Many people are great with plans for their companies, yet neglect to make one for themselves
By Paul Heng 21 November 2008
The last time job losses and the dreaded ‘R’ word were the flavour of the year was during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. Then, the impact of job losses was felt mainly in Asian countries. In my entire working life of over two decades, I’ve never experienced or read about what we are currently experiencing and will continue to experience for some time to come.
This time, the impact of financial and economic challenges is on a global scale - caused mainly by what former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan describes as a ‘credit tsunami’.
There are always different perspectives, different lessons to learn from any one event. One of the lessons, at least for me, during the Asian financial crisis was that it jolted many of us, especially Generation Y executives, into realising that life is not always a bed of roses.
For the first time in their adult lives, many of these executives witnessed how one parent, and sometimes both parents, lost the very jobs they had held for many, many years.
For once, they experienced how the tightening of the proverbial belt feels.
For once, they saw with their own eyes the pain and agony their parents went through as each was shown the ‘exit’ door, and having to leave companies they had spend almost their entire lives working in.
For once, they saw their usually confident father slowly, but surely, lose his sense of self-esteem and self-confidence as he could not secure alternative employment at the same level of seniority and pay.
To me, this was the most significant and positive lesson arising from that particular crisis.
Fast forward to 2008 - and deja vu - it looks like many of our fellow citizens will be going through rough times again. The only difference is that it is probably going to be worse this time. Have Singaporeans learnt to react to involuntary job losses better, compared to a decade or so ago? Yes, and no.
Yes, we have all learnt that there may not be such a thing as corporate loyalty these days. We all have to manage our own careers, and be prepared for the day when our bosses give us our marching orders.
But because the economy bounced back and pay rises and bonuses headed northwards again, some of us forgot the lesson, and conveniently overlooked the need to manage our careers. Back to square one!
Here’s the reality - so long as you are on the payroll, and not the majority shareholder of the company, there is always the possibility of losing your job, even if you had been the one who had been instrumental in appointing the very set of board members who decided to fire you, as one prominent US CEO found out some years ago.
Given such turbulent times, and with prospects of job losses looming over the horizon, perhaps it is time again to revisit the need to proactively manage our careers. Among other important things, besides maintaining your network, and having a camera-ready resume, is the need to have a Plan B. A Plan B is a plan that you activate when Plan A expires, that is when you are fired from your current job.
It never amazes me how business leaders do such a great job in putting together three and five-year plans for their companies but they forget, or perhaps choose to ignore, the need to plan for their own careers. Of course, like most things in life, there will always be the exceptions, and I can easily name several prominent business leaders who chose to ‘retire’ when they were at the peak of their careers. Many of them are now comfortably sitting on business boards, and chairing voluntary/ community-focused bodies. Incidentally, many of them happen to be women.
While you are busy wiping away the dust on your work-in-progress-from-the-Asian financial crisis - Plan B, or starting off on a clean new page, do focus also on the following key strategies to stay afloat and sane, and sleep much better at night.
• Continue to do a great job, and whenever possible, take on additional responsibilities. The idea is to make your boss as reliant on you as possible. During challenging times, even your bosses worry about their ability to keep their own jobs. So, if you can make them look good by continuing great work for the team, there is always a better chance that your name will not be on the list. Be audible, as well as visible, to the right people, at the right time, and at the right place.
• Upgrade your skills and knowledge. Companies are almost always quick on cutting training budgets during tough years. Be prepared to invest in your own training and development (T&D). If you are not already doing so, set aside a sum of money each month for your T&D fund. Go for that MBA that you have always wanted to do but could not because of your heavy travel schedule, and the prospects of having to miss classes. Well, now that travel budgets have been curtailed, go sign yourself up. You will not regret it.
• Continue to build your network of contacts, both within and outside your company. This is a ‘must-do’ that you have to invest in, both in terms of time and financial resources. Networking does not happen by accident but by careful planning.
• It is easy to know how to react during good times when the head-hunter calls. But what do you do should they call now - do you go listen to what they have to say, and potentially change employers, or do you try to play safe, and not rock the boat for now?
My advice is that your reaction should not be any different in good times or bad. Go listen to what the head-hunter has to say, and discern if the opportunity is one that you should or should not pursue. Forget about the often-misguided approach about going forward only if the potential employer is ‘stable’ - what is that? Which company is stable? Century-old institutions like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch?
Instead, focus on issues such as whether you will be learning new things, acquiring new experiences and making new contacts in the new opportunity. If so, move forward another step.
If the offer comes in eventually, consider it, independent of what is going on in the world - you should have enough confidence in your own capabilities to reassure yourself that you will succeed in your new job/company.
• Stay healthy. Remember to watch your diet too. Focus on activities that will make you feel good about yourself, and have adequate rest and sleep.
In general, focus on those issues where you have a fair chance of influencing the outcome. As for the rest of the world’s bigger problems where you have limited chance of making a difference, do whatever you can but leave it to the experts to resolve them.
The author is founder and career coach at NeXT Career Consulting Group, Asia
1 comment:
Career Tip - You Need to Have a Plan B
Many people are great with plans for their companies, yet neglect to make one for themselves
By Paul Heng
21 November 2008
The last time job losses and the dreaded ‘R’ word were the flavour of the year was during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. Then, the impact of job losses was felt mainly in Asian countries. In my entire working life of over two decades, I’ve never experienced or read about what we are currently experiencing and will continue to experience for some time to come.
This time, the impact of financial and economic challenges is on a global scale - caused mainly by what former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan describes as a ‘credit tsunami’.
There are always different perspectives, different lessons to learn from any one event. One of the lessons, at least for me, during the Asian financial crisis was that it jolted many of us, especially Generation Y executives, into realising that life is not always a bed of roses.
For the first time in their adult lives, many of these executives witnessed how one parent, and sometimes both parents, lost the very jobs they had held for many, many years.
For once, they experienced how the tightening of the proverbial belt feels.
For once, they saw with their own eyes the pain and agony their parents went through as each was shown the ‘exit’ door, and having to leave companies they had spend almost their entire lives working in.
For once, they saw their usually confident father slowly, but surely, lose his sense of self-esteem and self-confidence as he could not secure alternative employment at the same level of seniority and pay.
To me, this was the most significant and positive lesson arising from that particular crisis.
Fast forward to 2008 - and deja vu - it looks like many of our fellow citizens will be going through rough times again. The only difference is that it is probably going to be worse this time. Have Singaporeans learnt to react to involuntary job losses better, compared to a decade or so ago? Yes, and no.
Yes, we have all learnt that there may not be such a thing as corporate loyalty these days. We all have to manage our own careers, and be prepared for the day when our bosses give us our marching orders.
But because the economy bounced back and pay rises and bonuses headed northwards again, some of us forgot the lesson, and conveniently overlooked the need to manage our careers. Back to square one!
Here’s the reality - so long as you are on the payroll, and not the majority shareholder of the company, there is always the possibility of losing your job, even if you had been the one who had been instrumental in appointing the very set of board members who decided to fire you, as one prominent US CEO found out some years ago.
Given such turbulent times, and with prospects of job losses looming over the horizon, perhaps it is time again to revisit the need to proactively manage our careers. Among other important things, besides maintaining your network, and having a camera-ready resume, is the need to have a Plan B. A Plan B is a plan that you activate when Plan A expires, that is when you are fired from your current job.
It never amazes me how business leaders do such a great job in putting together three and five-year plans for their companies but they forget, or perhaps choose to ignore, the need to plan for their own careers. Of course, like most things in life, there will always be the exceptions, and I can easily name several prominent business leaders who chose to ‘retire’ when they were at the peak of their careers. Many of them are now comfortably sitting on business boards, and chairing voluntary/ community-focused bodies. Incidentally, many of them happen to be women.
While you are busy wiping away the dust on your work-in-progress-from-the-Asian financial crisis - Plan B, or starting off on a clean new page, do focus also on the following key strategies to stay afloat and sane, and sleep much better at night.
• Continue to do a great job, and whenever possible, take on additional responsibilities. The idea is to make your boss as reliant on you as possible. During challenging times, even your bosses worry about their ability to keep their own jobs. So, if you can make them look good by continuing great work for the team, there is always a better chance that your name will not be on the list. Be audible, as well as visible, to the right people, at the right time, and at the right place.
• Upgrade your skills and knowledge. Companies are almost always quick on cutting training budgets during tough years. Be prepared to invest in your own training and development (T&D). If you are not already doing so, set aside a sum of money each month for your T&D fund. Go for that MBA that you have always wanted to do but could not because of your heavy travel schedule, and the prospects of having to miss classes. Well, now that travel budgets have been curtailed, go sign yourself up. You will not regret it.
• Continue to build your network of contacts, both within and outside your company. This is a ‘must-do’ that you have to invest in, both in terms of time and financial resources. Networking does not happen by accident but by careful planning.
• It is easy to know how to react during good times when the head-hunter calls. But what do you do should they call now - do you go listen to what they have to say, and potentially change employers, or do you try to play safe, and not rock the boat for now?
My advice is that your reaction should not be any different in good times or bad. Go listen to what the head-hunter has to say, and discern if the opportunity is one that you should or should not pursue. Forget about the often-misguided approach about going forward only if the potential employer is ‘stable’ - what is that? Which company is stable? Century-old institutions like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch?
Instead, focus on issues such as whether you will be learning new things, acquiring new experiences and making new contacts in the new opportunity. If so, move forward another step.
If the offer comes in eventually, consider it, independent of what is going on in the world - you should have enough confidence in your own capabilities to reassure yourself that you will succeed in your new job/company.
• Stay healthy. Remember to watch your diet too. Focus on activities that will make you feel good about yourself, and have adequate rest and sleep.
In general, focus on those issues where you have a fair chance of influencing the outcome. As for the rest of the world’s bigger problems where you have limited chance of making a difference, do whatever you can but leave it to the experts to resolve them.
The author is founder and career coach at NeXT Career Consulting Group, Asia
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