What IS a "normal" career transition?
In truth, the answer is, "it depends." So many factors influence the outcomes regarding who gets what from a well orchestrated transition that its difficult to even settle on meaningful metrics. Both hard and soft measures can be utilized to measure how a Candidate conducts the implementation of their Personal Market Plan. SUCCESS must first be defined, relative to the nature of the career transition PROJECT.
For example, if a Candidate’s transition is a simple job search, with the objective being to secure employment in the minimum time, then the appropriate metric is to measure elapsed time. However, this represents a grossly understated perspective relative to the Candidate’s career continuity – or, simply stated, securing the next right work.
First, understand
that "the job market" wears two masks. One market wants to screen OUT
undesirable candidates, like those seen as "overqualified ." The other
market mask, while it seeks to screen IN highly skilled and experienced
recruits, often cannot due to regulated issues.
"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some
turn up their sleeves, some turn up their
noses and
some don't turn up at all."
Sam Ewing (1920-2001)
American writer & humorist
The implication, here, is that actual job search is a quite methodical, predictable process that occurs within the Personal Market Plan of our Candidates. When viewed as a career PROJECT, anyone actively seeking employment can secure a job; In the bigger picture, you see, not all individuals who lose their jobs find success in this avenue of career continuity: Some Candidates elect to go back to school or other training/certification. Others may elect to start their own business. A few may even choose to retire, or remove themselves from the workforce for other reasons.
Statistically, some die before securing a next job. So what IS "normal"… what sort of performance can a Candidate reasonably expect when in career transition? To be realistic, each measurable element of career transition needs to be viewed as a distribution (bell shaped curve) of performance. To be specific, let’s take a look at the first several milestones within the career continuation process:
ORIENTATION to the process…
Being human, we all tend to learn in different ways, at different rates of speed and comprehension. Normally, you should expect a few (cumulative time) days to be trained in components of the process. Certainly it would be unwise to launch in to an active job search without knowing how to do it efficiently.To manage the complexities of career continuity, a Candidate needs to commit to an evolving learning curve for the rest of their career. The process that you learn here at The Career Control Group will serve you well for your entire career, make your current transition efforts more efficient and make any job change a S.N.A.P.P..
We encourage you to take the necessary time to learn the process well.
Career Continuity is a "contact sport"… are you ready to play?
Entry into the market without adequate preparation may create pre-mature rejection. To avoid this painful "lesson in life," be ready to play the game well. This implementation phase of your Personal Market Plan will make or break the success of any career transition project.
OPTIMIZING your "career project" efforts…
85/ 15 probably looks like good "odds" that you have a strategic approach available to you in finding your next right work. When you are a member of a Career Project Management Team, you can unleash the potential of exposure to nearly 100% of the work marketplace. Its about your commitment to the process of a fully integrated Personal Market Plan… your accountability to the activities of an efficient career continuity project.
Dutch research during the 1990’s indicated a strong correlation between commitment to regular, meaningful job search activities and ultimate career transition success.
This was a concept subjectively embraced by career management service professionals around the world. Knowing full well that there were often distracting influences on the success of a Candidate’s job search efforts, if they could at least commit to methodical, predictable activities, they could find work.
"Obstacles are those
frightful things you see when you take your eyes
off your goal."
Henry Ford
(1863-1947)
American industrialist, inventor
Our career service community went to work looking for supportive and meaningful research to give credibility to what made good common sense. We collectively discovered some interesting correlations, all having to do with personal networking activity…
A professional who can arrange a face-to-face meeting with one hiring authority-level person per week will cut their total job search time dramatically. Common sense dictates that hiring authorities are well connected people. Even when gainfully employed, regular meetings with key contacts can propel the continuity of your career.
If a "contact" can be broadly defined as any interaction with a friend, colleague or other professional person… then research allows that averaging 25 or more contacts per week will result in a shorter than average Career Project! That’s about five meaningful contacts per day to accelerate the success of your efforts.
Solicited resume traffic is more effective that papering the world with your written collaterals, electronically as well as with hard copy. If you can average getting your resume requested once each day, you will reduce rejection and your time in the market.
In the more traditional, "published marketplace", limiting your contacts to five per week will help funnel your activity toward more productive uses of your time. That would be two classified ads, two contacts with recruitment firms and response to one company direct job posting on a weekly basis.
It is actually MORE PRODUCTIVE to leverage your time in the traditional job market by bridging from each published "contact" to several related ones. For example: customers and vendors of potential employers, employees of the targeted employer, and, specifically, researching to find employees in the hiring chain-of-command or within reporting groups.
Keep in mind that effective networking is a two-way street. Communication requires both sender and receiver.
Potential employers must network to find the most qualified candidates for their "jobs," with a good "FIT" being to everyone’s advantage. So,
when its time for transition to something new...
Bob Maher, CMF... The Careerpilot
Bob created his online presence, www.careerpilot.com, in 1994. He has over twenty years of successful experience in Corporate Recruitment, performance management and Career Management Services. He is an entrepreneur and innovator in the use of information technology in the recruitment and employment process. On the Founder's Council of the Association of Career Professionals - International and quite active in their Professional Development, Technology and Chapter Growth initiatives--a frequent speaker at industry conferences and seminars. Awarded the prestigious "LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD" in 2006.