When You Get to a Certain Age... A Cautionary Tale

Recently I have watched friends and family members working through similar challenges.  After many years of service at the same job, we can get frustrated with office politics and things that never seem to change for the better.  Sometimes we just get tired of doing the same things over and over again.  Sometimes we get frustrated with higher management who are not good at listening, or who are too far removed from the realities of the jobs they supervise.  Sometimes we are assigned to work with someone who just drives us crazy!  Sometimes we are ready to pitch it all and find something else.

Before you take a big leap, tell the boss what you really think, or submit that letter of resignation, here are some points to consider: 

• You may currently have seniority in the company.  If you leave the company, you lose your seniority.  If your salary or wages have grown over the years, you may find that new employers are offering less money for similar work.
• You may have a pension, savings plan or stock option tied to your job.  Look carefully at how these are handled if you leave the company.
• While you were busy doing your job, a new generation of younger people have received up-to-date training, and are now viable competition for jobs you are considering.  Employers are looking for the best candidate. They may be looking for new ideas, energy and employees they can mold to the corporate image.
• You know the value of your experience.  Many employers give this less credence than you might expect.  Have you also kept current in your field through ongoing training and upgrading?
• Your age can be seen as a liability.  How soon do you intend to retire?  Employers are often looking for someone who shows potential to contribute to the company for many years.
• Many employers limit their search to people who have a Masters degree.  If you keep bumping up against this 'invisible ceiling,' consider enrolling in a Masters program that can be done through a combination of evenings, weekend and online classes.  It is expensive and an investment of your time, but may be your ticket to the job you really want.

I'm not telling you to give up and stick with your current job.  I am suggesting that you try to be realistic in your expectations, and keep your eyes and ears open.  Be ready in a job interview to show specific examples of value you have given to your current employer, both historically and recently.  Be ready to talk about your commitment to add value to your new potential employer for many years to come.

Most importantly, do everything you can to stay employed until you have a signed contract for a new job.  If conditions demand that you leave your current job immediately, you must be prepared for the possibility of many months of hard work finding a new position.  Every situation is different, so prepare as well as you can, and keep working at it every day until you find a job that works for you.

At Last, A Job! (It's just in the wrong place!)

Alright, you naysayers, I HAVE landed a full-time job. It's just in the wrong city!

An earlier post about the importance of location indicated that the career hunter must be fully aware of where the jobs are in the desired field, and where they are not to be found. I have illustrated this first-hand by failing to find a job in my desired location, but finding one where I didn't plan to live.

Life's full of tough choices. But when you have to eat and pay the bills, sometimes you have to adapt. In a world of "eat or be eaten," I'd rather eat!

The Hub Concept

I have just returned from an exclusive sneak-peek event in Halifax called "open hub." I've been following this story since it appeared in the Sept. 10th edition of the Globe and Mail (page R14 - "A Place to Lay Your Laptop."

I've been keeping in touch with the principal developers as plans for the hub - Halifax have been taking shape. Today I got to see the 2nd floor loft space and meet the four principals in person. A slide show of other international hubs played on one wall while guests sipped hot apple cider and mingled. Guests were invited to draw their vision of an ideal floor plan, which is to be finalized with the architect in the coming week. What is all the buzz about?

Business travellers who come to Halifax to do business, meet with clients, network, etc. have had few choices for a suitable place to meet. the hub answers this need. It is located centrally in downtown Halifax within easy walk of many of the big hotels. There are coffee shops, pubs, restaurants and bookstores, all within a block or two. Clients can use the space for an hourly, daily or monthly rate, depending on their needs.

How is something like this useful to the career hunter? First off, it gives you a place to arrange a meeting with a potential job contact that is a step up from the coffee shop on the corner. Second, it has a great deal of potential as a place to meet new contacts covering a broad spectrum of the business world. Strike up a conversation with another hub visitor; who knows where it could lead? Third, the hub concept is already operating in major cities in North America and Europe. Many of the hubs are interconnected. Are you thinking Internationally? Should you be?

Wherever your career hunt takes you, think beyond the Internet cafe where juggling your coffee, muffin, papers and laptop on a tiny table can lead to disaster, or at least, frustration. Have a look at a place where business travellers can really connect!

Top 16 Career Hunting Tips

Living the adventure leads to first-hand knowledge and understanding. What have I learned from ten months of searching for a new career? What follows is a list of key ideas from all of the postings on this blog to date. Some come from first-hand, recent experience; some are from career counsellors, workshops, articles, workbooks, and other career websites and blogs. Every person’s life and situation is unique, so not every tip will apply to you. The hope is that you can learn from other people’s mistakes and successes, and use these tips to steer you along your path to your own success.

Top 16 Career Hunting Tips:

1. Cherish your dreams. Before you act on them, temper them with reality.

2. Be careful what you post online. Many employers are now researching potential employees by checking MySpace, FaceBook, blogs, etc.

3. Tailor your cover letter and resume to match the expectations of each employer. Do your research; know your target audience.

4. Don’t count on “transferable skills” to make a big career change. Be realistic about your actual training and experience.

5. Plan to get a Masters degree if you want to become a manager or decision-maker. Employers have LOTS of candidates to choose from, and they will pick someone with the best qualifications for the job.

6. Keep current with technology, including blogs, social networking, and whatever else comes along. Many employers are looking for people who stay current, and there are Human Resources people scouting for talent online right now. Don’t have a presence on MySpace, FaceBook, Twitter or LinkedIn? How are they going to find you?

7. Use MySpace, FaceBook, LinkedIn, etc to find people you know who work for the company you want to work for. Ask them if it is a good place to work, and ask specific questions about things that are important to you.

8. Key qualities to cultivate personally: Agility, Persistence & Timing - Agility to respond quickly to new opportunities; persistence to get the job done; and timing to connect effectively at the right time.

9. Your resume should be focused and tailored to match each position when you apply. I spoke recently with an employer who received 120 applications for a single job. As you can guess, she quickly eliminated the resumes that weren’t good matches, short-listed the best matches, interviewed three or four of the best, and found one perfect match.

10. Your network of friends and acquaintances is your most valuable tool! Most jobs connections are made this way, and most jobs are never advertised because candidates are referred by someone who knows them. If you move to a brand new place where you don’t know anyone, it is important to start building a new network right away. Consider these network-building possibilities:
- do some volunteer work for the target company if this opportunity exists, or for an organization where like-minded people get together
- join the Chamber of Commerce or suitable business association
- volunteer to work on a fund-raising or political campaign
- attend workshops, seminars, conferences or conventions
- go to community events sponsored by the target company or where like-minded people get together
- where do people in this industry meet socially?

11. Do your homework BEFORE you resign from your current job. Depending on your location and the local job market, you could be in for a long wait before you land a new job. Being well-informed and well-prepared will put you ahead of the casual job hunters.

12. Persistence, Patience and Planning are keys to success. Persistence and patience are necessary because the job market is tight and most jobs have many applicants. Planning will help you if you do your research and make a realistic plan based on your research.

13. Location and Timing are two more keys to success. Needless to say, you need to be in the right place at the right time. This is where your planning and research pay off.

14. “Pick a Square” – know your strengths, training & experience. These are the key things an employer scans in a cover letter and resume. You have 15 to 20 seconds to highlight these three key things before the employer moves on to the next resume in the pile. Put them up front in bold type, and be sure your statements are accurate and can be supported by documentation and references.

15. Have a backup plan and exit plan in place, ready to use if the main plan doesn’t work out. You might need help from friends and family, but good friends and family do help each other out from time to time. (Be prepared to repay the favour someday.)

16. Consider taking new training to prepare you for your career of choice. Would it give you the edge you need?

An obvious question is sure to be hovering in some readers’ minds. Why should I consider your advice when you haven’t landed your own dream career yet? I have three thoughts on this. First, I hope that other people will be able to learn from my mistakes; second, this collection includes many tips and bits of information gleaned from current research and articles; third, that everyone’s career hunt will be unique, so choose the tips that apply to you.

My career quest is not over yet. I will post more as I learn more.

Plan X - the eXit Plan

When you are planning ahead for your life, career, or any other significant part of your future, you always want to plan for success. It's important to think positive, but it's just as important to understand that sometimes uncontrollable external factors will change the course you have planned. It is well worth your time to try to anticipate the possible external pressures and have contingency plans in place. Some of these external pressures are fairly predictable. Some can hit you from behind.

I recommend that you develop a clear Plan B after you have developed a solid Plan A. Plan B will take effect if Plan A is no longer viable. If you plan to drive to the mall to do some shopping, Plan A might have you driving the car from home to the mall and back. You have checked to make sure there is gas in the tank, you have enough time to accomplish the errand, you have a shopping list in your pocket and money to pay for the items. Plan B takes effect when you get to a gigantic construction project that has closed the route you chose, and you have to quickly switch to a detour. Plan B may also take effect when the main item on your list is out of stock, and you have to go to a different mall to find it.

If there is any hint that you might need a Plan C, go ahead and make one. You may never have to use it, but it will give you some peace of mind knowing that there is a backup to the backup plan. When it comes to shopping, if all the stores are out of the main item you planned to buy, you can always order it online or make another choice that is available.

Plan X is the exit plan - the plan of last resort. This is not a self-destruct plan, just a fall-back to a position of safety where you can regroup and take stock of the new situation. It's essential, and worth your while. You'll sleep more soundly at night if you know you're covered.

For the career hunter, it is important to stay focused on your goal. It is also important to have plans in place to make sure you are covered during this transition period in your life. I don't recommend burning bridges when you leave one situation for the next. Keep your options open.

Carefully Avoiding Mentioning the Elephant in the Room

A person can last without a job for only so long. At some point, the realities of life have to be addressed. The problem with having an elephant in the room is that it tends not to go away no matter how much you try to ignore it.

When a protracted career hunt has no appreciable results, one option it to take a "gap job"; something you don't intend to keep for a long time, but something to help pay your way as you continue to hunt for the job you want. Unfortunately, many employers avoid hiring overqualified candidates for this very reason. They are well aware of the likelihood that you will not be there for long, so they are much more likely to hire someone who will stay on.

In today's competitive job market there is also little chance of success if the employer considers you to be underqualified. Where does this leave the modern career hunter?

Stay focused on what you know, what you do well, and careers that match your credentials. (See "Pick a Square" earlier this month.) Monitor the number of suitable job postings over the course of a few months in the area where you are thinking of working (before you hand in your letter of resignation to your current employer.) You'll save yourself a lot of time and anxiety.

The Next Challenge

The leaves have been dealt with. On leaf pickup day we had a double row of leaf bags lined up across the front of our property. The leaf pile at the back took two days to burn. The rest of the leaves went on the compost pile at the back, which is now 6 feet tall and about 12 feet in diameter. What's left on the ground is now covered with snow. Lots of snow.

This leads to the question: How much snow can accumulate on 145 feet of driveway?

As soon as you finish one challenge, a new one emerges. I guess this is what keeps us going, both physically and mentally. If we didn't have a challenge to work on, what would we do? I won't be able to answer that question this week!