Career Survival Guide: Part 1 – Be Prepared
Many years ago (we don’t want to go back that far) I was a boy scout. I never made Eagle, I didn’t make First class, but wore my 2nd class stripes proudly. Above all else I learned important lessons on how to be a good team member, follow instructions, produce a good product, and be a good follower, and good leader. Probably the most important lesson I learned was to be prepared. My parents made sure I always had bus fare on me when I left for school. Now 75 cents are not a big deal, until you need it. Only once did I miss the school bus, (as I recall they left early) but I was prepared. I had my bus fare, and knew which city bus to take. This saved me walking in near zero temps, the two miles to get home. Again, 75 cents are not a big deal – until you need bus fare.
In this first part of a series on Career Survival, we want to be prepared for the unexpected. Most of us, Monday through Friday, get up, get our coffee (or worse yet soda), if we are lucky we get some kind of breakfast, then head out the door to find our way into the offices. Day after day, week after week, year after year this is our routine. On our way into work we plug in our ear buds, or listen to the car radio as we travel to our office. We start to think of the normal, usual routines that we will go through once at the office. We have certain expectations. Did Joe start the coffee? If not, we might have to. Is the printer fixed? Would the temperature in the office be at a comfortable level, or has the sudden cold snap put things out of whack? Despite our expectations, today would be different. Very different. Awfully different.
We barely get our coat off, get our laptop plugged in, and fired up, and once we see our desktop, we click on our mail icon to check emails. Hmmmm…what is this? A mandatory meeting at 9 am. This seems odd as we never have a 9 am meeting. No matter, might be some news about a management change, or perhaps some new regulation we need to be aware of sooner than later. Might even be a re-org announcement. We have seen those a couple times in the last few years. No big deal. (Wrongo)
We head to the conference room saying hello to people we meet, and take a seat. Interesting that there is a lot of different people here, but not everyone in the office. Odd. Our CEO stands up and says “we have made some decisions around a change in direction. Unfortunately, the people in this room will not be part of this new direction. Your positions have been eliminated. You all have 30 minutes to pack your desks.” We feel light in the head, and knotted in our stomachs. We can’t believe what we just heard. But we have to. And we have to take action and clean out our desks. Well, we don’t need to worry about lunch plans. We just have to pack these little white boxes, and get out of here. (Sigh…)
For many of a scene like the above has been played out at least once in our careers. For some of us, more than once. If you are a Systems Manager, it’s even less dignified, as they watch you pack so you don’t mess up the systems before you leave. (This actually happened to me.)
The best plan for abrupt loss of a position, from downsizing, mass lay-off, management change, change of company direction, or other, is to be prepared, and have some documentation, and network in place BEFORE you get notice. Below is a list of things to have in place. A list of preparations:
1) RESUME: Have your resume up to date. Always. This is so important I almost want to list it as both number 1, and 2, but will resist.
2) REFERENCES: Have a list of references ready. Don’t assume peers, and managers will support you. You don’t want surprises here. Be on the same page with your references on what they will say about you, or coach them on what would be helpful to say. Many companies have policies against providing references. Be aware of those policies, and tread diplomatically.
3) PROFESSIONAL GROUPS: Join professional organizations outside your company, or organization. You will become better at what you do, learn about new trends, and processes, and also have a network in place when you are needing to look for a job change. If you are an accountant, join a professional organization for accountants. If you are a project manager, join a professional organization for project managers, and so on. Many organizations will pay membership dues, or at least part of the dues.
4) SOCIAL MEDIA: Social networks will open out new, and varied circles of friends. When you send out a message you are looking for a new opportunity, you want as many varied circles of contacts as possible.
5) CERTIFICATION: Pursue certification in your trade, or industry. These will be helpful in your next job search. Many organizations will pay for certification training, or sometimes part of training and testing toward certification.
6) INTERVIEW CLOTHES: For some of us the only time we wear a suit is the last time we did a job interview. This means we have not tried on our suits for many years. Make a to-do of getting your best interview suit out of the closest and checking the fit. The good news is suites can be brought out, or even in! You want to look god in an interview, and this will be one less thing to worry about if you know you have at least one suit that fits you well. While you are at it, check for ties that are not out of date.
7) NETWORK IN YOUR ORGANIZATION: Network within your organization. If your company supports a mentoring program, be part of it. If your company supports Toastmasters, or a similar group, join it and be involved. Your company may support other groups like Junior Achievement that have members from many parts and departments of your company. Did I mention scouting?
In summary, the best plan for an unexpected loss of job is to be prepared. Have preparations made – your escape plan. If you have the above in place in advance, you will have a leg up as you start your search for your next, even better job. Be a good scout…be prepared.
Author: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC, CCC is a Career and Business Coach
Many years ago (we don’t want to go back that far) I was a boy scout. I never made Eagle, I didn’t make First class, but wore my 2nd class stripes proudly. Above all else I learned important lessons on how to be a good team member, follow instructions, produce a good product, and be a good follower, and good leader. Probably the most important lesson I learned was to be prepared. My parents made sure I always had bus fare on me when I left for school. Now 75 cents are not a big deal, until you need it. Only once did I miss the school bus, (as I recall they left early) but I was prepared. I had my bus fare, and knew which city bus to take. This saved me walking in near zero temps, the two miles to get home. Again, 75 cents are not a big deal – until you need bus fare.
In this first part of a series on Career Survival, we want to be prepared for the unexpected. Most of us, Monday through Friday, get up, get our coffee (or worse yet soda), if we are lucky we get some kind of breakfast, then head out the door to find our way into the offices. Day after day, week after week, year after year this is our routine. On our way into work we plug in our ear buds, or listen to the car radio as we travel to our office. We start to think of the normal, usual routines that we will go through once at the office. We have certain expectations. Did Joe start the coffee? If not, we might have to. Is the printer fixed? Would the temperature in the office be at a comfortable level, or has the sudden cold snap put things out of whack? Despite our expectations, today would be different. Very different. Awfully different.
We barely get our coat off, get our laptop plugged in, and fired up, and once we see our desktop, we click on our mail icon to check emails. Hmmmm…what is this? A mandatory meeting at 9 am. This seems odd as we never have a 9 am meeting. No matter, might be some news about a management change, or perhaps some new regulation we need to be aware of sooner than later. Might even be a re-org announcement. We have seen those a couple times in the last few years. No big deal. (Wrongo)
We head to the conference room saying hello to people we meet, and take a seat. Interesting that there is a lot of different people here, but not everyone in the office. Odd. Our CEO stands up and says “we have made some decisions around a change in direction. Unfortunately, the people in this room will not be part of this new direction. Your positions have been eliminated. You all have 30 minutes to pack your desks.” We feel light in the head, and knotted in our stomachs. We can’t believe what we just heard. But we have to. And we have to take action and clean out our desks. Well, we don’t need to worry about lunch plans. We just have to pack these little white boxes, and get out of here. (Sigh…)
For many of a scene like the above has been played out at least once in our careers. For some of us, more than once. If you are a Systems Manager, it’s even less dignified, as they watch you pack so you don’t mess up the systems before you leave. (This actually happened to me.)
The best plan for abrupt loss of a position, from downsizing, mass lay-off, management change, change of company direction, or other, is to be prepared, and have some documentation, and network in place BEFORE you get notice. Below is a list of things to have in place. A list of preparations:
1) RESUME: Have your resume up to date. Always. This is so important I almost want to list it as both number 1, and 2, but will resist.
2) REFERENCES: Have a list of references ready. Don’t assume peers, and managers will support you. You don’t want surprises here. Be on the same page with your references on what they will say about you, or coach them on what would be helpful to say. Many companies have policies against providing references. Be aware of those policies, and tread diplomatically.
3) PROFESSIONAL GROUPS: Join professional organizations outside your company, or organization. You will become better at what you do, learn about new trends, and processes, and also have a network in place when you are needing to look for a job change. If you are an accountant, join a professional organization for accountants. If you are a project manager, join a professional organization for project managers, and so on. Many organizations will pay membership dues, or at least part of the dues.
4) SOCIAL MEDIA: Social networks will open out new, and varied circles of friends. When you send out a message you are looking for a new opportunity, you want as many varied circles of contacts as possible.
5) CERTIFICATION: Pursue certification in your trade, or industry. These will be helpful in your next job search. Many organizations will pay for certification training, or sometimes part of training and testing toward certification.
6) INTERVIEW CLOTHES: For some of us the only time we wear a suit is the last time we did a job interview. This means we have not tried on our suits for many years. Make a to-do of getting your best interview suit out of the closest and checking the fit. The good news is suites can be brought out, or even in! You want to look god in an interview, and this will be one less thing to worry about if you know you have at least one suit that fits you well. While you are at it, check for ties that are not out of date.
7) NETWORK IN YOUR ORGANIZATION: Network within your organization. If your company supports a mentoring program, be part of it. If your company supports Toastmasters, or a similar group, join it and be involved. Your company may support other groups like Junior Achievement that have members from many parts and departments of your company. Did I mention scouting?
In summary, the best plan for an unexpected loss of job is to be prepared. Have preparations made – your escape plan. If you have the above in place in advance, you will have a leg up as you start your search for your next, even better job. Be a good scout…be prepared.
Author: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC, CCC is a Career and Business Coach
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