From A Career Expert
People don’t want to go through downsizing. It is a learning exercise. I’ve got people who’ve gone through five or six company downsizes and they always learn. So here are some tips on what they learned when they went through career transition.
The following are some of the things that my clients learned during their career transitions; when they were terminated, downsized, or canned…there are many different phrases attached to being let go by your company.
They Can Replace You
The lesson that many learned is that they are not irreplaceable. Of course, you aren’t…you’re just a tool or a monetary figure on the bottom line when you’re employed and when times get tough and the recession hits, or they change corporate direction, who are the first to go? The human resources are and they sometimes downsize in huge numbers.
You Have Many Valuable Skills
Make sure that you are prepared for a termination because so many people aren’t. Many people have no idea of the talent they hold within them. They all have a multitude of skills. You need to do an asset take of exactly who you are, and what is your value? As you go through career transition, this is a learning exercise for many because they really understand finally, who exactly they are. This is an awakening to many people.
You Are in Charge of Your Career
You manage your career, not your employer, and you should manage your career while you’re gainfully employed, not just when you are in career transition. If you take nothing else away from this post, I want you to take away that you manage your career, not your employer. So make an investment in your career such as a time investment, or maybe a monetary investment; hire a career coach, there are many of us around. Or hire a professional resume writer to keep your resume sharp, up-to-date and friendly to the ATS (Applicant Tracking System).
Because you never know, even when you’re employed a recruiter or an HR professional, or somebody is looking for timing, just like you could tap on your shoulder and ask, “Where is your resume?” You want to be prepared.
Don’t Take Job Loss Personally…It’s Business
Termination is very frequent in both good and bad economies, especially where we are right now. There’s a lot of termination going on, but it’s not always with cause. It’s a decision by the business leaders of your entity, your company, to downsize to save money and control costs. It’s not against you. Yes, there are all dismissals, for cause, but they’re very few and far between. So you really have to mentally tune yourself and realize that it’s not personal…it was a business decision made up above that resulted in my being in career transition.
So hopefully you will embrace all these tips and you will now from today, onwards go and realize that you’re a product you need to manage your career plan.
If you are in career transition, I’d be happy to help you. Please visit me on my LinkedIn profile or go to my website, www.aneliteresume.com. My name is Martin Buckland. I am an executive career management practitioner, and I’d be thrilled to help you reach your career goals.
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