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Coping With Challenges: What Does It All Mean?

by JUDIT PRICE
MS, IJCTC, CCM, CPRW

We all understand that the business climate has changed dramatically in an unexpected way, with profound impacts on our community and the economic well-being of the working populace. Companies have become even more risk-averse in ways that suggest the shift that started prior to this downturn is accelerating. (One important clue is the decrease in venture capital available for business start-ups.) We may need to modify our approach to career planning if the traditionally aggressive, optimistic approach to investment and growth is changing to a more conservative, laid-back, and risk-averse attitude.

First let’s look at the big picture. There is a lot of money available for growth and investment. That should indicate the beginning of a new boom, with investors rushing in to take advantage of all the inexpensive opportunities. In the past, that would have meant substantial job growth, factory and office building construction, and expansion, accompanied by rising employment levels. So far that is not happening. Even in communities where unemployment remains below the national average and companies are starting to expand hiring, we are not seeing growth with the gusto of the past. In the past, each downturn simply set the stage for the next surge. Whatever the difficulty, it seemed as though our optimism, confidence, and creativity propelled us forward to greater success, allowing us to meet and overcome every challenge. So what is different now?

Several trends are contributing to the change in today’s economic conditions and career counseling trends. The first is outsourcing. Here, the data are mixed. Although the effects of outsourcing trends can be difficult to interpret, what is clear is that outsourcing has not led to a groundswell of new opportunities. Finding the lowest-cost workforce to sew jeans may make sense, but seeking the lowest cost to read an X-ray or write software is a totally different matter. The experts also suggest a second cause for concern with regard to corporate earnings: Too many public companies are still reporting earnings growth where a large component of that growth is attributable to tax cuts and cost savings, not sales growth.

A third trend is the fact that the volume of temporary work has gone flat. Normally, that is a good sign. Temp workers fill in until permanent workers are hired or until economic conditions enable normal hiring to recommence. But today, whole categories of jobs are being filled by temps as a permanent alternative to hiring, and much of independent contract work has hit a wall. It seems more and more businesses have concluded that their permanent workforce should be fixed or reduced “as an ongoing policy,” with temps filling immediate needs. Of course, this is also affecting permanent employees, who are being called on to fill two and three jobs.

To be fair, some optimistic experts look at the same information and draw the opposite conclusion. Many expect real growth to be evident by the end of this year. These issues are outside of my expertise, and I hope the optimists are right. I would be sanguine about this situation if companies were going about interviewing, hiring, and training in a traditional manner, but they are not. Despite moderating salaries, the overhead costs associated with a permanent employee are increasing. In addition, many firms seem to be more concerned about the risk of hiring the wrong person than with finding the right person. The hiring process takes much longer now, interviews are more intense and numerous, and even then the decision process is filled with delay, delay, and delay. Currently, it seems that “chemistry,” team conformance, and group values are playing bigger and bigger roles in the hiring decision. And, most disturbing, many companies are interviewing without actually hiring due to uncertainty. It seems companies with good intentions are subject to inertia when faced with taking the final step. Bringing on a permanent employee is a major step. Permanent hiring is a very big deal these days.

The impact of these trends on job seekers is enormous. The length of the job hunt increases, demanding a renewed commitment to continue searching and increasing the need for more encouragement and more stamina. All these factors contribute to increased anxiety and genuine concern about self-worth.

The point is that the sources of strength in the economy, employment opportunities, and the hiring process itself strongly suggest that hiring patterns that preceded this downturn are accelerating. If this is true, the whole notion of career needs to be reexamined. I have long preached the idea that we contract our skills to those who need them and then move on, and I have discussed personal branding, lifelong learning, continuous and ongoing networking, and the essentials of professional development as a requirement for continuous employment. However, we may be faced with new challenges that call for new tools and more "career resilience" as workers clamor to fill the gaps in organizations who are more and more risk-averse as the times continue to change.

For further Information email: Judit Price or call: 978-256-0482