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giving him one for making him earn it. All the networking in the world won’t help if you turn potential contacts off with a sour-grapes disposition.
I don’t care what age you are, this engineer’s search strategy won’t work for any professional these days. Like it or not, you simply have to go the extra mile to attract employers’ interest today.
Savvy careerists know how to market themselves in an entrepreneurial way. They take stock of their marketable skills, research and identify employers who need those talents, and make every effort to let them know that (1) they want to work for the firm, and (2) they have something unique to offer.
Like it or not, the rules have changed. You can get with the program or get left out in the cold. Your choice.
You have to educate yourself for success in this employment market. If job hunting is unfamiliar territory, make the bookstore or library your first stop. Hundreds of books have been written that can help you improve your search skills.
There’s also a burgeoning field of career and outplacement counselors who coach people on how to find jobs. If you get your walking papers, knowing how to access those resources and learn about the process is key to finding a new job.
Feed Your Rolodex
We all know the cliché: “It’s who you know that counts.” But if you aren’t very good at networking, you won’t want to believe it’s true. Actually, it’s even more complicated than that.
“How about this for higher math?” asks management guru and author Tom Peters. “Security is proportional to (1) the thickness of your Rolodex; (2) the rate of Rolodex expansion; (3) the share of Rolodex entries from beyond the corporate walls; and (4) the time devoted to Rolodex maintenance.”
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Let me try to explain Peters’ “art of Rolodexing”:
■The thickness of your Rolodex refers to the sheer number of people that you know—the more the better. Because no one’s job is safe anymore, it’s wise not to depend too much on any one person for your future. Cultivating a broad network of people who know and appreciate your work is one of the best forms of security you can create in this job market.
■The rate of Rolodex expansion implies that you should never feel you know enough people. New and important players are emerging in every field and industry all the time. If you want to know where the growth and opportunities are, you need to constantly add new contacts to your network—preferably before you ever want or need anything from them.
■The share of Rolodex entries from beyond the corporate walls means that having a diverse group of friends and acquaintances is also critical. If your network consists only of co-workers, you’ll be in trouble if your company ever goes belly-up. Try to meet professionals who work in other parts of your industry and/or those who have similar functions in other industries.
Remember the quality engineer I mentioned earlier in this chapter? His job brought him into contact with many people both inside and outside his company. These colleagues liked him and respected his work. So, as soon as he learned his job was being eliminated, he thumbed through his phone directory and called crucial contacts to let them know what was happening. Vendors proved extremely helpful. Because they were out in the world soliciting business from competitors, they were able to provide him with a wealth of information and contacts. If you have a more isolated job, you can expand your horizons by participating actively in professional and trade associations.
■The time devoted to Rolodex maintenance. You know the drill: out of sight, out of mind. If you don’t keep up with your contacts,
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Warning Signs That Your Job Might Be in Jeopardy
1.Your boss has started treating you differently—but definitely not better. Your efforts don’t seem to be recognized or appreciated.
2.Ditto for your subordinates, who have started to go around you (or over your head) when they have a complaint or need direction or information.
3.You have a new boss who seems intent on finding fault with you.
4.Your boss has a new boss.
5.Your job is getting too big for one person to handle. It’s a setup for you to fail.
6.Your job is getting smaller, and soon they may not need you at all.
7.Your budget, expenses, and perks are getting slashed. The company may be hoping you’ll get overstressed and burn out.
8.Your performance ratings are slipping, but you know your work has been fine. This is a surefire sign that the hand of office politics is operating.
9.The company is going through a restructuring.
10.Your company has been acquired or merged.
they forget about you. Staying in touch takes some extra daily effort, but smart careerists do it.
Once a week or so, I get a call from some colleague I haven’t seen in a while. Typically, the person just wants to find out what’s new with me or update me with some change in his or her situation. Sometimes, the caller shares an interesting bit of industry gossip. I appreciate this kind of initiative. No one makes it completely alone. It’s good to be included in the circle of Information—to know what’s happening.
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While networking requires a higher level of social alertness and more concentrated energy, it doesn’t have to be drudgery. You just need to find ways to make it enjoyable. Try pairing it up with another activity like going to church, attending a lecture, or playing on a softball team. Shared activities make for shared friendships, and friends make pleasant networking partners.
Some of it will still feel like work, particularly if your strategy includes returning to school for more education or taking on new responsibilities for which you’re not getting paid. Still, the effort will be worth it. Just remember that desperate man who has to resort to wearing a sandwich board that announces his bottom-line price. Where are his friends and contacts now? Where are the people who know his work and appreciate it? Why is he forced to announce his plight to a million harried commuters?
Or consider the doorman who makes himself believe that his age is his problem and not his personality. Is this an attitude that would make you feel better about yourself?
Think about it: Wouldn’t you rather be eating dinner with colleagues at a monthly meeting of your professional association? Wouldn’t you rather be building both competence and goodwill? Or would you rather wait and take your chances on the “kindness of strangers”?
It’s been nearly 40 years since William Whyte wrote his classic, The Organization Man (1956, Simon & Schuster), in which he warned that rigid hierarchical corporate structures would stifle initiative and breed stultifying conformity.
If you’ve lived in that world a long time, you may find it hard to accept that it’s a whole new ballgame now. For organizations, and the people who staff and manage them, the only real security lies in the ability to grow, change, and adapt. You can fight this new reality. Or you can celebrate your liberation.
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Achieving Career Security in Turbulent Times
Thought-Starter Worksheet
1.On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being least secure and 10 most secure, how secure is your job?
2.Is your job more secure or less secure than it was five years ago? Ten years ago? Last year?
3.Looking toward the future, do you think you’ll still have your job next year? Five years from now? Ten years from now?
4.If your job security is diminishing, what can you do to make yourself feel more secure?
5.Do you have an aggressive investment strategy?
6.If you don’t have a good investment strategy, have you consulted with a financial planner?
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(continued)
7.Do you consider yourself marketable?
8.If your skills aren’t marketable, what can you do (or are you currently doing) to upgrade them?
9.Do you think you’re too old to go to school? If so, why?
10.Do you fear age discrimination?
11.Which of the following “age-discrimination fighters” should be part of your plan:
Dyeing your hair?
Increasing your energy with exercise and healthy eating?
Updating your skills?
Fixing your attitude?
Networking with friends?
Expanding your network?
Perfecting your job search skills?
12.Do you know how to conduct an effective job search?
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13.If your resume is outdated, can you start revising it now?
14.How strong is your network?
15.If your network is too limited, how can you begin to expand your contact base now?
16.Does self-employment interest you?
17.What do you see as the obstacles to self-employment?
18.Have you asked others who have made the transition to selfemployment how they accomplished their goals? If not, why not?
19.Do you consider yourself employable?
(continues)
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(continued)
20.What can you do now to improve your employability?
21.Do you consider yourself an aggressive person?
22.Are you being too passive about your future?
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CHAPTER 6
How to Love the Job You Hate
Labor without joy is base.
—John Ruskin
In the Disney classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Snow White is a hard-working girl with too much to do. But this didn’t stop
her—and her forest animal friends—from whistling while they worked. In the process, they became role models (of sorts) for a generation of Americans.
Unfortunately, most of us prefer to grumble and be unhappy. (One survey found that four out of five working Americans were dissatisfied with their jobs.) It’s a misery that knows no boundaries. No age, race, or group is exempt. It doesn’t matter if you’re a college graduate or a high school dropout. A man or a woman. A doctor, a manager, or a grocery-store clerk. Too many employees aren’t having much fun.
But whether your complaint is a bad boss, too much bureaucracy, office politics, boring work, or all of the above, you don’t have to suffer in silence (or not so silently). You can take steps to improve your situation, even if you can’t afford to leave. Once you begin intervening on your own behalf, you’ll start feeling less like a victim of circumstance and more like a professional with influence and control over your own destiny. The following strategies should help move your thinking in the right direction.
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