Trying to Find a New Career, 17 Years Later

It was something I knew I’d face one day yet still was not totally prepared for.

After almost 34 years working continuously in Corporate America, I found myself having to start all over. It had been a privilege and gift to have contributed every day I worked to the specific company at the time and in exchange being rewarded with compensation and benefits. But now, that is all about to end. I need to reevaluate and rethink what I want to and am going to do moving forward.

The landscape is far different than when I got my first job 34 years ago, a Work Study position in college that turned into a full time role. That’s a given. Work landscapes can change from year to year, even day to day. The true measure of success is changing along with it. That would be my test, had I changed along with my environment to continue making a contribution.

My biggest challenge was that I had not looked for a job, wrote a resume or interviewed in almost 17 years. The last time I searched for a job, I brought the Sunday edition of the New York Times and examined the employment section with my trusty red pen.

No more.

These days job seeking has gone social and online. Networking is the single biggest method of finding a position and job boards abound on the ethereal web. Resumes have evolved from listing of job responsibilities to accomplishment statements characterized by “managed X because of Y to produce Z”. Interviews now become the Golden Willie Wonka Ticket to gain admission to that sought after position and a chance to showcase yourself.

I was overwhelmed.

But I sought out help. I read LinkedIn Influencers like J.T. O’Donnell, Lou Adler and Laszlo Bock; Social Media gurus like Gina Schreck and Sean Gardner; and Career experts to reacclimate myself to the current market condition. I tapped in to friends and colleagues who recently underwent a similar transition. I worked with an outplacement firm to hone my resume writing and interviewing skills. Adding all the ingredients of knowledge curated from these sources led me to my wonderful discovery: I’m a Project Manager, so I’ll project manage my job search!

I have everything I need to Initiate my search. I’m finishing up my Planning processes and shortly will begin my Execution cycle. I’ll be Monitoring and Controlling my journey, tweaking often to meet the right company and circumstances, and hopefully Closing on the job I get and want.  Along the way, I’ll be sure to be Agile enough to make changes where needed.  I have my Risks identified (how long can I go without a job, e.g.), my Financials documented and Stakeholders to manage (my wife, mortgage bank, Honda, et al).

It may be a long cycle but one I hope ends happily. At the very least I keep my skills sharp and hopefully meet many new folks along the journey. And have time to read the New York Times.