CAREERS NOW 02-21-07

Job Seekers, Act Like Your Best Years Are Ahead

DEAR JOYCE: When my company was sold and relocated and my managerial job ended after 18 years, I decided to follow advice in books by experts to change my career field. Try something new that you've always wanted to do, they said. So I did. Five years later, after two other jobs, both of which I wish I'd never taken, I now know how much I liked my old industry and job. I'd like to get back to where I was. Suggestions? - H.S.

Launch a relationship offensive among previous colleagues to uncover job leads; make new networking contacts through individuals and professional groups; refurbish your references; and practice articulating the fresh air you have breathed in your new experiences that can yield value to your old industry.

And - very important - wipe some memory dust from your eyes that can lead to disappointment, advises Matthew R. Bud, chairman of the 24,000-member The Financial Executives Networking Group.

What may happen when you leave a job that you've held for some time is that you become dissatisfied when an unfamiliar environment fails to recreate familiar comfort- zone conditions of an earlier time.

Bud recently made that telling point to FENG members who've lost their jobs and, frustrated in trying to reproduce their future with no-longer-available cloth from the past, become discouraged: "Your visualization of your new job is, unfortunately, your last job on your last day."

Bud explained that even if your old company tanked, the technical aspects - systems and staff- were humming along pretty well. What you probably miss is that sense of order, of comfortable expectations you could count on in another point in time, he explained, urging job seekers to forget about the office with the view, the secretary who knew whom to let in and whom to keep out and the systems that kept chaos at bay.

Bud encouraged job seekers to take into their futures the tools acquired in their past lives but to look straight ahead: "Act like your best years are ahead of you. They are."

DEAR JOYCE: I chose a wrong fork in the road by accepting a promotion that was a huge error. I wasted two years working my way back to my main interest. Now I have another offer for advancement. Is there a kind of checklist before I proceed and how do I turn down the offer if that's what I decide to do? - V.O.

Not all promotions should be considered progress. Here are a number of basic considerations for all:

- Where will the job lead? Who held it previously and where is that person now? If you can see several promotion positions beyond the offered job, a career path is possible.

- How challenging are the duties? Doing the same routines again and again won't grow your talents for bigger and better jobs.

- Is the promotion in name only? Managers frequently discover they've only changed titles. A true advance gives you not only more money, but more responsibility, authority and subordinates.

- Does the job report to a person of power? You don't want to be stuck behind someone who has no clout. When a boss has the resources, information and authority to act, subordinates enjoy greater standing, get more done and look better to higher-ups.

Powerful bosses are busy and more likely to delegate, to reward strong performance and, because they do not feel threatened, to support their teams.

- Will you get training opportunities and what kind? If the training is limited to technical skills, you're probably on a limited promotion path. If the training is in management skills, all things are possible.

You recognize that promotion refusals are tricky. Use reasons that benefit the company: "While I appreciate the offer, I don't feel I can do it justice considering my strong interest in -. It wouldn't be fair to the company. But I would be delighted to be considered when an opening comes up in -."

If pressured, you may have to negotiate a defined time limit: "My concerns about my fit for this promotion stand, but as a team player, I'll give it my best effort if we can agree that I get the first shot when an opening comes up in -." If it becomes clear after three to six months that you're stuck in a place where you don't want to be, look for greener pastures.

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