Building a career with a future

Black Enterprise, Feb, 1995 by Caroline V. Clarke

It's tough out there-so what else is new? Don't let the daunting prospects blind you to new job options. Here's what to expect.

TALK ABOUT A TURNAROUND! Finally it came in '94. After five years caught in the vice of downsizing, the employment crunch eased. By midyear, economic indicators and employment rates were surpassing even the most dreamy forecasts. With national unemployment hovering around 6% by yearend (lower than it's been since 1990), Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein describes last year's economic rebound as "phenomenal--absolutely better than anticipated by anyone."

By October, 300,000 people per week were still submitting unemployment claims, but the economy was also enjoying a net gain of 175,000 to 200,000 jobs each month. As help-wanted sections grew thicker, the outplacement rolls began to decline for the first time this decade. Those who were unemployed started getting jobs faster, and they increasingly snagged positions and salaries better than or equal to what they'd left (see "HOW DID YOU LAND THAT NEW JOB?")

Even diversity appeared to finally reach the top of the agenda at a few isolated companies. CEOs at Levi Strauss, Burger King and Hoechst Celanese bought into the fact that a diversified workforce is good for the bottom line. In the face of competing pressures, these firms instituted companywide initiatives to insure diversity at all levels of their companies.

With so much good news, why are news headlines and internal company memos still torturing workers everywhere with that annoying slew of tired terms professionals love to hate: downsizing, restructuring, rightsizing, retooling ...? It's simple: As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

We are in a new--and better--place in the cycle, but it's still the same old cycle that shredded the comforting old blanket known as job security. Meanwhile, opportunities for advancement within increasingly horizontal companies are declining, and competition for jobs from entry level to the top tier grows stiffer all the time. So, although you have the right to feel relieved, don't get too relaxed.

Despite the flurry of drastic measures (from deep cuts in the labor force to huge, often concurrent, investments of capital) and the ultimately positive economic response, corporate America is not yet out of the woods. Many firms--American Express, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Hughes Aircraft, just to name a few--have recently initiated second and third rounds of cutbacks (often under the more upbeat heading of "strategic redesign"). Others that tried to do more with less found that they had too few to do much at all. Thus, even ailing companies such as Digital and IBM started rehiring in specific niche areas while still slicing away at others.

The bottom line is that virtually all companies, regardless of where they fall on the spectrum, are feeling around, trying to make money in this new business environment. General productivity may be up, but the average office isn't humming along as smoothly as it did in days of yore. It's more like a lurch-moving in the right direction, but forging ahead with awkward steps. What does all of this boil down to for you? One word: opportunity.

A BLESSING IN DISGUISE?

Things may still look a bit rough, but adjust your lens a bit. You'll soon realize that if you have something tangible to offer, now is the time to pitch it. But you will have to make the call--nobody's going to search you out. "We're shifting from companies advertising a need to creative, assertive people anticipating those needs and selling their services," says Lina Rusty, vice president of client relations for the outpacement firm Lee Hecht Harrison in Walnut Creek Calif.

The first rounds of mass layoffs in the late 1980s damaged employee loyalty, and by the end of 1993 it had been destroyed. The net result is that today's smart professional are never more than a phone call away from actively seeking a new and better position. However, keep in mind that your goal "is not to be job-seeking, but to be sought after," advises Carol Kleiman, a nationally syndicated careers columnist.

Since we're all expected to move through eight or more jobs--even industries--in a lifetime, fashioning a career in the traditional sense now takes a backseat to learning how to package and sell your skills and talents. Whether you're just graduating college or approaching the twilight of your working life there's no room for fudging. Your success depends on knowing yourself, your industry, your company, your options and doggedly pursuing every avenue that will help you move forward.

To succeed today you will have to do everything BLACK ENTERPRISE has been urging for the past decade, and then some. Computer literacy, flexibility, visibility and bottom-line influencing ability have never been more crucial. Most important is your ability to communicate your value to everyone from boss and colleague to potential employer. And, increasingly, education is resurfacing as the major determinant in getting a good job.