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 Volume 8, No. 4 |
April 10, 2009 |
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When you tell people you live on Cape Cod, they often tell you you’re lucky, and for three-fourths of the year, they’re right. What they don’t know—and you do, after you’ve lived here long enough to experience a few Aprils when the daffodils seem to shiver in the cold rain and the forsythia refuses to bloom—that there is no spring. Or, to be more precise, what little of it there is comes so late that it imperceptibly merges with summer! I’m more dismayed by the sunless days and lack of color this year than I have been in the past, and I think it’s because of the bleakness of the economic landscape. The truth is, both here on the outer Cape where I live and in the business world we all occupy, things look pretty brown right now. You have to be very attentive to notice that the willow branches have a slight yellow tinge against the gray, gloomy sky, just as you have to look carefully to see any glimmer of hope in these dark economic times.
Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of people who make up the unemployment statistics are too consumed with the busy-ness of a job-search that has no sense of direction or overriding purpose to be attentive to opportunities for professional growth. To put faces on the 11.6% unemployment statistic here, The Cape Cod Times recently ran an article profiling six job-seekers: a single mother, a retired jazz musician, a medical office worker, two recent graduates from high school and college, and a corporate travel professional. Each is asked, “What kind of job are you looking for?” and the responses are strikingly uniform: “Pretty much anything.” “I’m not fussy.” “It doesn’t matter, as long as they are hiring.” “I’m open to anything right now.” What they’re all saying is that they’ve decided to leave it up to a prospective employer to figure out how to utilize what they have to offer. They believe it’s the employer’s job to match their skills and abilities to his needs. Instead of presenting themselves as the solution to a problem, they expect the employer to solve their problem of not having a job. It’s true that the job market is a buyer’s market these days, but the attitude that you’re willing to take anything is not going to make you stand out from the crowd. It’s a fire-sale mentality. If you see an advertisement with the words, “Will take best offer,” what does it say to you? Do you think it’s something you want? Even if you have to seek employment at a lower level than you’d hoped for or have been used to, you can still do it with clarity of purpose. A technical middle-manager might take a job with a hardware store to enhance his customer service skills by working directly with the public. A marketing graduate might accept an entry-level position in food distribution (i.e. stacking shelves in grocery stores) in order to gain a better understanding of how the supply chain works. In both cases, larger professional goals are honored and not lost sight of. To position yourself well, even for a job you might not consider under different circumstances, there needs to be a point of genuine connection between you as a committed, conscientious worker and the work you seek. Random job-begging won’t succeed in the new world of work where everyone has to make a case for his importance to the well-being of the organization, and you can no longer just plug yourself into a job. You need to learn to see your relationship with an employer, not as one of dependency, but as a business partnership between an organization, and a vendor or service provider (you). But such a change in thinking is slow and difficult, not unlike the transition from adolescence to adulthood. In a recent Zits comic strip, we are told that whenever a teenager comes out with something you don’t understand, it can always be translated as: “Feed me, fund me, leave me alone.” If you’re looking for work in today’s business environment, you have to act like a grownup. You must be absolutely clear about what it is you want and effective at articulating what you bring to the table and why it is valuable. Otherwise, a prospective employer is likely to interpret your vague goals as an immature desire simply to be “fed, funded, and left alone.”
Readers Write
Client, IT Consultant, and Helicopter Pilot, Redwood City, CA
I just love your writing. What a great gift you have. And, your husband too. I read both of your articles in the Gestalt newsletter. Thanks for all you share with us. Career Professional, Wakefield, MA
Great stuff, Bev!! Keep up your good work. Writer, St. Simon's Island, GA
Center News
The program will air on Monday April 13 at 9:30 AM and Tuesday April 14 at 7:30 PM on Channel 17 in the mid-Cape area.
The Wellesley Club of Cape Cod has invited Beverly to speak at their Annual Meeting on May 8th. Her topic will be “Women in Transition” and will focus on how to claim the creative opportunities that come with change, both welcomed and unexpected, which throw us into a period of uncertainty and confusion. Friday, May 8th 11:30 AM
On May 22nd Beverly will deliver a day-long program on the core principles of her
On June 5th Beverly will present a session on “Understanding Transition in the Career Counseling Process” at the bi-annual conference of the Career Resource Managers Association.
PO Box 156, 40 Oak Leaf Rd
Our long-term relationships with clients, recognition by peers, and growing reputation as a community resource speak to the excellence of the services we provide and our commitment to making the world of work a better place for all. Stick illustrations by Eloise Morley. Copyright © 2009 |
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Today the market for work is a buyer’s market. How do you stand out? How do you make yourself visible? The answer is simple but not easy—by knowing exactly what you want to do and why you are the person who is ideally suited to do it. If the purchaser of a service (i.e. an employer) can pick and choose from a large pool of candidates, then authenticity is a competetive edge, one that may well be decisive.
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The comment the woman made totally surprised me. She has no idea what you actually do. It's all about developing personally and professionally regardless of the state of employment. 
Recently Beverly was interviewed about her
