Why See a Career Advisor?

For the past year, since the publication of In Search of the Fun-Forever Job:  Career Strategies That Work, I’ve been answering readers’ questions on the Ask Ellis pages of the book website. There are some questions I’m asked so frequently, I wanted to choose one of the most popular, and the answer, here.   

Question: I'm out of work and short on funds.  Is it worth spending the money to see a career advisor?

Dear Ellis,
I've been out of work for six months. I've always been good (successful!) at search, and have been resourceful enough to figure out the best techniques. Yet, something's not working this time. I've been told over and over that I should find a good career advisor to help me, but I hate spending the money during this time when I don’t have much to spend, and don't quite know what to expect from an advisor.  
John R.

Answer: You’ll gain perspective and a whole lot more

Dear John,
This one is always a bit uncomfortable to answer, because it's tough to avoid appearing self-serving. Obviously, I think seeing an advisor is a great way to help you get through this difficult time--otherwise, I would've chosen a different career myself. (Sometimes, though, there have been times when I have told prospective clients that they might benefit more from consulting with professionals in another field.)  

Okay, that's out of the way, and I'll be as objective as possible. 

My major reason for suggesting a career advisor is about the emotional aspects--search is isolating. You've been separated from your routine, from a part of your identity, and from people you may have liked. Left on your own, you ruminate. You try to interpret every aspect of the search, for example:

• Why is this person not calling back? 
• Why isn't my resume working the way resumes should? 
• Why is it five days since they said they'd call and they had promised three? 
• Have I made the right choice in what I'm seeking? 
• Maybe it's time for a radical change? 
• And, my favorite: Why are so many people so incredibly rude during this process?   In the last interview, they told me I was the lead candidate!  And I’ve been unable to contact them again.  Total radio silence.

You go round and round in these thoughts (and so many others), don't get anywhere, and start to over-think every aspect. Some people end up reworking their resumes 10 or 12 times, almost always a serious waste of energy. Sometimes, the result of all the rumination is to make bad career decisions, just to avoid the anxiety of the process itself.  

If you have a significant other or family or both, that will probably add to the stress, no matter how supportive friends and family may be. After all, if there’s a significant other, for example, that person is just as stressed about the situation as you are. Maybe more.  

What's lacking here is perspective, and I think that's where the experienced listener and advisor play a most critical role. It always amazes me that at the end of a successful client experience, one of the comments I have heard the most over the years is--"You really understood what I was going through." 

The comments are not usually about the technical aspects of the transition, even if we spent several meetings reviewing networking, resume, and all the rest.  

An experienced consultant will be knowledgeable about the (over-hyped) significance of resumes, will help with decisions about appropriate targets, will work with interview presentation and content, will teach the value of high-touch relationship building, and, I hope, will understand and show the value of social media and social intelligence in the process.  

As for the money--if it helps you, it's worth it. Don’t think about the immediate cost; it’s all about the big picture and achieving the desired overall result. Another perspective is that it’s an investment--in you.  

Ellis

For a quick course on networking, pick up my Ebook, Networking: How to Make the Connections You Need

If you're looking for more in-depth advice on your job search, In Search of the Fun-Forever Job: Career Strategies that Work is available in paperback and Ebook. 

4 Ways to Improve Your Success in a Long Distance Job Search

I often hear from people who want to relocate--some want to stay in the same field, others are looking for a career change--but can’t figure out how to expedite a long distance job search. 

Their questions are usually along the lines of:

• How can I keep my current job and still search somewhere else?

• Is an out-of-area address an immediate rejection?  

• How do I network in a place where I don’t yet know anyone?

Conducting a job search long distance isn’t easy. But often clients go about it in some low probability ways--sending out resumes before they're requested, asking for leads before laying the ground work. When they don't get immediate results, their frustration can create a problem all by itself. They lose perspective. They want this whole thing to end fast, and end NOW. But like any job search, it's still going to be a process, when you do it right. And it’s a lot of work.  

The following four points can help improve your odds at landing a job in a new location.  

1. The Out-of-State Address
First, let's get rid of that address problem. It’s true that adding the possible relocation expense might be a problem for a prospective employer – although you will try to negotiate that when you get an offer.  

Many of the people I've worked with have, as a matter of course, dropped addresses from resumes. It seems to be a trend among younger members of the job force. An email address seems to be enough. A telephone number with an out-of-state area code doesn't seem to be a problem anymore; people take their cell numbers with them everywhere they move. So . . . no home address necessary.

2. Understand Networking
Second, you need to fully understand what networking is. It is not just asking everyone you know if they know of openings or jobs. That's a sure-fire way of scaring them off, because people feel guilty when they have to say, "No, not at this moment." And that means you've burned through a contact, making it difficult to stay in touch. 

Networking is all about maintaining relationships over a period of time, a form of indirect marketing-–not cornering your valuable connections and pressuring them into a yes/no answer (usually no).

The point is to build business relationships, maintain them by staying in touch, so that when your contacts hear of appropriate situations, you’re on their mind. That's how the vast majority of people find jobs, either by circumstance or by design.  

3. Set Up Phone Meetings
Since you can't be constantly traveling to your intended destination, you set up phone meetings instead of in-person meetings. They may be a little less effective than personally meeting others, but if you cultivate the relationships through following up regularly, you can make that relationship work. 

In addition, if you find some of your targeted people are amenable, you might say to several that you will be in the area during the week of ____________, and hope that you could meet them in person. Believe it or not, this works better, most of the time, than asking someone in your home area for a more open-ended time slot.  

4. Use LinkedIn
For building networks in an area where you don't know many in your profession -- try LinkedIn groups. Assuming your profile is up-to-date and promotes your skill set well, look under "Interests" on the top of the home page. There is a subset called "Groups." Then, look for affinity groups. Punch in your field and see what comes up. Maybe a professional group you’ve already joined. Maybe 10 others that are related. Maybe one in your intended geographical area. Join. Get involved in the online conversations. If someone sounds interesting and knowledgeable, try to link in (with a personal invitation, not the LinkedIn template). If he/she responds, then perhaps you write a skillful introductory (brief) email requesting a short conversation because you're researching the market in their area and want to learn more about it.  

It always comes back to: Technique, Discipline and Consistency
This is just a beginning. Clearly, there's much more you can do. I can think of a recently published book (mine!) you might read which will thoroughly take you through the process -- In Search of the Fun-Forever Job: Career Strategies That Work, on Amazon. 

Looking for work long distance is eminently doable, even with the tough market conditions. Great search technique, coupled with discipline and consistency, will usually trump the difficult market

Or pick up a copy of Networking: How to Make the Connections You Need to get the short course on how to make the contacts that lead to the job you want. 

Photo: wojciech_gajda 

Changing Jobs - Too frequently or not often enough?

I get asked about this issue as much as any other--and the questions come from both sides. Do I have a problem if I’ve moved around every other year or so? OR . . . Do I have a problem if I’ve stayed in the same place for ten years?

Hoppers
Usually, people in career transition are more concerned about the perceived problem of changing jobs every year or two.  

Since the 1980s or thereabouts, the paradigm of lifetime employment has pretty much disappeared, for a wide variety of economic reasons. That’s why we hear more about the job hoppers than those who stay for long periods in one organization. Current research shows that the average job lasts around 3-3.5 years, and an expected career will consist of 12 jobs and three separate careers. If that is understood by both employer and employee, then the “jumping” issue won’t come up as much.

But what about those who, for various reasons, have had to change maybe twice in three years? Maybe there was an acquisition. Maybe bad chemistry. Or maybe it was the wrong job from the start. 

The key for job seekers is to be able to present the reasons for leaving jobs in the best possible light, and to never cast aspersions on the former employer, no matter what.  They need to focus on the skills attained, even if the job lasted less than a year. There has to be a compelling reason for the change, one that makes the candidate look good--and never defensive. It’s never for “more challenge;” it’s about the opportunity to more fully utilize skills and experience and find the right fit (one of my favorite expressions in transition language).    

There will be employers who will look at a resume, see multiple changes, and immediately disqualify the candidate. To me, that usually suggests an employer who doesn’t get the work culture changes over the past several years. So, it’s up to the candidate to present a resume that may group various employees in a framework that may suggest consulting, with a focus on skills attained. Or maybe even functionalize the resume somewhat, to focus on the skills, rather than the specific jobs. While many discourage that format, it’s often better than listing multiple jobs over a short period of time.  

But, since I strongly urge clients to not lead with resumes, the verbal response will clearly be more well-crafted than any resume can be--and the applicant can address and tailor responses accordingly.  A resume can’t do that as well.  

Essentially, the job hopper should be able to position the moves as positive, skill- building experiences. There should never be any acquiescence to the concept that this is a liability or weakness. That’s the interviewer’s issue. 

Even with all that preparation for dealing with the hopping issues, job seekers need to realize that creating multiple options and targets increases their chances of finding prospective employers who will be able to see past the multiple changes.  In other words, high numbers create a higher probability of success, and the opportunities to connect with employers who will recognize the skill set and be able to get past the history.

Dinosaurs
On the other side are the “dinosaurs,” as I like to call them. Dinosaurs, because the long-term or lifetime employment paradigm is becoming extinct, unless there is self-employment. (And even then, many will change back to organizational structures or switch back and forth between the two work styles.) Those job seekers are always worried that prospective employers are going to see them as limited in skills and experience, having worked at one organization for so long.

Sounds like you can’t win, right?

Almost right. There will be employers who don’t like long employment, those who don’t like short terms of employment, and finding what’s “just right” is sometimes elusive.  

That’s why it’s so important to create multiple options and targets, as mentioned above.

But what about those dinosaurs? How do they deal with the perception that they haven’t learned much in their long stints?

Easy. They should focus on changes within their employment, even if official job titles haven’t changed. They need to prepare explanations of how the job evolved from one skill set to another, and to be conscientious about providing examples to explain. 

Both situations can be addressed, but creating a winning numbers game will be the best solution.  

To find answers to your questions on job search and career transition, get your copy of In Search of the Fun-Forever Job: Career Strategies that Work