We have surely come a long way in the realm of advice to job seekers. I wish I had access to the myriad of tools currently available when I was in a job transition back in 1988. I was fortunate to be provided a comprehensive outplacement program with a major firm. That was the good news. The bad news was that I had nine weeks of severance pay...well, not actually...I had five weeks of severance, two weeks notice and two weeks of vacation to cash in. That abundance of cash came at a good time. I only had two in college, a new mortgage and two car payments.
I recall being interviewed by the firm's psychologist, an individual who has remained a good friend for over two decades. He had a series of assessments for me to do, some of which I had taken in a previous career. I thanked him for his concern and efforts and then said I didn't have time for all of that because I had nine weeks to find a job. He laughed. I didn't. But I can say this for the situation I was in: I did not lack focus.
The facilities were decent and there was a library (yes...a library) of reference material. There were several copies of leading newspapers available to us, as well. We each had a cubicle with a phone. That was it. Laptops with wireless communications networks were unheard of then. We had yellow legal pads on which to write our resumes and cover letters. We handed these drafts to one of two perpetually stressed out administrative folks whose job it was to do the impossible, fast. There were many executives in need of letters and resumes. We were not accustomed to having to wait for things.
There is a happy ending. I had a job within nine weeks. Someday I will write a book about it (not).
So now we are in 2011 and once again, there is an abundance of executives in transition. I feel for these people, but there is one significant difference between their situation and mine back in 1988--technology, and lots of it. The Internet and social networking in general are godsends to executives who know how to find the right resources and use them (and trust them). I am always on the lookout for good resources to share.
My latest find is a website at http://jobsearch.about.com . It ranks up there with the very best career transition advice sites. They cover a wide array of job search tips and the quality of their advice is pretty good. I judge everything of this nature on how much I would have benefited from it in 1988. This would have been a jewel of a resource to me back then and it is today. If you're in a career transition, check it out.
