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This month, columnist and life coach Jo Miller answers some knotty questions about layoffs and getting work in tough times.
QUESTION: "I am in a field that was in huge demand last year. Now there is a glut of professionals with my skills and I am having a very hard time finding a new job. I never considered myself as anything but an IT professional, but lately I have considered changing fields. What steps should I take to explore this process?"
JO MILLER: The first step in considering a career transition is to make sure you can cover your basic living expenses like rent and bills. Even though you are in lesser demand than last year, I'm sure if you think creatively you will see a way to cover your basic expenses while you explore other options. You may need to downsize your lifestyle in the short term as you consider moving into a new career.
IT is a great field for offering you the flexibility to explore other areas. You could try working on a part-time or consulting basis, say 4 days per week, while using your free time to brainstorm and try out new options. Buy a book on careers to work through. Ask yourself some big picture questions, like: What is fulfilling enough that it would be worthy of my time? What do I want to learn? What do I want the rest of my life to be about? If money was not an issue, what would I most love to be doing with my time? Deal with the big questions first, and new career ideas will start to flow.
QUESTION: "I have several years of experience in as a manager, project manager and creative director. Ironically, I have a lot of difficulty presenting myself on interviews as well as in public presentations. I tend to freeze up, stammer and project nervousness or even incompetence. unprepared ness. The standard public speaking exercises seem to work really well for me. That is, until I get in the ACTUAL public setting and then it's like I forgot everything I learned. How can I improve my interviewing/presentation skills?"
JO MILLER: Practice, practice, practice. Keep up the public speaking exercises, as I can assure you they are not a waste. It sounds like you need more time and practice before speaking confidently becomes an automatic response in any challenging situation. You are probably getting very close to the breakthrough you want. I also suggest practicing in an actual interview situation. There are two ways to do this. Do you have a friend who is in HR or recruiting who can run some mocks with you? Or try applying for jobs you're not that interested in, where the stakes are not high and nothing depends on your performance.
Finally, I suggest you break the ice at the start of an interview by acknowledging that you get nervous. They will do more to ensure you feel comfortable, and often speaking about an automatic emotional response like nervousness can take away the power it has over you.
QUESTION: "For the past two years I worked for the same company in a role that I believed was integral to the company's growth. I always received excellent performance reviews, earned bonuses and accolades and was considered part of the "in" group at the company. Imagine my surprise when I was RIF'd in the first round of layoffs the company had ever endured. Though all my supervisors assured me that it had nothing to do with performance, I still couldn't believe it. It has been almost a year since then and while I have done intermittent contract I have not gotten a full time job. Friends tell me I have not gotten past being laid off. What can I do?"
JO MILLER: Listen to your friends! It is time to move past this, and until you do, you will find it hard to project the kind of positive, enthusiastic energy that potential employers are attracted to. I can promise you this: you were a great asset to your ex-employer, and you were integral to their growth. But sometimes that is not enough. Ask 15,000 Lucent employees who were let go this week. Believe your supervisors when they said it's not about you! If you can't take their word for it, look to your performance reviews, your bonuses and accolades as proof that you are a great asset to the company. That should be all the hard evidence you require. Call your old boss if it helps.
Get our your calendar. Schedule one more week of dwelling in the doldrums. You may wish to keep a daily journal of thoughts. List every piece of evidence you have that you were great at your job. Catch yourself in the act of looking on the downside instead of the upside. Interrupt those negative thoughts by reminding yourself of your accomplishments. Make a commitment to yourself to have moved on by this time next week, and start from ground zero with a new approach to your job search.
This month, columnist and life coach Jo Miller answers some knotty questions about layoffs and getting work in tough times.
QUESTION: "I am in a field that was in huge demand last year. Now there is a glut of professionals with my skills and I am having a very hard time finding a new job. I never considered myself as anything but an IT professional, but lately I have considered changing fields. What steps should I take to explore this process?"
JO MILLER: The first step in considering a career transition is to make sure you can cover your basic living expenses like rent and bills. Even though you are in lesser demand than last year, I'm sure if you think creatively you will see a way to cover your basic expenses while you explore other options. You may need to downsize your lifestyle in the short term as you consider moving into a new career.
IT is a great field for offering you the flexibility to explore other areas. You could try working on a part-time or consulting basis, say 4 days per week, while using your free time to brainstorm and try out new options. Buy a book on careers to work through. Ask yourself some big picture questions, like: What is fulfilling enough that it would be worthy of my time? What do I want to learn? What do I want the rest of my life to be about? If money was not an issue, what would I most love to be doing with my time? Deal with the big questions first, and new career ideas will start to flow.
QUESTION: "I have several years of experience in as a manager, project manager and creative director. Ironically, I have a lot of difficulty presenting myself on interviews as well as in public presentations. I tend to freeze up, stammer and project nervousness or even incompetence. unprepared ness. The standard public speaking exercises seem to work really well for me. That is, until I get in the ACTUAL public setting and then it's like I forgot everything I learned. How can I improve my interviewing/presentation skills?"
JO MILLER: Practice, practice, practice. Keep up the public speaking exercises, as I can assure you they are not a waste. It sounds like you need more time and practice before speaking confidently becomes an automatic response in any challenging situation. You are probably getting very close to the breakthrough you want. I also suggest practicing in an actual interview situation. There are two ways to do this. Do you have a friend who is in HR or recruiting who can run some mocks with you? Or try applying for jobs you're not that interested in, where the stakes are not high and nothing depends on your performance.
Finally, I suggest you break the ice at the start of an interview by acknowledging that you get nervous. They will do more to ensure you feel comfortable, and often speaking about an automatic emotional response like nervousness can take away the power it has over you.
QUESTION: "For the past two years I worked for the same company in a role that I believed was integral to the company's growth. I always received excellent performance reviews, earned bonuses and accolades and was considered part of the "in" group at the company. Imagine my surprise when I was RIF'd in the first round of layoffs the company had ever endured. Though all my supervisors assured me that it had nothing to do with performance, I still couldn't believe it. It has been almost a year since then and while I have done intermittent contract I have not gotten a full time job. Friends tell me I have not gotten past being laid off. What can I do?"
JO MILLER: Listen to your friends! It is time to move past this, and until you do, you will find it hard to project the kind of positive, enthusiastic energy that potential employers are attracted to. I can promise you this: you were a great asset to your ex-employer, and you were integral to their growth. But sometimes that is not enough. Ask 15,000 Lucent employees who were let go this week. Believe your supervisors when they said it's not about you! If you can't take their word for it, look to your performance reviews, your bonuses and accolades as proof that you are a great asset to the company. That should be all the hard evidence you require. Call your old boss if it helps.
Get our your calendar. Schedule one more week of dwelling in the doldrums. You may wish to keep a daily journal of thoughts. List every piece of evidence you have that you were great at your job. Catch yourself in the act of looking on the downside instead of the upside. Interrupt those negative thoughts by reminding yourself of your accomplishments. Make a commitment to yourself to have moved on by this time next week, and start from ground zero with a new approach to your job search.
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