Tons of people are nervous about the economy and the growing bad news about unemployment. News of tanking financial markets and job layoffs are daily events that stir already heightened anxieties. While you probably can't do much about the big picture, you can do something about your own situation. If you are worried about losing your job and not being able to find another one in such a competitive market, I suggest that you take some precautionary measures right now.
1. Update your resume to include current job titles and specific accomplishments. This is easier to do while you are still working and have access to current data. Once you have left your employer, it may be harder to recover that information.
2. Think critically about whether there is anything that you can do now to enhance your marketability later -- this includes additional training, certifications, and expansion of job responsibilities. Although you may want to safeguard your time, you need to balance that priority with the need to present yourself as a cutting edge candidate later.
3. Expand your network. Use social networking sites like LinkedIn to connect with recruiters and other people outside your company.
4. Join a professional group. Professional associations are another way to expand your network and build professional contacts who may be able to help you later.
5. Work with a career counselor, if necessary (okay, this one is self-serving, but it's my blog.) What I have discovered through the years is that downturns in the economy have a direct impact on my practice. During the bad times, my clients often present with a greater sense of pessimism and urgency, as if they have seen the future and it doesn't look good for them. Together we craft a path that is both workable and interesting and which, despite the odds, positions them for success.
Whatever you choose to do, denial is not an effective career strategy. Rather than wait for a crisis to occur (while simultaneously praying that it doesn't happen), create a viable backup plan to protect yourself from disaster.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Unusual Career Change No. 1
Career counselors (like myself) are famously known for our seemingly idealistic advice to our clients to "Follow Your Dream."
Through the years I have become more jaded about that advice. From a financial standpoint, some dreams are too risky and impractical, especially when you have family responsibilities and financial obligations. On the other hand, you have a responsibility to yourself as well. Regardless of what the cliche tells us, time is not money. Time is time. And, since no one gets out alive, time is also one of the most valuable resources that you have. As adults, many of us spend as much as one-half of our waking adults lives at work. If you don't like your work or the people you work with, that can be a very demoralizing experience, one that can even spill over into your personal life and contaminate that as well.
No one can tell you how much risk is too much risk. You have to decide that for yourself. That said, other people can provide support and insight. One question I like to ask my career counseling clients relates to the consequences of failing. In other words, can you afford to take the risk. This is both an emotional and a financial question. For some people, the consequences of not taking a risk is unacceptable. Assuming that you only have one life (a pretty safe bet), you have to make choices about how you want to live that life.
As a career counselor, I am always on the lookout for stories about people who make unconventional choices -- and are glad they did. Recently I came across the story of Charlie Haas. Haas was a college wrestler at Seton Hall University where he won a two-time Big East Champion. After college, he left the wrestling world behind to start a career as a stockbroker on Wall Street and soon discovered that it wasn't for him.
After leaving Goldman Sachs he pursued a career in professional wrestling where he eventually became as superstar on the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment.) While these two careers may seem very very different, they do have a few things in common. To be successful, they both require: energy, drive, ambition, persistence, courage and a tolerance for risk. You can also make tons of money in either arena.
While Haas has clearly left his Wall Street days behind, he has also figured out a rather ingenious way to use his Wall Street experience as a marketing ploy. Two of his signature moves are called the Haas of Pain and the Haastile Takeover.
Career change is a journey - not a destination. As you travel the road that will hopefully become uniquely your own, you may be surprised at the myriad of ways in which your past life continues to inform and shape the future.
Through the years I have become more jaded about that advice. From a financial standpoint, some dreams are too risky and impractical, especially when you have family responsibilities and financial obligations. On the other hand, you have a responsibility to yourself as well. Regardless of what the cliche tells us, time is not money. Time is time. And, since no one gets out alive, time is also one of the most valuable resources that you have. As adults, many of us spend as much as one-half of our waking adults lives at work. If you don't like your work or the people you work with, that can be a very demoralizing experience, one that can even spill over into your personal life and contaminate that as well.
No one can tell you how much risk is too much risk. You have to decide that for yourself. That said, other people can provide support and insight. One question I like to ask my career counseling clients relates to the consequences of failing. In other words, can you afford to take the risk. This is both an emotional and a financial question. For some people, the consequences of not taking a risk is unacceptable. Assuming that you only have one life (a pretty safe bet), you have to make choices about how you want to live that life.
As a career counselor, I am always on the lookout for stories about people who make unconventional choices -- and are glad they did. Recently I came across the story of Charlie Haas. Haas was a college wrestler at Seton Hall University where he won a two-time Big East Champion. After college, he left the wrestling world behind to start a career as a stockbroker on Wall Street and soon discovered that it wasn't for him.
After leaving Goldman Sachs he pursued a career in professional wrestling where he eventually became as superstar on the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment.) While these two careers may seem very very different, they do have a few things in common. To be successful, they both require: energy, drive, ambition, persistence, courage and a tolerance for risk. You can also make tons of money in either arena.
While Haas has clearly left his Wall Street days behind, he has also figured out a rather ingenious way to use his Wall Street experience as a marketing ploy. Two of his signature moves are called the Haas of Pain and the Haastile Takeover.
Career change is a journey - not a destination. As you travel the road that will hopefully become uniquely your own, you may be surprised at the myriad of ways in which your past life continues to inform and shape the future.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
No Phone Calls, Please
I recently read a job search blog that addressed the question of whether the words "No phone calls, please" in job ads should be taken seriously. To my surprise, their advice was an unequivocal "no" - that, in fact, the words "No phone calls, please" are not actually intended for you. Apparently, they are only intended to screen out those arrogant jerks that recruiters don't want to talk to. But that it is not intended for intelligent, hard-working, responsible job hunters.
I strongly disagree. If an ad says "No phone calls, please" it means "No phone calls, please." It doesn't mean that some people can call and others cannot. It means that the employer doesn't want to field phone calls. They want to screen resumes and decide who they want to call. Make that prohibited phone call and you run the risk of looking like someone who can't read and/or doesn't respect the rules.
That said, you don't have to become a passive bystander, waiting by the phone for a recruiter to call you. Unless an ad specifically says "No emails, please" you have another option at your fingertips -- use it.
I strongly disagree. If an ad says "No phone calls, please" it means "No phone calls, please." It doesn't mean that some people can call and others cannot. It means that the employer doesn't want to field phone calls. They want to screen resumes and decide who they want to call. Make that prohibited phone call and you run the risk of looking like someone who can't read and/or doesn't respect the rules.
That said, you don't have to become a passive bystander, waiting by the phone for a recruiter to call you. Unless an ad specifically says "No emails, please" you have another option at your fingertips -- use it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)