As the bad news about the economy continues, I have been reading strange stories about career choices that people make in the name job security. When I first heard that applicants to mortuary science schools have practically tripled, I chuckled -- until I realized that people were seriously choosing to become funeral directors in an effort to obtain job security. The reasoning -- that people have to die, even if the economy is bad - bears some relationship to the truth. On the other hand, people may choose to spend less money on lavish funerals. If so, the industry will undergo its own metamorphosis: expect price wars, deep discounts, and more cremations.
The lead story in tomorrow's Chicago Sun-Times relates that applications to medical schools are up for the same reason. In the frantic search for job security, students are now choosing medicine in record numbers. But medicine is also in a state of flux. Doctors complain about burgeoning demands on their time, the pressure to see more patients, and excessive insurance industry oversight.
President Obama promises to reform the health care system but will this make the medical profession a better, more humane place to work? Nor do physicians have the kind "write your own ticket" that some people seem to believe they have. I have worked with many doctors who have difficulty finding good jobs. And they don't have the best transferrable skills. It's hard for them to leave medicine without making huge financial and professional sacrifices.
There is still a small bastion of security in academia. But jobs are scarce and the pay is not always competitive with other industries.
So what's the answer? The answer is: there is no recession-proof job. No one can guarantee you a paycheck for life. The best way to guarantee your future is to continuously scan the employment horizon for new trends and opportunities, actively upgrade and expand your skills and experience, and build a solid professional network. While there are no recession-proof jobs, there are recession-proof people.
Be one.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
A Lesson from the Superbowl
When Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin was asked how he helped his team stay motivated after the Arizona Cardinals took their lead away in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, he memorably responded:
"Steeler football is 60 minute football."
That was a much more articulate statement than the one former Yankee manager Yogi Berra made when he infamously said: "It ain't over 'til it's over."
The sentiment is the same though. As long as the game clock is still running -- or there's still one inning left to play -- the game isn't over.
Recently a distraught parent complained to me that their son -- an aspiring sports administrator -- seemed to quit trying to win a job offer in the middle of the interviews. From their narrative, I got the impression that he had either decided that he no longer wanted the job or felt that he was so obviously qualified that the interviewer should simply give him the position without further discussion.
As a result, he wasn't getting job offers and he was becoming more and more despondent. When I spoke with his parents, I suggested that they use a sports metaphor that would enable their son to see how he was sabotaging himself. Basically what I told them is, that quitting in the middle of an interview is like quitting in the middle of a game. It doesn't matter whether you're winning or losing -- if you quit in the middle of the game, the other team wins.
Mike Tomlin reminded me that winning teams never give up. They play their hardest right until the very end. This doesn't guarantee a win; but it helps to know that you did your best and, win or lose, you never gave up.
"Steeler football is 60 minute football."
That was a much more articulate statement than the one former Yankee manager Yogi Berra made when he infamously said: "It ain't over 'til it's over."
The sentiment is the same though. As long as the game clock is still running -- or there's still one inning left to play -- the game isn't over.
Recently a distraught parent complained to me that their son -- an aspiring sports administrator -- seemed to quit trying to win a job offer in the middle of the interviews. From their narrative, I got the impression that he had either decided that he no longer wanted the job or felt that he was so obviously qualified that the interviewer should simply give him the position without further discussion.
As a result, he wasn't getting job offers and he was becoming more and more despondent. When I spoke with his parents, I suggested that they use a sports metaphor that would enable their son to see how he was sabotaging himself. Basically what I told them is, that quitting in the middle of an interview is like quitting in the middle of a game. It doesn't matter whether you're winning or losing -- if you quit in the middle of the game, the other team wins.
Mike Tomlin reminded me that winning teams never give up. They play their hardest right until the very end. This doesn't guarantee a win; but it helps to know that you did your best and, win or lose, you never gave up.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Radio Interview
When I received a call from WBEZ (Chicago's public radio station) to appear on "848" as an employment expert, I knew that I would say "yes." Although I haven't done much media lately, I am most comfortable with radio appearances and I especially like call-in shows.
Yesterday's show was no exception. Of course the callers are always the "wild card." It's impossible to know what anyone will ask. The first caller is just the kind of caller that I dread. He was a machinist who'd been laid off from his job and was absolutely furious at everyone and everything. He was enraged with his ex-employer about the layoffs; he was also enraged because so many companies are outsourcing jobs like his to other countries; and finally he was enraged because the promise of "retraining" was, in his words, "a joke."
While I sympathize with his frustrations, I also think that all of that rage is misdirected. Regardless of how he feels about these things, companies are going to lay people off, they are going to outsource jobs overseas, and retraining packages are going to be inadequate. Once he accepts those realities, he will be ready to help himself. In the end, he is responsible for his own career.
Of course a certain amount of venting is cathartic. But it can also be counter-productive. At some point (hopefully sooner rather than later) this man is going to need to diversify and/or upgrade his skills, and reinvent himself in a way that fits with what the job market demands and wll buy. All the resentment in the world won't change his situation and it certainly won't make him happy.
So what I advised him to do is change his attitude and accept more responsibility for his own career. That's what it means to be an adult in this job market and that's one important piece of what it takes to be successful. I'm not sure that he heard me; but I hope that anyone who reads my blog will hear my message and act on it.
Yesterday's show was no exception. Of course the callers are always the "wild card." It's impossible to know what anyone will ask. The first caller is just the kind of caller that I dread. He was a machinist who'd been laid off from his job and was absolutely furious at everyone and everything. He was enraged with his ex-employer about the layoffs; he was also enraged because so many companies are outsourcing jobs like his to other countries; and finally he was enraged because the promise of "retraining" was, in his words, "a joke."
While I sympathize with his frustrations, I also think that all of that rage is misdirected. Regardless of how he feels about these things, companies are going to lay people off, they are going to outsource jobs overseas, and retraining packages are going to be inadequate. Once he accepts those realities, he will be ready to help himself. In the end, he is responsible for his own career.
Of course a certain amount of venting is cathartic. But it can also be counter-productive. At some point (hopefully sooner rather than later) this man is going to need to diversify and/or upgrade his skills, and reinvent himself in a way that fits with what the job market demands and wll buy. All the resentment in the world won't change his situation and it certainly won't make him happy.
So what I advised him to do is change his attitude and accept more responsibility for his own career. That's what it means to be an adult in this job market and that's one important piece of what it takes to be successful. I'm not sure that he heard me; but I hope that anyone who reads my blog will hear my message and act on it.
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