In my ongoing reassessment of career, I occasionally turn to job search manuals, which I have found to be of limited help in the past.
This time out, I looked for one such manual/self-help book that said something more pragmatic than the rest, one that honestly addressed the daily needs of a job seeker.
Marcia Heroux Ponds' I Found a Job! is half of that book (note: two separate links there, one for the author,the other for the book).
My big problem with these books is simple. They fail to recognize the reality of the situation. This one is more practical than many, but still has a myopia that's chafing.
Case in point.
It's great advice to save up six months of living expenses in anticipation of being out of work. Pounds recommends nine months to a year's worth as a more pragmatic goal. Well, it's quite pragmatic, but people don't always have that luxury. Some paychecks aren't sufficient to that end. And sometimes things happen so suddenly there's no time to prepare. So if you're out of work and haven't already done that, it's worthless advice.
Along the same lines, yes, it's a good idea to present yourself professionally at all times when you're unemployed. It's true, you never know what situation will spontaneously become a job interview. It happened to me a few weeks ago, submitting an application for a PT gig and suddenly finding myself chatting up the manager about my career goals and the skills I have to offer. Me standing there in jeans! I addressed the situation directly, acknowledging that this is not appropriate attire for an interview, and was reassured by the manager that yes, she was aware of that and that it wouldn't count against me. I pointed out that my clothes were clean and in good repair, and we have a nice chuckle about it. Situation saved. I still have a shot at that job, which won't open up for another few weeks and could serve me well for a long time.
So what's wrong with that advice then? Why not present professionally at all times? Seems reasonable.
Sure it is.
But.
Well, you should as much as possible, but when you're out of work, your resources diminish and it's not always possible. When you have fewer resources, you have to plan their use very strategically.
To end a sentence with an infinitive, it also depends on what kind of work you're out of.
That's my big problem with this book and many like it. They presume that everyone is a business professional with an established career. There's little or no acknowledgment of people who have unorthodox career paths or don't work for Fortune 500 companies.
Again, this book is better than many in that respect. There's a chapter devoted to carving out your own career path. There's some laudable and pragmatic advice for folks considering a freelance career or a business startup. And I suppose there are unemployed people who have the resources to buy a franchise, one of the options Ms. Pounds suggests.
But like much of the advice in this book and others of its ilk, it's not always practical. Yes, networking is a good idea, one I practice as much as possible, though I prefer to think of it as nurturing friendships and seeing career growth as a happy dividend of that. But I'm sorry, when I'm managing limited funds, I'm not skipping off to the local coffee shop daily as she suggests.
In fairness, it needs to be noted that Ms. Ponds is a business columnist for the Fort Lauderdale
Sun-Sentinel, and so is likely to approach the issue from a corporate standpoint. But we're not all in the corporate world, and it would be refreshing to read a job search book that fully recognized that fact.
This may seem harsh and nitpicky, but there are realities that people who are in a job search have to face.
This book is better than many in facing these realities, but it seems largely aimed at people looking for high-end jobs. That's not all of us, and it shouldn't be. Despite a largely practical chapter on managing finances while job seeking, this book glosses over a crucial fact.
Yes, looking for a job is a job. But it's a
pro bono job. While you have this job, you are your only client. And in many cases, you can't afford to pay yourself what you're worth.
Negotiating the strategies of daily life with a reduced or no income while looking for work requires tremendous strength and a great skill set, including the capacity to strategically approach a crisis.
Those skills and strengths are of great use in many, dare I say, most jobs.
The challenge is getting an employer to see them!
