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Workforce, Oct, 2000

WORKFORCE READERS SPEAK OUT!

True confessions

Another excellent article by Shari Caudron ("Down and Out in Xian and Denver, August 2000) and boy, did this one hit home, I feel like I am confessing at an AA meeting: "Hi, my name's Doug and I'm unemployed." When I began my job search I did not expect to be treated as a "has been." I am "only" 46 years old. I had done all the things I thought were important in career development, speaking at national conferences, continuing my education past the MBA level, and completing various professional certifications and awards. Over 14 years, I had progressed from an HR manager with 300 employees to a director with 4,000 employees nationwide.

In the first four months following my layoff, I had only one call. After six months my best but unsuccessful opportunity had been as a candidate for an HRIS manager position with only a half-time direct report.

I dumbed down my resume by taking out all references to the size workforce I had been responsible for and to the number of people I supervised. Then I trimmed it to one page.

This at least began to get me in the door. I started hiding my 14-year tenure at my last company by using the legal names of the business units for whom I had worked. This had a positive effect, especially with recruiters. The recruiters were very disappointed when they found that I was not currently working.

After a year, I found a position as a compensation and benefits manager at a small local manufacturer. During the first 30 days I saved the company enough to pay my salary for 18 months, That salary is $15,000 less than I had been making. My bruised ego is slowly mending, but I may never regain the expectation of working steadily until retirement.

Thanks for listening to my story.

Doug Reys

Via the Internet

Take a lap

As a WORKFORCE subscriber, I have consistently found your content to be the best of the HR-oriented magazines. Which is why I was stunned by the two pictures that accompanied the telecommuting article in the May 2000 issue ("Don't Forget Your Telecommuters," by Charlene Mariner Solomon). Both images depict telecommuters working with small children on their laps. I'm hoping that those managers who have struggled with the concept of having their people out of sight don't see these pictures. If they do, it will only serve to reinforce their doubts, especially since I do not think the images depict the current reality of telecommuters with small children. People I know in that situation have in-home care for the children so they can be as, or more, productive at home as they are in the traditional office.

David L. Lester

Via the Internet