Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from this week’s session with career transition coach and career management consultant Randy Block.
This week, career transition coach Randy Block led the call and he had some interesting insight for those who joined us:
“Changing partners might be your best move in the job search dance.”
Traditionally, career nirvana was to land a job with a company and stay there. You would work your way up the ladder and retire with a nice pension and benefits. Thanks to the economic upheaval we have just experienced this idyllic picture will seem like something made up for a movie or the plot of a novel. What was once almost guaranteed is now harder and harder to find. In fact, hiring managers sometimes look on a stable career path with suspicion; What's wrong with this person they stayed in one place so long? Didn’t he or she have any job offers? Is there no desire to expand their horizons?
Older workers who have been "indoctrinated" in this expectation need to realize that the "dream" does not exist for many anymore. They must adapt, or die.
More and more boomers are finding it difficult to make the cut when it comes to hiring. As Randy points out, most Gen Xers don't want their father working for them. Most boomers are not used to taking orders from their kids. It can be a very uncomfortable working situation. Many of today’s Gen X hiring managers see boomers as lacking energy, lacking technical skills, lacking social media skills, and lacking an understanding of current consumers and their needs.
To overcome these obstacles, boomers must show that they are none of the above. They must prove they are on the cutting edge of change and technology. Yes, they know what SEO and SEM mean. They can tweet and blog with the best of them. They have a strong web presence and a dynamic digital footprint. A quick Google search of their name will prove their value, and show that they are willing to share this value in discussion groups, industry conferences, and with thought leaders.
Instead of working towards the full-time job with the large company as a career strategy for a long run, boomers need to change partners. They need to look to a Portfolio Career. This will provide them with many challenges - each a separate chapter, a separate project. By being project-based you make yourself appear to be more valuable and more ready to be hired by the companies you are interested in. Where they can't see hiring you for a full-time position, they can see hiring you to fix the problem at hand. Once that problem is fixed, you have proven your worth in spades. The company has seen how you "fit" into its culture. They have seen that you are up on the industry and that you can work with their employees. They might just decide to take the leap and offer you a full-time position.
Now it's your turn to decide if you like this partner enough to stay or look for another partner who fits your style and needs better. You can start a new chapter with a new challenge – it’s always a new dance.
