Job Search News

Most of us have many phases to our careers, from the typical entry level jobs through mid-career to retirement.  In the 20th Century, this seemed to run in a predictable series of stages, and often involved working for the same employer, in the same industry or profession, for decades.  Not any more.

Now, it is becoming increasingly rare for someone to have a smoothly-continuous career with no hiccups or periods of unemployment.  Layoffs happen.  Employers restructure or are gobbled up by someone else who moves the jobs to another location or shuts down divisions or functions.

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Rather than searching for another job, many people start their own consulting businesses based on the expertise, and often the contacts, they have built up in the course of their careers.    Countless numbers succeed in their new ventures, a few succeed brilliantly, and some determine that it’s not right for them.

Very talented people are unemployed right now, and, if they are like me when I was laid off in 1994, they are wondering if they can trust another employer again.  Or face another job search again.

Perhaps surprisingly, as I’ve written before, that job loss was a GIFT to me – truly a blessing in disguise!  It set me free of the corporate world.

I started my own very small consulting business in 1995.  If I screw up, I am the only one who pays the price.  If I am brilliant (and/or lucky) and do quite well, I reap all the benefits.  That seems more fair than a corporate job, and, frankly, not that much more work than my last corporate job.  It is a whole lot more rewarding, in many ways - and, actually, much, MUCH more fun!

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The Numbers Game theory:

Just keep applying over and over and over and over again on every job board and employer website you can find, and sooner or later something will click.

Like buying lottery tickets every week?  And, how well does that work for most of us!

Next to “being flexible” and “keeping your options open” (in other words, not knowing or communicating what job you want – see this post about that major mistake), this is the next most out-dated job search belief I see.

What Does Work?
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The U.S. Department of Labor analyzes employer practices, the economy, and many other factors to develop a list of the top careers. This is the list of the top 20 careers, based on anticipated job growth, through 2018.

Choosing a New Career (more…)

You’re not that crazy about your job and where it’s leading (or NOT leading).  Other jobs or careers interest you, but you prefer to avoid making the proverbial out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the fire mistake.

So what do you do now?

Speaking as a person who has made the frying-pan-fire transition at least twice and had 5 majors in 5 years of undergraduate study (I’m interested in everything!), this is not a simple question to answer, particularly when you are working full time.  Or, when you are looking for a job full time.

My advice:  Try, before you “buy!”

Having also been unfortunate enough to discover in the last semester of my 2nd senior year in college when my student teaching experience convinced me teaching high school American History or English was probably the last thing I wanted to do, trying a job before you are committed to it is smart.

So, how? (more…)