Overqualified but happy to have a job

That was the title of a recent New York Times article. You can read it here.

The gist of the article is this: In today’s tight job market, companies can attract talent they’d ordinarily never see. And despite conventional wisdom, many of these overqualified hires are working out.

Here’s what I think (and please add your own comments below):

First, these jobs seem to work out when the company feels pleased and excited to get this talent bonus. If a company has reservations about the new hire, these feelings will carry over.

Second, you have to be honest with yourself. Some people have no problem working in downsized jobs. Others won’t. If you’re in the latter category, you may have to find a way to earn a living, perhaps by starting your own business.

Many people find it easier to take a step back when they are either self-employed or moving to a new career field. That’s why many qualified professionals begin an online career as Virtual Assistants: they’re actually running a business and they can fire their bosses anytime.

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Career strategy: Investment Research

Before you invest in a stock you might ask your broker what kind of research has been done on the company issuing the stock. You might be especially interested in recent developments: a new patent, a lawsuit, a catastrophe, or even a world event that affects the company. For instance, an airline that draws significant revenue from a particular international route  might be affected by an outbreak of war, regardless of whether the airline’s own country is involved.

(1) Be sensitive to projects  are on the edge. If you are working on a project for a company client, talk to the account exec and sales reps. Be sensitive to any shakiness in the account that might shut down the project.

(2) Study your boss’s priorities (and, if appropriate, the agenda of your boss’s boss). For instance, your boss may have been told to push sales of a particular product or service package. If your own activities do not relate to that product, you might be in a one-down position when you ask for anything.

(3) Don’t assume your boss is more informed than you are (or that she will share the information with you). Talk to people in other departments of the company. Set up google alerts for your company as well as for key people in that company. One administrator at a private university wondered why she wasn’t getting more budget when enrollment was up and profits seemed to be increasing. An Internet scan revealed that the university had pay back certain student loan funds that were collected inappropriately.  There was no hint of criminal action, but the school would have unexpected expenses and a cash shortfall. The administrator not only understood why her projects weren’t getting funded; she developed a new insight into the way information was shared.

Finally, work with facts but pay attention to rumors. Rumors can be wildly exaggerated but often contain some basis in reality. Even more, a persistent rumor can tell you a lot about the company’s culture.

For more information on planning a strategy for your own career, see http://www.midlifecareerstrategy.com/coaching.html

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Career Strategy: Invest in Career Insurance To Minimize Impact of Job Loss

Here’s an article with the title of Five Rules for Job Security from the CBS Moneywatch site.

But in fact they are not about giving you job security. Nobody can do that. Instead, they are about

• mitigating the effects of job loss and
• protecting your financial security in the event of job loss.

The distinction is important. These days you can’t count on job security, although it makes a great headline. The story opens with an anecdote about a marketing executive who was unexpectedly laid off. Fortunately, he had already started a part-time Internet business. He was able to bring in enough revenue to keep paying the bills till he found another job.

What the article doesn’t add is that having this financial security probably gave this man an edge when he applied fora new job. Employers tend to hire people who are confident. I like to think that getting a job is like getting a bank loan. It’s easier when you don’t need it.

This man’s approach, along witih the other techniques proposed in the article, seem to suggest creating a form of career insurance. By way of analogy, when someone steals a precious possession, your insurance allows you to replace it. Nothing guarantees that your object won’t be lost stolen. But insurance can mitigate the damage.

I’d be happy to talk to you about ways to develop your own career insurance. Click on my coaching page to learn more about my services.Ca

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To Ace Your Job Interview, Banish These Ghosts Forever

A job interview can be scary and stressful. After all, just getting to the interview meant you had to jump through hoops. You might be one of six interviewees chosen from over 300 applicants. But getting past the other five can be a minefield.

One challenge clients often raise is, “What about my problems with my boss in the job I just left?”

or

“What if my new boss is an acquaintance of my old boss?”

For instance, one career changer told me, “I’ve been job hunting for a long time. My past boss was abusive and he didn’t like me. It’s a small world. What should I do?”

Relax. Chances are your old boss is just a ghost who will never materialize in daylight. Your old and new boss probably don’t know each other. The odds of your name coming up are quite small. Of course, if your new employer calls your former boss for an off-the-record chat, there’s nothing you can do. You won’t even know about it, since those chats probably violate company policy. Still, the odds are in your favor. Bosses know they will look bad when they insult a former employee, unless they have straightforward factual information.

During your interview, you don’t need to bring up the past, recent or distant. If you are asked directly about your previous job, focus on enjoying a positive experience. Focus on what you learned, not what went wrong.

Your interviewer is not your therapist. She wants the answer to one question: “How will you contribute to the organization, department and mission? How will you make her look good?” Regardless of what you are asked, imagine framing your answer as, “The way I will contribute is…”

One surefire tip to banish ghosts: Make a list of all the ghosts that could possibly appear to embarrass you. For example:

Ghost #1: You’ve been out of work for eight months. You might be asked, “What have you been doing?”

Ghost #2: “Why did you leave your job? Why aren’t you working again?”

Think of every possible awkward or difficult question. Write out the answer as a soundbite that focuses on your contribution. Consider reviewing your responses with a career consultant or coach.

And I invite you to learn more:
Irrevent Guide to Mid-Career Job Search: Click here.
Consulting and Coaching (Often just an hour will make a huge difference): Click here.

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Job search for your mid-life career: Relating to the Hiring Decision-Makers

When I work with clients or create ebooks, I typically advise, “When an interview is over, it’s done.” I do recommend a certain amount of follow-up. Perhaps you could write a note or call to say something, “I just wanted to know where you are in your process.”

These days, when so much business is conducted by email, your application can be lost. In fact, I tell my own readers and prospective clients, “If you don’t hear from me in a day or two, please try again.” But I discourage seeking feedback from potential employers. They’ll rarely be honest because (a) they’re afraid of lawsuits, (b) they don’t know themselves or (c) they can’t tell you the real reason they didn’t hire you is that somebody’s nephew gets priority.

But one laid-off senior executive seems to be using a request for feedback as a reason to get in touch with a hiring decision-maker. This mid-life career changer turned a no-response into a consulting assignment. He obviously has strong communication skills: no surprise because he has a stellar track record. Read the full story here.

This story, from the WSJ’s career section, deserves notice because it comes from a WSJ blog of laid-off executives with stellar credentials, living proof that an Ivy League degree doesn’t make anyone bullet-proof.

For my own resources on job hunting, visit my list of Special Reports and my coaching opportunities.

http://blogs.wsj.com/laidoff/2009/08/31/after-several-interviews-patiently-waiting-for-answers/?mod=rss_WSJBlog

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Columnist criticizes job seekers (and gets jabbed back)

An examiner.com columnist wrote an in-your-face column about job-seekers who won’t take action. In this case, he encouraged them to make calls to coaches to get “free” advice. He couldn’t understand why coaches weren’t being inundated with free calls.

Wow…did he get an earful! Most of the comments were scathing.

Read the article and comments here and (in case you can’t see it) below is my response. Please click on “comments” to add your input to this blog (and “share this” if you would like others to see it).

As a career consultant, I would discourage anyone from calling a coach for “free advice and tips” unless you are seriously interested in following up with paid coaching. Here’s why:

(1) Most coaches use their “free” calls as sales calls. Marketing coaches teach techniques for turning the free call into a way to convert queries to clients. You won’t get a lot of great advice in a short call.

[That's why I stopped offering free calls awhile back. Instead, prospective clients can listen to hour-long mp3 calls where they find out what I'm really like.]

(2) Coaches are busy. Even though they say, “No obligation,” I don’t think it’s ethical to take an hour of someone’s time if you have no intention of buying. Anyway, many of the most successful coaches are too busy to take calls.

(3) Free calls typically don’t help you make a wise decision about hiring a coach. I like to say, “The whole dynamic shifts when money changes hands.”

(4) You can get lots of free info when you visit sites by career coaches: articles, mp3 recordings, even live teleseminars. That’s a legitimate way to get free help.

(5) Not everyone is coach-able. Not every situation benefits from coaching. And no coach is right for everyone.

Please click on the “Comments” button to add your opinion.

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Book Review: Job Search In a Bad Economy

Ford Myers : Get The Job You Want Even  When No One’s Hiring

This book is one of the better career change and job search books I’ve read in a while. The best sections come at the beginning (as happens with most career books). There’s good advice on introspection and I especially like the Ideal Day Exercise.

The book is divided into bite-size chapters, each just a page or two. With the Table of Contents, it’s easy to find what you want.

Chapters 7 and 8 are especially good.  Career advice in the 21st century has been turned upside down. You can’t stop the storm so learn to walk in the rain. Yes!

For implementation, I like the advice on networking. Myers is right: These days, job search doesn’t include networking. It’s ALL networking.

The resume sections look good, but I would check with people in your own industry. I still find it hard to believe people get jobs with functional resumes. There’s a good example of a cover letter on page 124.

Some quibbles:

On page 27, the author suggests substitute teaching as a temporary stopgap career. I’ve never heard of substitute teaching in “colleges and universities.” The closest reality would be taking a position as an adjunct, where you teach one course for $1500-$3000. You get lots of work and little respect. Sometimes those jobs do help you network but you can’t count on it. If you’ve never taught, you’ll be amazed at how much energy you need (even for a 50-minute college class) and how tired you’ll feel afterward.

On page 168, the author provides a good sample acceptance letter – for an entry or lower-level job. For a job paying over $70,000 (the salary mentioned) you won’t be expected to track your hours and you probably won’t get by with 35 hours a week. An executive acceptance letter would have more detail.

Obviously reviewers can’t comment on every single chapter. However, I want to emphasize that Myers wisely warns readers about scams. He doesn’t go far enough. I once got hired by an executive who decided to pay for a resume blasting service, i.e., get his resume sent to thousands of “hiring managers.” They promised to “put him in front of” employers who had the power to hire him.

I explained that only recruiters (also known as headhunters) could do this legitimately. Nevertheless, he was not deterred. He’s not alone. The author would do many job hunters a service by warning against specific scams and recommending steps to take when hiring a career coach or counselor. Sadly, many job hunters go for the scams and then distrust legitimate professionals who warn them. They think we’re being self-serving. By the time they figure things out, they can’t afford the real deal.

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Never say the U word

Yesterday I met a smart, attractive twenty-something executive at a networking event. He described himself as, “Unemployed.”

But after about five minutes of conversation, it was clear that he’s not really “unemployed.” He’s keeping busy with consulting assignments. He has a workload many longtime self-employed professionals would envy.

“I’m not really a consultant,” he said.

Why not? You don’t need a license. You’re walking the talk. Go for it.

Often people who get laid off find themselves taking on projects…and they get so busy they stop looking for corporate jobs. What’s wrong with that?

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WSJ Reports: Laid-Off Exec Living on Less in the City

Don’t miss today’s WSJ story:
Downwardly Mobile: Living on Less in the City

This story really hit me hard. A 58-year-old woman was laid off several months ago. She can’t get a new job so she’s scrambling to live on her unemployment benefits. I admire her spirit. I also like her tips for economizing.

What the WSJ doesn’t tell us: If you are over 50, you face tough odds of being hired. I won’t be negative and say it’s impossible. But I think you might consider self-employment as a realistic alternative.

Unfortunately, today’s unemployment compensation laws insist that you must keep looking for a job if you want to get benefits. These laws were designed for a time when unemployment was temporary and seasonal. They were not designed for a time when your job disappeared (along with your industry, in some cases).

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Career change: Serendipity wins over planning, every time.

Career change often begins with a statement. “I hate my current job. I want a totally different environment. What are some steps I can take to make a move?”

Alas, many career books give a false impression. They suggest that career change proceeds at an orderly and very linear pace. Typically, you are advised to take these steps:

• Look inward to find out who you are.
• Identify your strengths.
• Match strengths to careers.
• Find a career that matches your strengths.
• Apply for jobs in those fields.
• Live happily ever after.

Of course, an experienced career consultant will tell you this is hogwash. The best guide I’ve found is still Herminia Ibarra’s book, Working Identity. The book’s getting old and out of print but you can find it in libraries and online bookstores.

As Ibarra explains, most career change goes more like this:

• Come up with a few ideas that might work.
• Talk to people in those fields.
• Get referred to other people.
• Hit a few dead ends and realize your dream job isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
• Talk to more people.
• Run into an old friend at an airport lounge in the Los Angeles area. He says, “Gee, we’re looking for somebody to take a job in our Chicago office. You’re in Chicago. Interested?”
• Your friend dashes off an email from his laptop. He tells you to call a certain number.  You shake hands. You get on your plane for Portland. He gets on his plane for Tokyo.
• A few days later, you call the number. The job isn’t anything like what you’ve been looking for. But it sounds intriguing. You go on a few interviews that feel more like social chats with a bunch of old friends.
• Before you can return a call from your career coach, you’re on a new payroll.

Sounds far-fetched? “Brad” w literally fell into his career. As a child, he tripped on the choir loft of his church, landing on top of the organ. He became fascinated watching the organ repair specialist who came to fix the damage. Eventually, he became the specialist’s apprentice and branched out to his own busy career that lasted over 40 years. He loved it.

“Julie” graduated from law school but couldn’t find a law firm job in her medium-sized city. Out of desperation, she took a job in a bank, telling everyone, “I’ll just be here six months. I hate banking and I’m not good with nunbers.” Three years later, Julie is still with the bank — by choice. She likes the job and the people. And she keeps getting raises, even in a recession.

These stories are true.

Research on career change shows they’re not unusual. Most people owe their career choices to an unexpected event or chance meeting.

So do you have to take a fatalistic approach?

Not at all. You can give serendipity a little push. Keep moving. Talk to lots of people. Develop confidence and radiate a positive, optimistic outlook. I’m not being woo-wooey. More research shows that we like to be around others who are confident, energetic and upbeat. The more people you meet and the more friends you make, the more likely you are to hear the magic words, “Gee…maybe you’d like to consider our company.”

And the rest, as they say, will be history.

Comment on this article! Click on “Comment” below to enter your views.

For more on career change, see my ebook on Career Makeovers.

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