What are some tangible actions middle level managers can take right now to improve their odds of being hired?

First, STOP with the resumes, email blasts, job boards, and interviewing. 80-90% of jobs come from networking, not going through “official channels.”

Second, START looking at yourself as a business who needs to figure out:

·  What you are passionate about

·  What you really want to do from last week’s list

·  Where do you want to work

·  What that company is looking for in skills, cultural fit, character, etc.

·  What are the issues or gaps that you need to address before going to the company

·  What competitive value you can offer to a prospective hiring manager

·  How to brand yourself

·  How to communicate your message

·  How to network into influencers, trusted advisors, and decision makers who will see why they would “want” to hire you versus the masses waiting outside sending in their resumes.

If you cannot follow these simple points, why should they hire you?

Most of your competition is looking on job boards and sending out resumes. You can do better than that.

What sort of new skills and/or education should mid-life, middle management job-seekers consider to do to improve their prospects.

First, figure out what you want to do and where you want to do it.

Second, find out from that company or industry what skills and education you need to technically qualify for the job. You may not even need more training in your field.

Third, recognize that technical fit is the ticket to getting into first level cull list. 50% of the hiring decision assumes you are qualified, and shifts to your appearance, likeability, cultural fit, affinity interests, passion, trustworthiness, and a host of emotional feelings. A buyer (hiring manager) buys based upon gut feel (emotion), confirmed by facts (technical fit), and by politics (internal consensus). In most cases, a person who learns how to sell and market themselves can get a tentative job decision – and perhaps even get to write the job description before being sent down to HR to start the legal review and interview political process.

Think of this path as learning a new sport. You can watch football and think you know the rules. You can get up and learn the sport by playing it. You can get better through coaching and the bumps and bruises of experience. Who do you think will get to play on game day?

How long will the doldrums for this segment persist? Will more middle management positions for the 35’s and 45’s open up again in the near future?

No one knows how long this cycle will last. Some believe we are in an up cycle. Others believe we are about to experience a double dip. In my opinion, reactively doing what everyone else is doing may eventually result in a job. However, proactively learning the skills and process of how insiders and businesses get jobs can only help them get a job sooner. If they continue developing those skills, they will learn a new process that will last for a lifetime of job transitions and career growth regardless of the economy.

 

 

 

What are the special challenges that middle age job hunters face?

Special challenges, in addition to those mentioned earlier, include:

Increasing competition for jobs

·  Former executives and middle management who previously retired took a financial hit during the 2009 financial downturn. Now, they are either needing income to pay bills or they are concerned about not having enough money to live on when they can no longer work. Many are trying to re-enter the workforce.

·  Traditionally, there was an outflow of managers retiring whose departure opened the door for remaining managers to survive or for slots to become available. Cash needs, fear, and uncertainty have caused many managers to defer retirement.

·   The U.S. has encouraged immigration, especially of highly educated and trained foreign nationals. While a positive move in strong economic growth cycles, these high quality immigrants have increased the competition for U.S. jobs.

Perception of being more expensive

·  Older managers usually have higher salaries than younger managers

·  Older managers frequently have higher health risks and costs

·  Older managers may still expect to be on a pension or bonus plan that is no longer affordable

Perception of being out of date or too old

·  Many managers are professionally or technically out of date. One example is someone I know who still prefers pencils and paper for logistics rather than today’s integrated technology solutions.

·  Older people are perceived as not wanting to change or innovate – which runs counter to today’s business hyper-change environment.

·  Managers often feel their value is to manage people, but not necessarily produce results or add value. That was yesterday’s model.

Some might ask,  “Is it a case of being over-qualified for entry level-jobs but not sufficiently qualified/experienced for upper management, or is their situation more complex and nuanced than that?”

Being told that you are “over-qualified” is merely a polite phrase to avoid the deeper concern that, when the economy recovers, you will leave for another managerial position with another company. In most cases, you may actually be “under-qualified” to do today’s entry level jobs. Many managers are out of date technically or educationally to perform entry level work.  They may also have emotional challenges when demoted. Why hire a former manager when you can hire a lower cost, passionate, high energy, technically current, and recently educated young person?

For upper management positions the issue is often a lack of experience and proven results. The average tenure of today’s C-Level position executive is from 18 to 24 months. It would be hard to convince a similar size company that a former manager would be the best candidate for senior executive positions when many experienced senior executives are also looking for work.

What can these people do to improve their chances of finding a job? Is it a case of lowering their sights or aiming high for upper-management?

First, they need to face reality that the world has changed. It has become highly competitive with fewer available jobs. That means they need to learn how to compete in the same way that businesses compete for jobs. The unemployed is a product or service trying to market and sell oneself into a job. How are you competing with other products and services looking for placement?

Just implementing a few of these principles can help someone compete at much higher levels.

The first step is to review the many options that you actually have:

·  Try to get their old job back or a similar position in a similar company

·  Try to move into senior management in a smaller company. For example, a controller in a larger company may fit as a CFO in a smaller company.

·  Become a consultant

·  Become a fractional manager who works a day or more at each of several client companies who cannot afford a full-time employee

·  Become a contract worker. Companies will often look to contact solution companies, such as Tatum, to fill interim positions or to handle a specific project

·  Start your own business

·  Partner with others to start a business

·  Buy a franchise

·  Change careers

·  Work for non-profits…

In my opinion, any of these are better than targeting entry level or lower level positions.

 

Why are so many mid-life, middle-management employees finding themselves out of work?

We are seeing a Perfect Storm that has been building for 20 years.

With increased technology and industry consolidation, companies have centralized and consolidated operations. Two examples are the use of shared service centers and data center consolidations. Middle management becomes truly redundant and is usually eliminated.

Process Improvements have increased productivity resulting in fewer employees which means you need fewer managers.

Consultants have driven major cost cutting and competitive advantage initiatives, including de-layering, right sizing, outsourcing (discrete jobs), and offshoring (entire operations or manufacturing). Often de-layering and right sizing merely means having to do more with less, resulting in fewer people having to work longer and harder. With outsourcing and offshoring, many jobs are being filled from outside the United States.

There is more competition from true globalization and virtual employment, whether overseas, contract labor, or home based virtual employees who are willing to work for fewer benefits and a lower wage. This trend is likely to increase. Examples include fractional CFOs, part-time consultants, technology managers responsible for internet sites or the internet cloud, project management, and virtual call centers.

There is deferred demand for rehiring middle management. It was easy to let high salary managers who oversaw the producers go out the door. As the economy recovers, many of those positions may open up. However, companies are finding that they can get along with fewer people and they are reluctant to hire even when the need is critical. Why? Because they are afraid of not being able to forecast the risk of potential higher taxes, higher healthcare costs, increasing regulations, tighter credit markets, global instability, lower consumer demand, greater government debt, inflation, and the impact on their marketplace.

Unless there is substantial economic growth, the opportunities for middle age and middle management will remain tight for the next few years.

 

The Libyan Effect on Job Searches

When a major news story breaks out, most people have some interest but it normally does not directly impact their life or business. However, when a huge news story is developing several events occur:

• People begin to talk about it at work, lowering productivity
• People begin to wonder what it might mean to them, e.g. the price of gas
• Wall Street immediately reacts to major rumors and market trend implications, e.g. the price of oil
• Executives begin to wonder how it might impact their business, their customers, or their future expansion plans

One common occurrence is that these huge stories take the wind out of smaller stories and may stall major financial or business decisions. In other words, business and hiring can come to a stand still until the air clears.

Prior examples included the Bush/Gore and Bush/Kerry election results or the September 11^th terrorist attack. Each of these demonstrated a noticeable business impact. I know, I saw the impact on my friend’s business and my business.

Other huge stories have a smaller US business footprint, such as the Haiti, New Zealand, and Japan earthquakes.  These impacts are seen as “over there.”  Even the Hurricane Katrina was noticeable in the South but “over there” to most other states.

But the Libyan situation may be a sleeper to businesses. The reason is that it is a domino that could have a huge impact in the Middle East and the direction other dominos (rebelling populations in oil rich countries) eventually fall. At a minimum, the price of oil has gone up which will drive up the cost of commodities and may act as a brake to the US economy. Even though most of the Libyan oil goes to Europe, the Europeans are now competing in the world oil markets to make up for the loss. That could give businesses a second thought before hiring new staff.

However, the larger issue is how Libya is being handled. When bullies are threatened by superior force, they usually keep a low profile. Today, the way the UN, NATO, and allied countries are handling the Libyan “humanitarian action” (war) is likely to result in a protracted conflict which could fuel the fire further. How? If the bullies perceive the superior forces are half-hearted and backing away. Long live the bullies.

For this to happen in the oil rich Middle East is bad enough. But there is also a risk of power shifting to the Muslim Brotherhood. If that happens, oil prices (inflationary pressures with a declining US dollar) could seriously threaten or even reverse the current economic recovery that businesses are hoping for and impact hiring trends.

So, what does that mean for the job seeker? It means you should continue what you are doing. You can’t change the world, so focus on what you can change. Even in the worst of times people can get jobs – and so can you. Just be aware that the most competitive and the most connected are usually the ones who win.

So, despite Libya, Japan, inflation, currency devaluation, Middle East Turmoil, or even if the sky does fall, what are you doing today to become more competitive and more connected to the right people?

Share some tips with us on what you are doing.

When Will Unemployment Will Return To Normal?

When Will Unemployment Return to Normal?

No matter who won the election or wins the White House in 2012, the die is cast. We are in an economic hole that has been dug for the past 30 years.

Moneynews.com just published an article entitled, “Economists: Unemployment Won’t Drop to Normal Until 2018.” “American households have lost $14 trillion of their net worth in the recession” said Albert Niemi, dean of the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. The resulting shock is causing a slow down in consumer spending, which is typically 70% of the economy. When you get burnt, you don’t want to get burnt a second time.

2018 is so far out, who really knows what our economy will be like in eight years? Unless our government debt and long-term obligations are reduced, the picture could become even worse!

Now for the good news!

If you are seeing hundreds or thousands of people looking for the same jobs that you are, you can get depressed. The good news is that your competition is also getting depressed. Most depressed people will quit showing up and quit trying to get a job. If you choose to keep looking, you are ahead of the pack.

The same somber picture is causing many to have dour moods. So, even when they are looking, they display little excitement, self-confidence, and expectation of getting hired. A hiring manager will keep looking. You can be the exception. You can come in with excitement for working hard, self-confidence that you can excel, and the expectation that you should be the one hired because you know you can add value and give the company what they want.

So how do you get started?

First, get on the new train before it leaves the tracks. The world has changed. Grieve over being caught in today’s mess. Realize that you cannot control the economy. You can control your response. Don’t be a victim. Choose to learn how to be competitive in the new economy. Do what it takes to be successful.

Second, quit listening to old world thinking. What used to work is not working. So, find out what is working and do it. Listen to leaders who understand the roadmap to success in today’s world economy. Follow them.

Commit to a change of thinking from being entitled, being taken care of, being helped, being rewarded for just being alive. Instead, take ownership for your future. Help others. Deliver value to others who then will reward you because you earned it.

Third, start learning. Learn what your passion is. Learn what you really want to do. Learn where your dream job can be found. Learn how to communicate with others what you want to do. Learn how to brand yourself. Learn how to effectively network in the area you want to work. Keep learning as a lifestyle.

If you do these things, you can be successful regardless of the economy or who is in Washington DC.

Unemployment may still be high in ten years; but not for you.

Boomerang Kids – College Grads Moving Home

Boomerang kids: 85% of college grads move home

As reported today by Jessica Dickler on CNNMoney.com, there is a continuing alarming trend of more and more college graduates not being able to find a job after graduation. Increasingly, college is becoming an incredibly expensive vacation.

This represents more than lost years. Since companies look for current skills and education, a prolonged unemployment will result in these grads becoming “damaged goods.” When companies do start hiring again, they will more likely start with the current year crop of graduates. For many, that will mean they will have an increasingly difficult time finding a job – not because they are any worse or better than prior generations or graduation years. They are just caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, perhaps with the wrong major and wrong career interests for this years top company demand.

So, what are their options? They can respond the traditional way which does not appear to be working. They can do what everyone else is doing and hope that, like the lottery, their number will come up. Or they can respond just as they did when they learned their educational training. They can decide to major on how to get a job and how to compete in the marketplace for what jobs do exist.

The is why I wrote Jobpreneurship™ 101 – From College to Dream Jobs. It is a curriculum that can be learned, practiced, and implemented to win the race to the front of the line. It is the curriculum business decision makers agree works. It is how businesses do business in their world. I encourage you to check out the book on this website.

The jobs are out there. They are just not seen very often. Think of fishing for a sport fish. You have to have the right tools. You have to know where to fish. You have to learn how to fish: read the signs, when to fish, what bait to use, how to hook the fish, how to reel in the fish, etc. The good jobs, the dream jobs, are waiting for the right person to learn how to catch them. Many are still out there unfilled; still swimming around.

If you know of someone who needs to hear this message, please pass this blog on to them. Let’s try to help each other.

Jobpreneurship™ 101 – Why Can’t I Get A Job?

How long of a list do you need? Let’s first examine a few of the reasons.

• The economy is not what it used to be. The recession, debt levels, value of the US dollar, and future trends are scaring companies into hiring less.
• The geo-political and rapid pace of new US laws and regulations are scaring companies into freezing hiring decisions until they can feel more confident about the future.
• A tight economy threatens company survival. When you are in survival mode, you do not expand (hire or invest in the business).
• Even when the economy recovers, companies will likely outsource more and automate more, and hire less than in years past.

So, the first set of reasons is that there are fewer jobs! No one can predict when those factors will change. This is a long term trend.

The second reason is that there are a lot more people competing for fewer jobs. That trend will also continue for at least the next few years.

The third reason may be that you may not be a fit for the job. As bills pile up, it is not unusual to apply for any job that walks! Many are willing to take a lower level and lower paying job than they had before. Here are some reasons you may be frustrated:

• You are over qualified. The company is fearful that you will leave when the economy turns around.
• You are not currently working, so you must be damaged goods.
• Your education or certification may not meet job requirements.
• Your experience does not match the job requirements.
• You blast out generic resumes that don’t fit the job description
• Your appearance, attitude, or ability to speak “their language” does not match what they define as their “cultural fit.”

The fourth reason may be that you are assuming that the process for getting a job is the same as before. In my opinion, this is the biggest reason. Old ways used to work when companies were competing for employees to hire. New ways are required in today’s reality. Now unemployed, underemployed, career changers, industry changers, college graduates, immigrants, formerly retired, and high school graduates are competing to be “seen, wanted, and bought” by a company from a sea of applicants.

The market has changed from a seller’s market (you wanting a job) to a severe buyer’s market.

The real question is, “Am I willing to learn and do what it takes to sell myself in a severe buyer’s market?”

There are jobs created every day. You will either choose to hope that a job falls down your chimney into your lap or you will choose to compete in today’s real world.

In my opinion, almost anyone can learn and be successful. The challenge will be if you want to learn and do what it takes to be successful. My new book, Jobpreneurship™ 101 is a great way to get started.

How does a Power Group Differ From Coaching?

A Power Group is a peer led group that does not use a coach. As a result, mutual leads and mutual confidential matters are easily shared but knowledge on how to search for jobs or develop one’s career is limited by the strongest member of the group. Since, in almost every case, no one in the group is a full-time coach or professional in Jobprenuership™, then groups can easily encourage one another to be taking actions that may not be best practice or developing themselves with wrong paradigm thinking.

Does that eliminate the use of a Power Group? Absolutely not! The advantages of joint networking, sharing leads, brain-storming, encouragement, and accountability for a potential lifetime of trusted friendships makes, in my opinion, a Power Group one of the world’s best kept secrets.

However, as you grow, if other’s in the group refuse to grow then you might later need to start another Power Group with more committed or mature members. Also, as you learn more about Jobpreneurship™, your opportunity to help other members will grow significantly. You might even suggest that the group include Jobpreneurship™ as the model to build upon. Another way of putting it is that Power Groups are useful – period. Jobpreneurship™ has been recognized as the best class model for job search, career development, and client development. By combining both concepts, you will only increase your effectiveness and long term results.

Springtime Is A Great Time To Get A Job!

Springtime is when new life blossoms. The cold and dreary change into fresh and brilliant colors. Hope begins anew!

This Spring should be much better than last Spring.

If you are negative, then perhaps we are in a bear market bounce (trap).

If you are positive, then perhaps the worst is over – the sun has come out and tomorrow never looked brighter.

My personal view is that storm clouds are in the future but this Spring should be the best opportunity in the last 18 months and perhaps the next 12 months.

Why?

1. The overall market is up. The psychology is positive.
2. The FED is stating that they will keep rates low.
3. Housing has some movement. Condos in Miami are selling fast. Even though pricing is discounted, inventory is moving off the books.
4. Investors are looking at discounted and high quality buying opportunities. Activity is picking up as toes are testing the waters.
5. There is a pent-up demand for quality people. Companies have worked remaining employees hard and are beginning to ask for help.

Does that mean that the storm clouds are gone? Not at all. The White House suggests that we are in this unemployment trend for at least several years.

Why is this Spring better than Summer, Fall, or Winter?

• Summer usually has hiring doldrums
• This Fall is an election season that will dominate the media – and hiring manager mind-share
• This Winter is usually a holiday season followed by new budgets and renewed uncertainty

So, what are you doing to maximize your hiring chances this Spring?

If you need help, give us a call.

NOW is a Great Time to Get A JOB!

Traditionally, there are jobs available every day but some days are “prime time” for most companies. These times seem to be:

1.     After the first of the year – when everyone is more optimistic and there is a new budget.

2.     In the Spring before the summer vacation season.

3.     In Fall just after the vacation season.

So, right now is a time when you should be seeing a pick up in hiring interest.

Traditionally, economic up-ticks are great times to be hired. Companies are more optimistic, anticipate growth, and recognize that they need help to sustain growth.

Traditionally, after lean hiring times, companies recognize that important jobs are not being done and that they need help.

Today is the beginning of the new year hiring season!

Today, companies are seeing an economic up-tick!

Today, companies need help.

Therefore, no matter how hard your recent challenges have been, it is the time to be positive, to be encouraged, to be focused, to be sure every effort is being made to learn how to go around gate-keepers and get to the decision maker through trusted relationships with your well honed appearance, message, and how you can be a solution to what they want.

If you can do these things, companies will be interested in you regardless of the season. Right now is the best season since the crash. Good luck and Good Selling!

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