"The Only Thing That Remains Constant is Change"

So, I am at my current job for a year and a few months, and I've now received news that there is going to be a 5% reduction in force.  Needless to say, there are a lot of "non-value added" discussions taking place around the office.  Everyone is wondering if they'll get the call.

The first thing I tell people when they hear this news is that no amount of worrying, scheming, nail biting, trash talking, etc. is going to change what's going to happen.  HR folks are looking at workforce and numbers, and in a large company, they surely do not know who they are cutting by recommending that Dept X cut heads by 10% vs. Dept. Y who is told to cut by 5%.  That's when I tell people to remember that God is in control of the company as well as our lives.

Even with that being the case, it is prudent to get your job search "machine" in motion.  Since you've kept your resume up to date (HAHAHAHA), you're at least 2 weeks ahead of everyone else.  Make sure you begin contacting your professional acquaintances (hopefully, you've never let those relationships slide) and let them know what's going down, and that you'd appreciate any input they have on the job market.  Also, now is the time to locate a few of the key job sites for your profession, and use an RSS reader to subscribe to job listings in your field and area so that you can review the jobs pulled to your reader quickly without having to wade through the muck of a gazillion job listings.  Get your resume out on a few job boards, into professional associations' job banks, and most of all---NETWORK with others in your profession to learn of opportunities and what has been happening in your field, since you most likely got lazy/busy for all the time you've been gainfully employed.

But first of all.....deal with your feelings.  I've talked to a couple at my company that have been with the company for a long time (20+ years) who think it may be "their time" to go.   If that is you, you'll have more emotions to deal with that many of the others, but it isn't the end of the world, just the end of the world as you've come to know it.  It may be that you are about to embark on a new chapter of your life, even if you thought the book of your life had been finished ages ago.  For most who fit that category, the timing stinks, as you are probably struggling with mid-life issues anyway, and now, your job, the thing you may have thought defined you, is going away.  Your life isn't going away, but you may feel like it is.

For the rest of us, it will be an emotional time until all of the layoffs happen, even if we don't think we have anything to worry about.  Of course, now is the time we start thinking about the Dave Ramseys of the world who try to get everyone to get out from under their debt.  Heavy consumer debt can make layoffs even seem more like the end of the world.  Get your spending under control, because you might need some cash for a rainy day very soon.

All-in-all, the emotional part of a layoff seems hardest to deal with for me.  I'd almost prefer for it to happen as it did for me a few years ago---rumors of layoffs were all around, but I didn't see it coming until the boss called me into his office one Friday morning.

Bottom line:  ALWAYS be ready to find a new job, and ALWAYS keep your networks warm.  In this or any economy, none of us know when/if the boss will insist that we come to his office on Friday morning.

Really?

It's been approximately 8 months on my new gig---the best job I've ever had in many ways.  I haven't written a blog entry in 2 months.   So, should I be thinking about my next job?  How many of you say "NO!?"   You're wrong.

The thing is, none of us know how long our jobs will run, with long tenures and golden watches for retirement not the norm, none of us can afford to get complacent.  Have you done a skills inventory lately against the skills currently being sought out in your field?  Is it time to hit a couple of seminars in 2011 to get yourself up to date or to inspire yourself to grow intellectually? 

I've been at my job for 8 months, and since I was, more or less, in job search mode for 1.5 years (though I was working contracts), I find myself like a coworker who, after completing his Master's degree, found himself going to his study on Sunday afternoon as he'd done for a couple of years, realizing that he no longer had to spend EVERY Sunday afternoon in study and paper writing.  It feels weird to NOT be on an intense job search--of course, I'm not complaining.

If you haven't taken stock of your current position/employer/field in a while (like over a year), I would strongly encourage you to do so.  Do a skills inventory, research jobs in your field that you qualify for and/or would like to do and hiring trends at companies that you think you might like to work for.  Expand your social networks, especially LinkedIn.   Right now, employers can afford to be selective when interviewing candidates for the positions they have open, and seeing the skills and experience for which they are looking might be a good indication of where your skills development plans should be going.  Some of the skill needs you may find that your field desires may be something that would take you a few years to acquire.  If you're working now, don't wait until you aren't to update your skills and make yourself more marketable.

*Scratches Head

Every time I have to ask myself this kind of question, I realize that I have that much more maturing to do, but I'll ask anyway.....

Why is it that people who are out of work are reluctant to try new methods of job hunting?  I offer to help people where I live, and there seems to be few takers in a down economy.  I'm not a job hunting expert, but having done enough of it, had outplacement training a couple of times, etc., I have some insights and contacts that I'm happy to share with job seekers, but I get few serious requests.   (checks armpits---nope, nice and clean).

I especially get concerned about those who haven't had to look for a job in a long time (anything over 10 years, or as close as 5 years ago), as the "game" of job hunting has had all kinds of rule changes.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me implore you all again---be preparing for your next job while in the one you have, and if you find yourself out of work, be a guerrilla job hunter, working every angle at finding your next gig.  I feel deeply for people who are unemployed, and feel frustrated when I see them not aggressively searching with a variety of methods that are necessary in today's job hunting climate.

Ecclesiastes 3:6 "A time for search and a time for loss; a time to keep and a time to give away"

Ecclesiastes 3:1  For everything there is a fixed time, and a time for every business under the sun.

When you get some time to examine yourself, especially if you are busy searching for your next career opportunity, you may find that your mind wanders off in many directions.   Perhaps, you think, you could make a living as a fisherman or fireman or circus freak like you dreamed of doing when you were a child.  Maybe what you've been doing isn't what you really want to do or what you feel God has planned for you in life.   We should always be asking ourselves hard questions about our direction in life, but most of the time, we excuse ourselves as just being way too busy.

Always having been one to spend a lot of time in reflection (some might say way too much), I imagine the many different courses my life could have had, has had, is on, and/or could take, and frankly, it's both terrifying and exciting!  Like the next person, I enjoy the comfort that is the American standard of living, but if all we are concerned with is physical comfort (i.e. "making a living"), are we experiencing "life" or just "physical existence?"  Years ago, I remember being in a dead-end job, thinking, "God, is this it?  Is this all there is to life?"   When you pose that question directly to God, you probably should have your seat belt on and tray tables in an upright position.  It's at that point that I think He must deem us teachable, and class usually commences shortly after we pose such a question.

I'm reading Bob Buford's Half Time (Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance) right now, and I highly/especially recommend it for anyone approaching that "reassessment" period in his or her life.  I'm guessing that a lot of people are experiencing "reassessment" as they find themselves looking for work during this economic downturn that has turned out so many long-tenured, experienced workers.

As you think about your life and career---and this is largely the point; YOU MUST TAKE TIME TO REFLECT---lose yourself in your dreams and imagination.  You may be holding yourself back from something wonderful that matches with what you believe is your life's mission.  Sure, some people are so far underwater with the cares of life that they can't hope to reach their life's vision in the foreseeable future.  If in frustration we give up and stop dreaming, we become real-world versions of Star Trek's Borg.  Realization of some dreams just takes more time and commitment, and some changes in life require greater commitment than thinking about it one afternoon and deciding to act.

It's a good thing it takes many years to get to adulthood.  When we're "grown up," we have finally reached a point where we can possibly learn about ourselves---if we are willing to take the time and effort.