What happens when your employment relationship is no longer working – for your employer or for you? That could happen at any time, forcing you to launch a formal job search. Stay ready and begin before the beginning.
We know it’s likely that our jobs will not be forever. When the time comes for a change, be positioned with a “good offense.” Starting now, stay networked, involved and visible in your professional community. Continuously hone your knowledge and expertise. Should circumstances put you at a career crossroads, your preparation will make you more attractive. It will be easier to execute your right path forward.
Certainly, the potential for staff cuts is largely business- or industry-specific. The situation is not yet as bad as it has been at times in the past, but the trend is not good. Forbes magazine recently reported that U.S.-based employers announced 172,017 job cuts in February, the highest total for the month since 2009. Forbes makes the point that “those professionals who are most successful in their careers don’t wait for the bad news to come.”
In the process of cost and staff reductions, the question of who goes and who stays does not have a uniform answer. Will it be based on hiring dates? Will there be a thoughtful assessment of which employees are not performing well? Will there be assessments of who will be best suited to the changing organization?
Your best asset will be your results, flexibility and a visibly positive attitude. Strong performance will always be in demand. As anyone might be laid off, “anyone” should be pre-positioned for an effective and immediate response to a layoff. In the interim, do respond to opportunities that will surface even when you’re not looking.
Actor Wayne Brady observes, “If you stay ready, you won’t have to get ready.”
In launching a job search, avoid squandering limited and valuable time. Immediately tap into the thoughts and plans you’ve previously considered.
We recently spoke with an accomplished executive who is in job search mode. Among her observations: “We knew that our industry and our own organization were facing problems. When positions, including mine, were discontinued, I wasn’t surprised, as I was aware of the pending restructuring. The potential for me to search for a new position moved from a planning abstract to a career reality. I have enough experience that this is not my first time wrestling with this situation. After a brief bout with denial, a stint of anger focused on how the organization might have avoided the staff reductions, I continued to work my way through the disappointment. I loved my job and many of my now former co-workers will be lifelong colleagues.
“While I’d like to think that the restructuring decisions could be reversed, I know from the advance assessment and planning that was done, that’s just not a potential. Based on the career relationships that I’ve nurtured over time, I had some helpful connections right out of the gate.”
Yes, your current job may not be forever. If you can now sense the approaching need to begin your job search campaign, begin before the beginning. Be in position for a fast start. Continuously stay networked, involved and visible. Stay up to date in your specialty and on the state of your industry. If circumstances actually do impose the need to look for something else, it will be easier to see what’s ahead when you’re not just peeking at it from behind an eight ball.
You’ve had a job, and you’ll land a new job. For now, finding that new job is the job. Thereafter, don’t let your new connections or perspectives atrophy. As the natural business cycles brought you here, maybe not for the first time, and you have a career runway still in front of you, this coming campaign may not be your last.
Stanley H. Davis is the founder of Providence-based Standish Executive Search LLC.
