Q: During my current job search, I have networked with several people, and these are my concerns:
- The trend seems to be positions with term limits or temporary positions;
- I am not excited about the opportunities I see, and
- Hiring directors at nonprofits have a perception they may not be able to afford me.
I am exploring consulting opportunities with a goal of building my own practice while perhaps holding down a part-time job to afford necessary expenses. Meanwhile, a former corporate employer has requested my resume. I have since forwarded it for a position that is opening up. Your thoughts?
A: Keep the corporate connection live. Those interested in you at that organization know your work and, even given its imperfections, there is a measure of value-for-worth in transactions there. Also, I think you are correct about the trends. We will speak more about how to manage during this time of uncertainty as I lead to my overarching suggestion which is that I believe, initially, you may have to “piece it together” to make the bigger picture work.
For starters, we have definitely noticed trends toward part-time, contract-based positions, all of which fall short of full-time employment. These positions are one way in which economic uncertainty is playing itself out in the job market. Frequently, these positions do evolve into something more permanent and full-time, but, for those used to or needing full-term employment, this is unnerving.
Another similar trend is that of volunteer-to-permanent hire. Not-for-profit hiring directors in particular may use their volunteer pool as a pre-hiring/probation pool culling the best of the volunteers for consideration. There are no guarantees along the volunteer path, though. You may volunteer and eventually come up for consideration as a full-time hire, but, you may also volunteer and never receive such consideration. The up side of volunteering is that, employment consideration or not, you are circulating, expanding your networks and learning more about a particular organization/sector.
Your lack of excitement about what you see may have a lot to do with your thwarted expectations. The market is not what it was even five years ago. It is evolving very rapidly. Many previously stand alone roles have increasingly become technology based. Hiring is brisk in certain overseas markets at the middle management level while it is somewhat sluggish here. This globalization has meant major corporations can increase staff overseas hiring qualified people for much less. This has had its impact on US hiring. We are seeing the results of that in the caution of employers exhibiting tendencies to hire and promote from within as well as a general conservatism in hiring.
Now may be the time to develop a business plan for your own practice while securing your tenure with the corporate employer who seems interested. Many small businesses fail because of lack of capitalization, so, if the corporate position works out for you, you will have the advantage of building a business while being actively employed. Count this as a blessing. You can build your business into something genuinely exciting for you and with the possibility of it becoming your economic staple down the pike. For now, secure the corporate role, build the plan and start diligently working on making your own business a real “go.”
Contact Karen Alphonse at Karena@execSearches.com or visit ExecSearches.com for more information about our career coaching services.
#
0 Comments