In my last blog, I suggested that we Americans may not be as entrepreneurial as we think we are when it comes to getting or staying employed, particularly during a Recession like this one. My observation is that we continue to heavily rely on open positions to fill rather than trying to create our own marketable situations.
For many young and middle-aged workers, it’s easier to understand the greater need for security and the steady paycheck given that they are raising families and building wealth. For them, free-lancing may indeed carry too much risk. But for the seasoned older professional worker with accumulated wisdom and experience, I find it a bit odd that far too many continue to seek a job offered and defined by someone else.
Now, if you’re happy with a work life following someone else’s job description, because it lightens the mental and emotional load you need to carry, then fine. For those of you, however, who have been around the block a few times and have formed confident opinions and positions about how your industry can best function, then you may want to codify those ideas into proposals that you present to managers in need of solutions.
I believe there comes a point in many professionals’ lives when you reach a level of maturity and sophistication, which prepares you for analyzing the known workplace with the intent of discovering and offering remedies to common or unique problems. This approach can form the backbone of your “job search”. Don’t just look for a job, look for innovative methods and protocols that add value to the workplace and propose them to organizations in search of these solutions.
The notion that becoming a consultant is reserved only for the gutsy cream-of-the-crop type is old fashioned. To the dismay of unions and traditionalists, we are becoming a freelance nation. It is true many workplaces are still traditional in how they source talent, but there is ample evidence that this is changing. More and more Human Resource departments are becoming used to searching for outsourced talent that reduces their costs while offering more targeted impact on production. The actual implementation lies in how well you unravel issues, advance answers, brand yourself, and negotiate an arrangement with an organization that needs you.
So, my suggestion is to use the time you usually spend searching through Monster and CareerBuilder to systematically build cases that you can confidently present. Your time will be better spent, and you get the added benefit of imposing professional development on yourself.
You probably already know the standard means of writing proposals within your industry. If you don’t know, find out. From there, apply marketing principles, especially personal branding, that assist you in reaching the audiences who need to hear from you. And go for it.
Might this style of employment search be too cowboy oriented. Perhaps. But, what’s the downside? At least you leaned forward into your employment status, acted, organized yourself, and learned some things. Is that such a bad way to spend time finding work?
