Exjackly

Why do people drink Coke over Pepsi?  Or Pepsi over Coke?  What about choosing between sugar, Equal, Nutrasweet, and Splenda?  Proponents of each can – and will – speak out about the virtues that make each one better than the other options.

This difference is critical.  And not just for food and drink.

Promotions

When choosing somebody to promote, managers look at what differentiates their employees.  One may put in 80 hours a week.  Another can plow through repetitive and boring tasks quickly.  Another is the troubleshooter – able to solve any problem given the time and space to work on it.

The employee chosen will depend on the requirements of the new job and how they are percieved by the decision maker(s).

My Identifier

My unique identifier is that I am flexible and broad-based.  I know a little bit about a lot of things.  In addition, within my mind is the ability to easily translate previous experience to a new situation.  Therefore, I can be brought into a new environment or situation and quickly be useful.

In Information Technology (IT), this is a very valuable ability.  Tools and technologies change very quickly and often people are asked to use multiple tools at once.  Even different versions of the same tools can be very different.  People like myself are uncommon.  It is not unusual to take weeks for somebody new to a project to become productive.  I can, and have, make positive contributions from the first day to the last day I am a part of a project even if using products I have never worked with before.

Think About Yours

Think about what your unique identifier is.  How do you see yourself?  Are you a reliable, steady worker?  A mad scientist who gets surprising and good results?  A people-person who brings out the best around you?

Take some time and write out your identifier, like I did above.  In most cases, it should be general statements where the benefit to an employer/client is the focus.  The last sentence in each paragraph above is my identifier.

Entrepreneurs will recognize this as the classic elevator pitch.  This is how you tell people what you/your business/your product can do for them.  If they buy, what do they get?

Realize that an identifier can be negative as well as positive.  If your is negative, fix it now.  If it is not as good as you want it to be, upgrade it now.  Find a simple change that will make an improvement.  Make that change.  Repeat with a new change.  Continue until you reach the limits of what you are willing to commit to.

Recognize that the lower your limits are, the less distance your identifier can take you.  This is not always a bad thing.  Working 80-100 hour weeks is a positive thing for very few people.  That is why most of us do not do that.  Yet, if we worked more hours at the same level of productivity as we do now, most of us could go further in our careers.

Use Your Identifier

Now that your personal identifier is in tip-top shape, use it.  At the very least, speak with your boss and point out the improvements.  Ask for something consistent with the improvement – more flexibility, new responsibility, promotion, a pay raise, public recognition, etc.  Asking for a promotion because you come in 15 minutes earlier every day is not fair unless you have been under-recognized before.

If you get it, great.  If not, do not be afraid to look for a new employer who will recognize your worth and treat you accordingly.  Once you have that offer, it is up to you to choose how to proceed: resign gracefully or negotiate with your current employer for something similar or better.  Only you know which will be right for you.

Regardless, work to maintain your personal identifier and do not be afraid to continue to work to improve it.  Use it intelligently and take care of yourself.  Do not forget that your personal identifier applies outside of work too.  The rewards will be different, but how you are percieved and think of yourself has a huge influence on your relationships and success in life.

Just in time for Christmas, I’ve been given a verbal offer for the job that I have been trying to get for six months now. I am excited.

Having been unemployed since July, it has been a challenge to keep from being depressed. Growing up and for most of my adult life, I have been recognized as being very good at what I do, and fairly decent at most things I try (singing is one major exception). Success has usually been more about spending enough time working at something than anything else.

Being laid-off is different. It does not matter that my employer laid off more than 1200 other employees at the same time as I lost my job. It did not matter that they had announced a massive quarterly loss or projections for more. It hurt; more because it made me question my own abilities than because it upset my life.

The many months of job searching and rejections helped erode my confidence too. Despite realizing that success being elusive was not a reflection on my worth as a person, it was very hard to stay confident.  I was beginning to think about a career change or applying for more general, but lesser paying jobs that are more common.

I managed to publicly keep a good face out and find ways to privately get through it. The job offer – at a significant raise too – has dispelled the gloom I was feeling privately.

It used to be that a young adult out of college, possibly even just out of high school, could count on having one employer for his entire career. Pensions were common, and it was easy to map out your life to the American dream.

That isn’t the case anymore. Few non-union companies offer pensions, and even union controlled workforces are seeing pressure to eliminate the remaining guaranteed pensions. Plus, both men and women are much more likely to have full careers. Finally, few of those careers will be at a single employer. Some estimates say that new grads will have more than 14 jobs before claiming social security [if it lasts that long]

While the frequent job changes can be positive, leading to more enjoyable work, better paying jobs, and the ability for many people to live where they want to, there is a significant downside. Lack of employee-employer loyalty – which goes both ways – means that it is very likely our new graduate is going to be unemployed at some point.

This may be for a few days or weeks while relocating and preparing to start a new job. It could also be for a few months or years during a career change or economic downturn. Planning for unemployment is an important part of being financially healthy. This planning is also more than building up an emergency fund too.

This post was inspired by The Dough Roller’s post I Just Got Laid Off Survival Kit.

Unemployment Starter Kit

I want to emphasize that you need to start planning how you will handle unemployment prior to finding yourself in that situation. Some of these steps will take months to complete, while others need to be reviewed regularly.

1. Emergency Fund. Fill this one up with 3 to 6 months worth of living expenses (not take-home pay). Depending on the situation that puts you out of a job, you may not get a severance package at all. Just a final check and a chance to bring your office belongings home. The saving grace here is that you do not have to fund it immediately. Building it up over time, especially if you have other financial concerns, is a time honored tradition. Plus, even if it is not fully funded before you need it, every dollar in there will still be helpful.
2. Budget. If you already live by a budget, congratulations. If not, at least track your expenses so you know how much money you do spend and on what. If you suddenly have no income, knowing this information enables you to trim your expenses as effectively as possible. It also allows you to work in the costs related to your job search.
3. Career Goals. Keep these written down and updated regularly. Compare how your current job fits on that list of goals. Ask yourself if you are still moving forward toward those goals. Evaluate if it is time to find a new opportunity that will continue to advance your career the way you want it to go. Doing this can help keep you away from the unexpected unemployment situation.
4. Resume. Keep this updated. Even if it is just revising a word or two to keep your current position description accurate, you should be working on this every 3 to 6 months at a minimum. Not necessarily sending it out, although regularly looking for better positions discreetly is often a good idea. Review this when you review your career goals, since they should somewhat overlap.
5. Networking. This is not schmoozing. Instead, think of it as a way to keep in touch with old friends. A quick phone call to people you know to ask if there is anything you can do for them is very helpful. Do not ask if you are not sincere about following through. Even if it is just a recommendation or looking up potential employers or employees in your area for your friend, offering to help and not following through is worse than not staying in touch. If you have helped a number of friends in the past, when it comes time to ask them for help in turn, they will be much happier to follow through and put in a lot more effort on your behalf.
6. Training. Especially if you are in an engineering, medical, accounting, or technology career, training is critical to staying current, much less getting ahead. Stay up to date on your current skills. That means current versions of the tools you are using, knowledge about where the profession is headed in the next couple of years, and learning about related professions. For example, a software engineer should know the current version of the language they use most, the trends in outsourcing/consulting for their area of expertise, and be expanding their knowledge of project management.
7. Where to live. Different professions have hot markets in different parts of the country. Health care all over, but even hotter in the Sun Belt. Acting has the most opportunities on the coasts. Technology has been better in the Bay Area, Denver, Chicago, Dallas, and Atlanta among other cities. Not all of those places are going to have the same appeal to a job seeker. Knowing where you want to live and what the employment market for your career is like in those locations will give you a better chance to tailor your search for the best results.

Following these steps will give you the best chances of avoiding unemployment and being prepared if it should still happen to you.