CAREERS NOW 02-13-08

Skills: the Lifeblood of Career Management

DEAR JOYCE: After a layoff, I'm not having too much luck finding another department manager's job in the financial industry. Do I need a career coach? - N.V.B.

I think you do. Even if you glean solid how-to-do-its from print or online resources, a career coach, enthusiastic about your success, can keep you pumped up and moving faster toward "yes" answers. Attitude counts heavily when you're looking up a steep hill to climb. As do skills and how well you articulate them.

Whether you engage a career coach, join a job club or study job searching on your own, figure out what skills you have to sell. In the employment transformation that's upending our world, your number one insurance policy is the viability of your skills. This is especially true for prime-timers who are being pushed out of jobs and understand that their ability to market crossover, or transferable, skills either trumps or supports previous job titles.

Experts who study skills and competencies (a related topic for another column), group skills in different ways, but they generally include such things as working with technology, people and resources, and solving problems. Your skills may be occupation specific, such as plumbing, writing and financing. Or they may be function related, such as administration, sales and budgeting.

If the subject of your skills and how to apply them is not clear, visit a government site, online.onetcenter.org/skills, which offers a crash course on skills. After clicking on critical thinking, for instance, your screen comes alive with a bevy of occupations requiring critical thinking, ranging from air traffic controller and animal breeder, to fire investigator and personnel recruiter.

You may be surprised by how many skills you've already racked up and gain a new appreciation of how valuable they are to your career trajectory.

DEAR JOYCE: I love my job and to my knowledge the small firm I work for is not having financial problems. But it's raise time and my boss asks that I wait six months. I didn't know what to say, so I simply said "I understand" and left his office. It's the next day and I realize I'm resentful because I worked hard for this raise. Should I speak to him again and what do I say? Should I just look for another job? - R.A.

Try to work it out where you are. To reopen the topic, simply state: "We spoke recently about the raise I've earned with my strong performance. My request is reasonable, and you've agreed I've done a fine job and taken on more responsibilities. I'd like to discuss it further. When can we meet to talk about it ?"

You'll know what to do after that conversation.

Generally, stick to the concept of "deserve a raise" rather than "need a raise." But there are exceptions, especially if you have a good relationship with your boss who knows your family and what's going on in your life. Like you can't cover your rent and your gas on your take-home pay.

In previous recessions, some readers reported that their employers used the downturn as a rationale to deny raises. So far, yours is the first I've heard this time around.

DEAR JOYCE: I'm happy to share work assignments but I'm currently working with another woman who seems content to let me do most of the heavy lifting. I'm a person who doesn't like conflict and wind ups saying nothing. How can I handle this in a civil manner without complaining to our boss? - R.R.

Try this: "According to the memo from our manager, we're supposed to coordinate this project, yet I see I'm doing most of the work. I'd like to talk to you about changing this. When would be a good time to discuss a more equitable split of our work-sharing?"

If that approach doesn't jump-start a wake-up-and-contribute moment, you can explain things to your manager without whining; say you don't think the company is getting maximum value of expenditures for the project and ask for advice.

Or say nothing and continue to stay late.

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