Last week I talked about the career value of economic downturns. I shared information from the employer's side of the table so that employees can understand what goes into a layoff effort and take steps to protect themselves. This week Workforce.com has a great article further explaining how organizations can think through layoffs strategically - they advise employers to handle a recession with care. It also offers great insights that can help you think through how you are handling your career.
The Workforce.com article makes several great points - two that I want to highlight are:
- First, a savvy organization will recognize that when other companies are doing layoffs, it can be a great time to pick up new talent in preparation for the long-predicted global talent shortage as this decade comes to a close. This means that if you are a talented player who unfortunately gets caught up in a bad layoff situation, you have a chance to land in a more strategic organization who is using the economic downturn to grow their ranks rather than slash them.
- Secondly, the article reiterates the important point that in a layoff situation, poor performers will usually go first. As one boss said, "I’m not going to let the high salaries go...I’m going to look at the lowest performers." So it's really important that you don't rest on your past efforts, but you assess if you can truly consider yourself a "high performer" in your current role.
In my line of work I run a lot of search committees and I am privileged to hear what hiring managers and executives have to say about candidates on a regular basis. Despite the looming threat of a recession, and HR Magazine's recent prediction that 2008 will be the biggest year for layoffs this decade, I remain convinced of the following:
- There is no shortage of need for good strong talent in the workforce today - great career opportunities abound!
- It is not that difficult to be a star performer in an interview. Sadly - from the employer perspective - there is not a deep talent pool to draw from for most jobs.
- Many people who have the tactical skills to do a job fall down on the soft skills - self presentation, interview savvy, interpersonal skills, etc.
- There are abundant resources to help you develop these skills - three favorites are: Ask A Manager (who better to learn from than someone who makes hiring decisions all day long?), Evil HR Lady (she's not really evil, and she has a lot of good insight to help you in your job search), and Awareness - Choices - Change by Jackie Cameron (she's a development coach, but a lot of her advice relates to the job search).
It's not always easy, but with thoughtful planning and effort you CAN have a great career no matter what is going on in the economy!
Why, thank you! It's so nice when the people you read and recommend turn out to read you back!
Posted by: Ask a Manager | May 07, 2008 at 07:02 PM
Thank you Peggy. I am honoured to be in the same company as AAM and Evil - and you too of course.
I am an eternal optimist. I do see the downturn as a time for people to reflect. Sometimes they have skills they have not previously valued - or even recognised! Others realise that an enforced change can be liberating - and set them off on new and exciting journeys. This of course does not take away from the fact that the possibility of losing your income is very very scary but I know and have worked with many people who have weathered that storm and come out of the other side much happier and fulfilled.
Great advice to your readers though - focus on developing your interview skills as the first very important step!
Posted by: Jackie Cameron | May 08, 2008 at 09:28 AM
Thanks for writing this post. It is certainly a topic of much concern these days. I agree that times of economic uncertainty definitely bring more attention to the need to have solid interviewing skills and a track record for producing results to weather the storm. I would add that in an economic downturn the most important asset is one's personal brand. People lose their jobs for a variety of reasons much of which have to do with expense and the question of value. However when you look at who gets to stay or the people who realize greater opportunities as a result of transition, they are the people who developed longstanding relationships and built a reputation as being a coveted talent asset. Your personal brand, or in other words, the capabilities that you are known for delivering help you sustain your value even in an economic downturn because you would have built your value long before your value came into question. So in addition to brushing up on interviewing skills I would also focus and use this time to develop relationships, communicate your value to those who need to know, and build a track record for helping others.
Posted by: Kaplan Mobray, Author 10Ks of Personal Branding | May 25, 2008 at 05:57 PM