Long Job Searches Lead To Career Contemplation

by Kris Maher

In his first seven years out of college, Ayubu Azizi worked at six different advertising agencies. Sometimes he jumped ship to propel his career; once he moved on after his division was closed and he lost his job. Each time, however, it was easy to land on his feet.

That all changed in June 2002, after Mr. Azizi, 29 years old, was laid off as a copy writer from the New York office of Interpublic Group's Foote, Cone & Belding. With the economy rocky and no opportunity waiting, he says, "After eight years, I was thinking, 'Is this really what I want to be doing?' "

Quick promotions, generous raises and the ability to hop from one job to another -- career staples of the boom -- are absent from most people's experience of work and the job market today. The heady gold-rush days of the '90s, however anomalous, set up lasting expectations of a mobile and dynamic job market in the minds of many workers.

But the recession has destroyed those expectations during the past two years. Layoff victims have endured the longest job searches in several decades. Many industries that were favorites of job-hoppers, such as telecommunications and technology, have shed hundreds of thousands of positions, many of which aren't coming back when the economy recovers.

For most workers, this has meant readjustment to a long-term perspective. For some, it's been painful. But career experts point out that what seems frustrating can actually be a blessing in disguise for those who use this time to make smarter career moves as part of a long-term career strategy.

For Mr. Azizi, for instance, a career pause led to some introspection. In April, while still pursuing freelance copy-writing work, he took a job as an organizer at the Brooklyn chapter of Acorn, a nationwide grass-roots community organization. In the current economy, Mr. Azizi says, "I think people are starting to take more of a chance on what they want to do."

Career experts agree. "So many people have ended up where they are because a job fell into their lap, and they really haven't put much strategy into it," says Rebecca Zucker, principal and co-founder of Next Step Partners Inc., a San Francisco career-counseling firm. "In the Internet boom, the opportunities were so abundant. They're realizing that they need to take a longer-term view."

In her practice, Ms. Zucker helps clients determine whether their values are consistent with those of their employers. One technique involves investigating a peak experience in a client's life and trying to figure out what made the experience so exceptional. She also advises clients to envision themselves 20 years in the future and imagine what they would like to hear a colleague say to honor them in a retirement speech. Ms. Zucker has clients do imaging exercises at shorter time intervals as well. "This is a process," she says. "Where people get the most frustrated is where they feel like they have to have the answers right now."

Martin Yate, author of "Knock 'Em Dead: Great Answers to Over 200 Tough Interview Questions," agrees. "You have to realize it's a marathon, not a sprint," he says. Mr. Yate recommends that people treat their professions like a college course and become students, learning where growth areas are, joining professional associations, networking and studying those who are making names for themselves. He also suggests seeking advice from successful people who are willing to act as mentors, as well as looking at who is messing up and why.

While useful, some of these strategies may seem a bit silly at first, and may not have any short-term effect. For that, Peter Goodman, president and chief executive of MyJobCoach.com, recommends that people try to establish relationships with a handful of recruiters right now, even though few may have jobs. "When the economy picks up, then they will be proactively calling you," he says. In some cases, recruiters also can provide guidance throughout a career.

Mr. Goodman also advises people to study job postings, even if they aren't considering leaving a current position, to uncover trends in what companies are requiring from candidates. Even though many people may be focused on getting a job to make ends meet, they shouldn't stop designing a blueprint of their ideal career. That includes continuing to gain additional training in skills that are in increasing demand. "People's tendency is to shift their attention to the most urgent thing at the moment," Mr. Goodman says. "Especially in this economy, you have to be more creative."

Patience (as opposed to passive acceptance) also can have its rewards. According to Ms. Zucker, more workers are beginning to realize "that there is value in staying with a company and showing progression within a company. Employers want to see some level of loyalty."

That loyalty is, of course, something to be considered carefully. While it's wise to show your loyalty to an employer and while an extended period of employment can look good on a resume, other experts remind workers that these days they shouldn't expect their loyalty to be automatically returned by employers. The goal is to balance your loyalty with prudent self-interest, in case the picture changes quickly.

"We have to stop having loyalty to companies and start having loyalty to our professional survival first," Mr. Yate says. "Companies want you to have loyalty to them, but they've made it clear that they don't have loyalty to you."

Source: www.CareerJournal.com
06/30/2003