Change is the only permanent thing. Even when you seem to be on firm employment ground, having a Plan B, C, and D can ensure a secure future.
The word “career” may imply a stable trajectory, but the truth is usually different. The most recent biannual Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data reveals that the average worker will change jobs between 10 and 15 times in their career. This job-hopping style has become increasingly common in the modern labor market, either as a necessity or by choice.
Employees have greater leverage in the labor market, at least for now. 2019 saw the lowest number of layoffs in modern history. Jobs were being created so quickly there weren’t enough people to fill them. Times of prosperity may lull some workers into a false sense of security, however.
Individuals may become overconfident that another job will be easy to find, especially if they’re skilled in their role and have a lot of experience. Worse, a worker may feel indispensable and adopt an “it could never happen to me” attitude. But layoffs don’t just happen to other people. It may only be a matter of time before a major career detour is taken for you, not by you.
Complacency kills careers
A smart strategy involves developing the perspective that career shifts can occur at any time. And you should have a contingency plan in place long before this happens, even if you’re steadily (and confidently) employed. Imagine your boss calls you into their office right now and fires you. After the initial shock, there will be serious questions:
Is your resume ready for prospective employers, and how effective is it?
Have you been researching other career options or income streams?
How many contacts can you rely on for job leads now that this door has closed?
The answers may be clear after being fired—and you might not like them.
Some terminated employees lack savings, having instead relied on an income they viewed as permanent. Many have failed to network and seek out new contacts or nurture previous ones. Suddenly, the bottom drops out and a long period of unemployment looms, when proactive planning could have provided a safety net.
Never stop networking
Have you landed a new job, or are you very comfortable in the current one? Great—now it’s time to really start networking. The ongoing establishment of new professional relationships and the cultivation of existing ones are crucial tools in a career survivor’s arsenal. A wide circle of colleagues and a diverse external contact pool are the most effective ways to provide a bridge between a current job and the next one.
Even if you think you’ll never return to an old workplace, don’t let your contacts there cool off. Stay in touch, especially if you left on positive terms. A previous workplace is an environment where you’re already established as a good candidate.
Networking can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t need to be. Having the right mindset and approach: staying positive, sincere, and collaborative—and routinely following up—are a few good tips. Always remember that you’re responsible for building and maintaining your professional identity and brand, and the relationships that strengthen it. Here are a few basic strategies for networking successfully:
- Be out there and participate. Meet people
through industry, charitable, community, and social events.
- Always look for opportunities and new career
options. This isn’t limited to searching online job platforms; keep an eye
out for new roles from old contacts, ways to diversify into freelance work, and
even new business ideas that are profitable and you would enjoy doing.
- Continue to grow your skills. Staying
current in quickly adapting industries and specializations as well as
technology is crucial. But so is developing new skills that will make you a
more attractive candidate for different roles.
- Keep your resume updated or know what to do
to update it quickly. Effective resumes take thought and effort—put that
work in ahead of time.
- Get or be a mentor. Mentorship—both
giving and receiving—can vastly expand a career network as well as assist in
professional development. Experienced mentors can help mitigate risk and
illuminate the road ahead, and both mentors and mentees have a network of
contacts that each can benefit from.
- Be ready for anything. On a basic level, this means preparing your finances to weather a job search. But it’s also a mindset that means you’ll be ready for a search—and ideally have options—if the hammer ever falls on you.
Network for now and later
A basic strategy is to never become so complacent that you are never considering new jobs—or at least what you’d do if you lost yours.
A classic career mistake is thinking you’re too big to fail. Everyone, regardless of tenure, career stage, or position, should build a network and consider alternative options. Seniority is no guarantee of finding work. Ironically, it can be tougher to find a new position the farther up the career ladder you’ve climbed because this tends to involve individuals with higher paychecks and highly specialized skill sets. And age bias is a very real problem that “is getting more scrutiny after revelations that hundreds of employers shut out middle-aged and older Americans in their recruiting on Facebook, LinkedIn and other platforms.”
Highly qualified executives often receive a stark wake-up call that there’s nothing special about them in the hiring market. Perfectly qualified candidates may be rejected for several reasons, such as companies looking for the perfect fit, prioritizing candidates with referrals, or a lack of unanimity from hiring decisionmakers. And often, organizations seek talented younger workers who they can pay less for a job. Unless there happens to be the right opportunity available post-termination, focused skills and years of experience may be a barrier to landing a new role.
Fewer seats in the top echelons of companies mean that even CEOs may spend up to a year between jobs. And when numerous candidates share professional skills, it can come down to what employers know about who we are, not what we can do.
A major factor? The hiring manager already had someone else in their network circle. In other words, the person who had built a relationship was viewed as a known quantity and, therefore, a lower-risk hire.
The importance of an adaptable mindset
Having a successful career in the modern world requires being adaptable and having the right outlook. It’s vital to view the entire concept of a career differently than in the past. Workers should always have a plan, remain open to alternate jobs and even entirely new career options, and consistently prioritize networking.
In that last dimension, some pretty old advice remains crucial in today’s environment: who you know is often the most powerful factor in landing on your feet. At KARP HR Solutions, our creative approach has mastered the mix of finances and human resources. Call us at 954-684-3284 or complete our contact form to learn more.
