By Bernadette Kenny
From CareerCoach/LHH
Given the widespread downsizings that marked the most recent recession and
the one a decade ago, it's common for today's professionals to have been
laid off more than once.
In fact, among 659 outplacement clients Lee Hecht Harrison surveyed in July,
one third had been downsized before. Similarly, of 319 insurance
loss-control professionals polled in October, 21.3% had been downsized twice
and 9.4% more than twice, reports Pat Allen Associates Inc., a Goldens
Bridge, N.Y., recruiting firm that conducted the survey.
By definition, those who have been laid off one or more times have
successfully found new employment at least once. Through this experience,
they no doubt learned quite a bit about job hunting. In fact, they often
have good advice for others who are newly unemployed.
But having found a job at least once before can breed resistance to new
ideas about the search process. Such individuals often are skeptical about
their need for help the next time around. But it's a mistake for experienced
job seekers to reject assistance.
People's career strengths and needs change with each job they perform, their
age and any shifts in the business environment. Professional athletes have
coaches to help them adapt as their bodies, opponents, equipment and
strategies evolve. It makes sense that professionals who intermittently look
for work would need fine-tuning as well.
Five Ways to Refresh
The best way to refresh your approach is to use any outplacement services
provided by your most recent employer. If you don't receive employer-paid
outplacement, you may want to consider hiring and working with a career
coach. Regardless of what resources you use, the following advice can help
you as you plunge into the job market again:
Realize your new job hunt may not be like your last one. What worked before
may not work again. You need to take a fresh, objective look at the
marketplace as well as at your experience, accomplishments and objectives.
Not only have you changed, but the environment has changed as well.
Companies have merged; new businesses have started, while old ones have
disappeared; new growth plans have been launched; and jobs have been
created, moved or eliminated.
Redo your research, reassess your situation and update your strategy
accordingly. Those downsized more than once have been given a unique
opportunity to "rebrand" themselves, says Los Angeles career coach and
lecturer Chaz Austin. This means revising how they position themselves with
employers at the start of their transition.
"You now get to look at what additional skills you've acquired, add them to
what you previously knew how to do, and market yourself in a slightly -- or
very -- different way to your existing database of potential employers and
possibly to new target groups," says Mr. Austin.
Don't use your last search as a benchmark. Since you and the job market have
changed, the time it takes you to find a new job will probably change as
well. People who spent a year looking for work the last time often set
themselves up for a protracted search, while those who found work quickly
tend to court disappointment by expecting the same results in their new
efforts. Consider each search unique. Use reasonable weekly productivity
goals to benchmark your progress.
Assess your career position. Where are you in your career trajectory and
what is your next logical type of position on your way up the ladder? Can
you take a lower-profile position without harming your long-term prospects?
Is there enough money in your savings and retirement fund to allow you to
try something new?
The director of marketing for a Fortune 500 industrial-products company
assessed himself this way when he was downsized last summer. When he was
laid off four years ago from a large manufacturing company, he limited his
search to industry leaders, believing they were the only employers who could
advance his career. But now that he had worked for several large employers
and was in his early 40s, he was open to joining a smaller, less-prestigious
organization. Many who badly needed a manager with his experience and
abilities were offering competitive compensation and challenging
opportunities. While his prior search had taken six months, this time he
accepted an offer within 12 weeks. In his new post as director of marketing
for a $150 million single-product manufacturer, he is overseeing the launch
of a global marketing strategy and sitting on the company's management
board. The job is both satisfying and adding to his future employability.
Reconsider your resume. Even if a professional helped you with your last
resume, you may need to do more than simply add your latest experience and
accomplishments to it. You may be seeking a different type of job and want
to emphasize different aspects of your background or omit information that's
now irrelevant. Perhaps you want to change to a chronological from a
functional format, or vice versa. While you should never lie in your resume,
you can select how much or how little you disclose.
The former president of several small steel companies discovered that less
is more after he lost his job for the second time in five years. He wanted
to stay in the steel industry and was willing to accept a post just below
the president level. But since he listed only president jobs on his resume,
employers he sent it to didn't know how he would fit in because they already
had presidents. He modified his resume so it listed his dates of employment,
company names and functional duties but not his job titles. The revised
resume helped get him in the door. In interviews, he disclosed his past
positions but made his case for taking a lesser role. He landed a job as
vice president at a small steel company whose president needed a right-hand
to run operations.
Go back to the contacts who helped you -- and those who didn't. It can be
intimidating to recontact people who provided assistance the last time you
were out of work. Ideally, though, you stayed in touch with these people.
Even if you didn't, don't let fear stand in your way. They wouldn't have
helped before if they didn't think you were a good prospect.
Glenn Courounis, vice president of human resources for Lenox Hill Hospital
in New York, reminds job seekers that networking is relationship building.
"Ask [contacts] what's changed in their professional lives," he says.
"Explain how your strengths and vision have changed since your last job
search. And don't rule out those who weren't able to help the last time.
There's a good chance that their career, contacts and experience have
changed just like yours have. You may find there are now ways you can help
each other."
Even if you are career savvy, maintain your networks and continually develop
new competencies, it's likely that you can benefit from reviewing your
approach before embarking on a new job search. By adapting your strategy to
the current situation and focusing your energy on tactics that work, you'll
succeed once again.
-- Ms. Kenny is executive vice president of Lee Hecht Harrison, a global
career-management services company.
