone does what you do or has your expertise.  If you are in accounting, you are not competing with someone in sales.

• Not every industry is affected the same. You may be in an industry that is less affected,  so you will have less competition.

• Not everyone who applies is qualified. It’s so easy to apply online for jobs. I could apply for a job as a nuclear physicist, but I’m not qualified. Don’t get freaked out by the number of applicants. If you are qualified for the job, you are a better candidate.

• Not everyone is proactive. Not everyone is conducting an effective job search.  Many are just surfing the web for work.  But the people that are networking, researching companies, and not giving up are finding jobs in this economy.

• Not everyone is being creative. Many people believe their skills are limited to where they have been.  Other people are doing some self-assessment and self-reflection and applying their skills to new roles and industries.  That’s what we mean by “transferable skills”.

Don’t misunderstand. I know this is a tough economy.  But I find that focusing on these kinds of numbers only discourage and promote despair.  Forget the statistics. Instead focus your time and attention on those things that will help you get a job.  Your job search may take longer than you want, but keep working hard. You’ll get there.

Get Off The Emotional Roller Coaster

During turbulent times in life, emotions can  seem to go in and out of control.  Difficult emotions- anger, sadness, frustration, anxiousness, and apathy are not uncommon.  If fact, they are downright normal.

When you are going through a major transition it’s common to be encouraged one day and discouraged the next.  You can feel hopeful and hopeless with one phone call, email, or conversation.  You can  feel fearful or courageous all in the matter of a moment.  This up and down, back and forth process, though normal, is not helpful.   If you want to get off the emotional roller coaster, you have to control your thoughts.

My good friend, Shaun Goodsell of The Mental Edge,  sums it up this way, “Your mind either works for you or it works against you”. What you think about; what you focus on, sets your emotions on a course that can either improve your situation or hinder your progress.  Here are some concepts that I have found helpful.

• What you think about affects how you feel. Think about depressing things and you’ll get depressed. Think that you have no control and you’ll feel helpless and weak.  Think that you are talented and you’ll feel confident.

• What you think about affects how you will act. Think that you are too old and you’ll act too old. Think that no one will hire you and you’ll act like someone who’s undesirable.  Think like a professional  and you’ll act like the expert you are.

• Put your current situation into a broader context. You’ve  been through difficult times before and you’ve survived. You’ll make it through this one too.  This is a moment in time and one day it will pass and it will be part of your history.

• Act regardless of how you feel . The problem with acting based on how you feel is that you stop working when you’re discouraged. It hurts your momentum.  Do the activities that will lead to your next job even on days you don’t feel like it.

• Act with confidence, don’t wait to feel confident. If you are struggling with confidence act as if you are confident. It’s really difficult to act like a confident person and not end up feeling confident in the end.

Turbulent times are part of life.  Get off the emotional roller coaster and keep moving forward.

The Magical Resume

Many people are looking for the Magical Resume; the document that opens the door to their next job. The problem is that in this tight economy the competition for jobs is fierce. For many open positions it is not uncommon for a company to receive 50, 75, or even 100’s of resumes. How good does your resume need to be to stand out? I’d plate it in Gold.

You will hear many experts telling you how to write your resume so it gets the most attention. The problem is: There is nothing Magical about your resume. I’ve seen great resumes get overlooked and screened out in the application process. Don’t depend on your resume to get the attention you need in this market.

The best resume you will ever develop is the one you put into the hands of a networking contact. If you have someone inside a company forward your resume or flag your resume, you will get your resume read and be likely to get an interview. Don’t rely on the internet and job postings to get your next job. Network and build relationships with those who can get your resume seen by the right people.

With that said, here are my basic resume tips.

• Your resume is a Marketing document, not a historical record. Think of what you want to sell to potential employers.
  

• The best resume is the one that’s readable. Keep it to one or two pages, with enough space between sections so it doesn’t look crowded.

• Highlight accomplishments rather than duties. Employers want to know what value you brought to your former employers. A great place to look is your performance evaluations.

• Highlight the last 10 to 15 years. Usually our best experiences fall into this time period. If you’ve been working longer than that, give less detail as you write about your career.

• Only highlight the information you want the reader to know about you. Don’t mention experiences you never want to do again or that don’t apply to the job you are looking for.

• Get lots of feedback. I’ve reviewed hundreds of resumes and I’d still need someone to review mine. Other people can give feedback on the wording, readability, and mistakes that we often miss.

Career Magnet Begins

This is the start of my blog Career Magnet.  My goal is to provide expert help in managing a career transition and creating a great career, even if you are still employed. Let me know what topics you’d like to see me blog about. I’d like to focus my writing on the issues pertinent to my readers.

Have a great day,

Dennis Bird