In my last blog I focused on communication skills. Well, I thought I would expand on that by posting about what has helped me find jobs and keep them. In today’s job market, the doom and gloom seems to be unlimited supply. “The economy is adding jobs very slowly.” “ Salaries have decreased.” Unemployment rate ticks up”, etc, etc. The reality is this, the only thing keeping many people from getting the jobs that are out there (despite the aforementioned doom and gloom, there are plenty of jobs out there not being filled) is people themselves being too complacent and not thinking ahead.
Here are four things that have helped me in this tough job market, in no particular order:
1. Networking. Getting a decent job nowadays is about who you know, not how many job applications you fill out. Degrees, even MBA's, are a dime a dozen in some areas. On top of networking to find a job, companies are relying more on in-house talent to promote the company and add to developing new business. So, once you get that job, a good company knows your social skills can add more reliable talent to their ranks while relying less on human resources, and adding to their bottom line in more ways than one. Individuals moving into management positions at a good company are expected to have good people and social skills. So, what is networking? It can be something as simple as going to a local cigar shop (seriously, I can't count the number of times were people got hooked up with good jobs just by chatting and burning a stogie). I wouldn't waste too much time at job fairs, because the only networking you'll find is with recruiters, who often don't know about the jobs they are trying to fill, and other people also out of work. Job fairs are really more about cheap advertisement for businesses and less about actually hiring people. Understand this, networking IS NOT social media. Linkedin comes close when it comes to career networking in the cyber-world, but it’s a far cry from old-fashioned, old-school, face to face interaction. If you think that getting and keeping a job these days is only about experience, education, and the numbers of applications and resumes submitted online, your mind-set is obsolete. It’s time to brush up on those social skills.
2. Get specialized experience through volunteer work. Very few organizations will turn down free labor. Think the weekend. This way, you get the hands-on experience and the networking opportunities. The latter of which, helps facilitate number 1.
3. Be willing to move. If you don't want too far away from where you grew up to find work, you are limiting yourself. There are places in this country, albeit not the most happening places, that have good paying jobs going un-filled because people won't move. I understand that it’s hard to move yourself, or especially your family, possibly somewhere distant, to find work. But the reality is, moving is a better pill to swallow than being poor and out of work, or at best, at a dead end menial job that barely takes care of the basic needs.
4. If your job can be done by a computer, robot, or someone overseas for a fraction of your salary, you need to consider making huge changes in your current career path. In other words, if your job is “easy” (See: anyone can do it) be concerned. This is a matter of being forward thinking. Hypothetically, if your job may be replaced by a machine, learn how to repair, program, and run the machine before you are replaced by that machine. This is the type of mentality you need. If your job can be done in Southeast Asia for less than minimum wage money, start looking into careers where your job can’t be done outside of the country. As an employee, you have to think like a ruthless businessman. Ask yourself “I need to shrink the company and reduce spending to increase profits, which jobs are expendable?” If you think yours is, guess what? Look into the jobs that are much less expendable before the pink slips start rolling out. For example, I learned early in my career that a windows desktop support specialist/windows system administrator was a job with shrinking prospects and shrinking salaries. Why? Because even most entry level cubicle jockeys are expected to know how to perform basic to intermediate windows troubleshooting long before they pick up a phone to contact the help-desk. The decreased cost and increased reliability of IT hardware also plays a role. It’s very often cheaper these days to purchase then replace malfunctioning hardware than have someone on staff paid to fix it. 10-15 years ago, an IT support shop in a medium sized company may have had dozens of people. Now, you may have 1-3 people doing that same work. And that’s if that work isn’t done remotely out of state or overseas. Anyway, as you can see, doing a little research about your current career and the future of it now, it can save you heartbreak and distress later on down the line.
From my own experience, after leaving the army right at the economic downturn, I've been fortunate. Despite having a history degree, I've gotten good paying jobs in engineering and IT, due to years of hands on experience, volunteering, being willing to move a few times, and being proactive by networking. I'm not the brightest person in the world, nor do I have an advanced technical degree, so if I can survive this economy, anyone can with the right amount of effort and forward thinking.
