Lessons From My Career Transition

Lessons From My Career Transition

• 1.
  HOW LOSING MYJOB HELPED ME FIND MY CAREER Renee A. Giacalone LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reneegiacalone Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReneeGiacalone December, 2015
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  What happened…  Formore than 20 years, I never had to look for a job. Promotions just happened. I made no attempts to meet people outside of my organization. I kept my head down and did my job.  Little did I know that I was putting my whole career at risk.  Then, I suddenly had to find a job. I sort of knew it was coming but still, I wasn’t prepared at all. I honestly thought it would be easy. I thought I had enough professional “friends” that surely one of them would hire me. But that didn’t happen.  I had to face the music. I didn’t know how it worked anymore. I didn’t have a network. And worse, I didn’t know what I wanted to do.
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  This is theresult of my 7- month career transition journey …
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  FIRST THINGS FIRST… Mourn the loss, but set a date for how long you’ll tell your job loss story. And then you’re done talking about it.  Learn the new process; finding a job is not like it was even just 5 years ago.  Just about everything you need to know about job search is online. Just Google it!  Create a project plan. Set a goal, determine your strategy and ultimately your tasks.  Manage your project. Get up every day and go to work, Monday – Friday. Take the weekends off.  Talk to everyone willing to talk to you about your job interests. Networking is critical.
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  WAKE-UP CALL  Leveragelow cost resources to learn about yourself:  Myers Briggs Test  Emotional Intelligence 2.0  Strengthsfinder  Hire a pro if you need help. You aren’t supposed to be good at this.  Google it.  Recommend Gail Sussman-Miller  Know your requirements:  Commute, compensation, level  Know what you are willing to compromise on for the right opportunity  Do your homework:  Once again, Google to the rescue. Look up intel about people, companies, jobs, industries. It’s all out there. Check out Glassdoor and LinkedIn. Your Passion Your Skills Market Demand It was time to figure out what I could do (skills/experience), what I wanted to do (passion) and what the market was willing to buy.
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  INVEST IN YOU Brainstorm a list of topics that are relevant to what you want to do.  Find clubs, groups and associations where people are talking about these topics of interest (industry or trade):  Webinars (most are free)  Seminars  Microsoft free tutorials  Book recommendations  Serves two purposes: continuous learning and networking. Tip: What professional topics have you heard people at work talk about that you privately confessed that you knew nothing about? While I was spending all my time doing my job, I stopped learning. So for 7 months I studied, I read, I listened to anything and everything that would help me become more valuable to an employer of choice.
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  “The old way– the job was the light, you were the moth. The new way – you are the light, the job is the moth.” – Greg David. Don’t…  Don’t rely on applying for jobs through online portals. Those screening technologies are designed to keep you out of the process. Has some value.  Mail or email cover letters and resumes to people you don’t know or have any referenceable connection with. The odds of getting a response are very low.  Don’t assume recruiters will advocate for you. They will take the easiest path, go with a referral or someone inside rather than fight for you to be considered.  Assume your resume is all that you need to tell prospective employers who you are. It’s just not enough anymore.  Chase a bunch of jobs that you could do. Desperation is not attractive and besides, you’ll be miserable in no time. Chase what you WANT! Everything that I thought I knew about job search was just wrong. This quote perfectly summed up what had change while I wasn’t looking. LEARN THE PROCESS Do…  Lean out, reformat and update your resume. It is still a required tool of the trade. There’s tons of free help online but if you have radical changes to make, hire a pro like Charlotte Weeks.  Participate in job search clubs and accountability groups. You’ll need a handbill and/or business card. Job clubs help you learn how to use a handbill in job transition networking situations as well as perfect your elevator pitch. Groups like ExecuNet, Executive Networking Group and the Community Career Center.  Use LinkedIn and Twitter to establish your digital brand. 92% of recruiters will use LinkedIn to find out more about you. You control what they find, make it count.  Launch an effective networking campaign leveraging 3 kinds of networking: Job Search, Industry and Affinity.
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  NETWORKING According to areport from ABC News, 80% of today’s jobs are landed through networking. Mic drop. There are three types: all are necessary during job transition. #1 Job Transition: since the great recession, job clubs have multiplied rapidly. They’re in every town now. For a small fee, you can attend power networking sessions with other job seekers. How is talking to other job seekers even remotely helpful? Two reasons: 1.) The purpose is to make connections to decision makers or more often to other people who can make direct connections to decision makers. This is why the process of finding a job takes longer now. It may take you 2 or 3 connections to get to someone who can make a referral or have influence over you getting a shot at a job. Fellow job seekers have networks and are willing to help! 2.) It’s an excellent, safe place to practice your elevator pitch and tell your story. An essential professional skill for everyone, not just job seekers.
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  #2 Trade Groups:where do people congregate who do what you do or want to do? Trade associations. For just about every job on the planet, there’s an organization that promotes, educates and networks among its members. Examples - Manufacturing, product management, marketing, human resources, finance, project management, consumer packaged goods… the list goes on and on. Once again, Google is your friend. Chicago Network Associations. This is how I found my job. I found a local chapter of the Association of Change Management Professionals, an area of professional interest. I joined the association. Attended a local chapter meeting. Met someone walking to my car. She referred me to her company’s recruiter 8 weeks later I had an offer! I’m still a member to this day.
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  #3 Affinity Groups:networking doesn’t have to be just job related. In fact, it’s more fun and interesting if it’s related to a topic you are personally passionate about. I used my job transition time to try several networking opportunities: professional women’s club, toastmaster, chamber of commerce, community career center and general business networking clubs. They all had merit but some were a better fit than others. Over time and after I returned to work, I limited my participation to organizations where I felt a strong connection. But without experimenting, I would not have known about them in the first place. I also increased my volunteering hours during my transition and met some terrific people that way too. You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. - Dale Carnegie
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  NETWORKING: Top 5Tips 1. Give first: change how you measure the value of networking from “receiving help” to “giving help.” Go to networking events with a goal to help 5 people. The Universe has a way of evening the score. 2. Follow-up: the power of networking evaporates fast if you don’t do what you said you would do. This also demonstrates integrity. 3. Don’t overcommit: sometimes the desire to help gets the best of you. If you really don’t have a strong enough connection or don’t feel comfortable making an introduction, don’t say you will. 4. Get Involved: when you do join an organization, get involved immediately. Volunteering is the fastest way to meet more people. 5. Build relationships not connections: people will not stick their neck out to recommend you unless they know you well enough to do so. Be prepared to go beyond the initial meeting. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. - Maya Angelou
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  PUTTING IT ALLTOGETHER Promote Me - Virtual Tools of Job Search & Beyond (No Rules) LinkedIn (B2B) Twitter (B2B, B2C) Facebook (B2C) Promote Me - Conventional Tools of Job Search (Follow the Rules) Elevator Pitch Resume Handbill Business Cards My Brand – What are employers getting when they hire me? What - Unique Expertise & Know How Hard Skills How – Leadership Competencies Soft Skills My Requirements – What do I want? Role Compensation Culture Commute Wake-Up Call – Skills, Passion, Demand Job Search Trends in 2016
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  WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT Keep faith in who you are and what you can do  Trust the process as long as you work the process  Choose positive thoughts, people, surroundings  Most people want to help  Practice and develop bravery  Take care of ALL of your parts:  physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual  EXPECT SUCCESS!
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  Renee A Giacalone SeniorManager at Centric Consulting, a full-service management consulting services firm. We help clients tackle their toughest business challenges with innovative, balanced and measurable solutions. Partner with us for an unmatched experience. http://centricconsulting.com/locations/chicago/