Bright Career Ideas for Dark Times | BTalk Australia

(16min 27) How do you advance your career? Or, if you’re recently retrenched, how do you get back onto the career ladder?

Today on BTalk Phil Dobbie talks to Darren Buchanan, a Director at Hays, about 10 things to consider about your career right now. It’s all about taking a more strategic view to career development.

Add your comments in the Talkback section at the end of this post.

See also:
Standing Out is Not a Soft Skill | BTalk Australia
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Do We Really Need Recruitment Agencies? | BTalk Australia
The Rise of the Green Collar Job | BTalk Australia

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• Today’s Transcript

Phil Dobbie: Hello I’m Phil Dobbie and welcome to BTalk Australia. Today, 10 things to consider about your career right now.

Buchanan: Yes the last few years, five, six, seven years we’ve seen people increasingly shorten the term or the time that they spend with an employer as they seek greater opportunity or often greater money. And what we will see going forward is people starting to value a lot more time spent with an employer, the loyalty factor.

Dobbie: Because they have to? But I guess even though they have to it’s a good thing to do, isn’t it?

Buchanan: I think it is largely because they have to. A lot of people in the current market who’ve gone to employers after a short space of time of having moved on will have found that there would have been the first under consideration if they were being let go, and I think that was highlighted to many you know the value of being with a company two or three years is actually worth something now whereas previously it wasn’t even a consideration for a number of years.

Dobbie: So that’s the first piece of advice. If you’re in a job, really stick at it and look at what else how you can be progressing within that business rather than looking at how to jump ship. Secondly you’ve got, see how you can add value. Now that’s always the case, isn’t it? When you go to a job interview I mean an employee is always saying, look, what can you do for us?

Buchanan: They are, but realistically it depends on what your intentions are when you go there. Some people will go to a job just for the money and will do the bare minimum that they have to do and when they get a bit bored of that move on to the next job. I think demonstrating that you can help that employer in other areas, you have other abilities or skills that they can utilise, will add increasing value. If you’re a one trick pony if you like in the previous market that wasn’t a problem. There were so many jobs out there you could have one skill and that was valued. In the current market people with one, two or three skills they can bring to an employer are going to be far more recognised, far more valued.

Dobbie: So I guess if you do find yourself out of work now or between jobs you really should be using that time to try and skill up in that case.

Buchanan: Yes if you’ve got previous skills that you’ve utilised in management or accounting, anything like that that you’ve done previously but it was a number of years ago and you’ve not had to bother to use then go back and do a refresher course or read up on it, re-familiarise yourself with what you did and how you did it and then highlight that when you’re talking to an employer that you have those skills available should they be required.

Dobbie: Yes which is really bringing yourself to the third point which is very similar. Make sure you’ve got well rounded skills. So as you say I think a lot of people really have got quite specialist, haven’t they, in their careers and now there’s fewer people around in a lot of companies so being an all rounder is a good thing.

Buchanan: Yes exactly. When employers, particularly small employers, are looking to make cost savings by getting increased productivity by their staff or using one person to cover what were previously two different jobs, then having a wide range of skills is clearly of more value if you’re up against a candidate who only has experience in one area.

Dobbie: Now the fourth point is flexibility. It’s certainly not time to dig your heels in right now, is it? You do want to show that you can be flexible in the way you work.

Buchanan: Yes you have to. You’d be surprised though at how many people still feel that this is a short term issue and that they can still demand higher salaries or more flexibility in their hours or whatever and still try and make demands on employers. You’ve got to be very careful. If you’re in a very niche market then you can probably still do that, but generally you’ve got to be a bit more flexible. You’ve got to listen to what the employers want to give or want from you and try and work your requirements around it. Now you don’t bend over backwards where you’re perceived to be just totally submissive and you’re putting yourself in an overly stressful situation because you just can’t cope or whatever but equally you’ve got to be able to demonstrate that you are happy to move with the company, move with the times as necessary and within reason.

Dobbie: Right, now you mentioned money a few times and the next point really is that it’s not just about money or it shouldn’t just be about money. I think a lot of people are learning that right now, aren’t they? They’re saying well look I’d rather have a partial pay cut then take a total pay cut and be out of work. Although as you’ve just said not everybody is learning that lesson perhaps.

Buchanan: No, but we saw this in the last downturn really there were certain sectors which candidates were still demanding huge salaries and were getting quit irate and upset as to why they couldn’t get them because the feeling was this isn’t my fault. I’m still doing the same job. I should be able to keep getting paid more as my skills improve. Well that’s not how the real world works in difficult times. And if you go to an employer and say look I’m not bothered about the training, I’m not bothered about the culture or the company, all I care about is that I’m getting the wage that I want or I can get a higher wage it’s not going to be looked on very favourably. You’ve got to demonstrate that you are probably more career minded these days, that you know loyalty is still a big factor and that yes money is important but so are those other issues like the training you’ll get and helping develop with the company and those sorts of things.

Dobbie: Well you’ve seen this coming off in jobs that are being advertised right now and there’s a lot less of them these days. As a result of that are the employers expecting that they’re going to pay less for people?

Buchanan: Yes they are. Like you mentioned a minute ago there are companies who are asking staff to take pay reductions at the moment. We’ll see salaries probably stagnate but I don’t think we’ll see them fall significantly at the moment. But we’ll certainly see them start to stagnate and the danger is you will price yourself out of the market if you’re going too high with too high expectations.

Dobbie: Now the next one is consider contracting out. I’ve heard this referred to, in fact we’ve spoken about this on previous podcasts, we’ve referred to it as the forgotten workforce and a lot of people are saying this is actually going to become the dominate way of working in the not too distant future so perhaps we should get used to it now. Contract yourself out rather than working directly for a company.

Buchanan: Well contracting is an area of the workforce that is, I think, significantly under used in Australia. In countries like the UK there’s a huge contracting element, a huge number of people who contract for a living. And the benefits it gives them is they have huge flexibility in their work time because in between jobs if they’ve got enough savings they can take a couple of weeks off, a couple of months off and it’s not costing the employer anything because they’re only paid for the hours that they work. If you go to a company that you don’t fit in that well or you don’t particularly like, you’re only there for a short period anyway so you can still do the job. Not getting too stressed that it’s going to be a long term issue and so you just have that flexibility to move around. The other thing you get is a fantastic skill base. Working within different cultures, different people, learning different management techniques, whatever it might be because you’re covering such a broad base of different companies you gain all those different skills.

Dobbie: Yes I agree with you. I think it’s a huge opportunity particularly if it might be that you’re forced into it, but it might be the right result at the end of the day. You suddenly find yourself contracting and there’s a whole new lifestyle that opens before you and the market is there because so many companies are downsizing but they’ve still got the work that has to be done so they’re going to be looking outside, as you say, for people who can do it just on an as needs basis. So contracting is definitely a big one.

Buchanan: Absolutely, and I think that what we’ll see out of this market is that there will be a large or a larger portion of the workforce who will only want to do contracting even as times improve. They will see it as a better lifestyle choice for them giving them that great flexibility and won’t want to go back into full-time employment because they’ll just be enjoying it so much.

Dobbie: That’s right. They’re easy to spot, the contractors in the business. They’re the ones who are looking tanned and a lot less stressed then everyone else. Your seventh point is to consider the public sector. Now there can only be so many jobs to go around here but I guess this is an area where a lot of people would for the security, but for a lot of people it’s also a pay cut, isn’t it?

Buchanan: It can be, not always, but it can be and I think that the perception of government that you do earn less but equally you know on things like superannuation you can often get a lot more than you would in a private sector employer. The thing with public sector is it’s not in theory as subject to the downturns as the private sector is because it’s still getting revenue in from taxes or all of the other sources of income which is probably money. However, as we’ll find at the moment with places like Queensland where the governments deficit is growing etc, it’s not always the case. You know governments are affected by downturns, however, services still have to be maintained, infrastructures still have to be built and those things don’t go away and so there will always be jobs in those sectors and you’re right, it’s a safe haven for people sometimes to go to a public sector employer gives you greater job security.

Dobbie: Yes and not getting too political there’s always the job as the Premier of New South Wales. We need someone new in that job, that’s for sure.

Buchanan: I’m in Queensland so I can’t comment on that one.

Dobbie: I think you’re doing slightly better than we are, I have to tell you. Point eight is to be patient. Now that’s easy if you’ve got a job. Less so if you’re out of work, you’ve got a mortgage and you’ve got a family to feed. Patience will only last as long as the money lasts, won’t it?

Buchanan: It will and you’re right it’s an easy one to say but a very difficult one if you’re actually experiencing this. The issue is the more desperate you become the more that will be evident in things like interviews or in letters that you write. And although there might not be anything obvious that you’re spiriting in there that says you’re desperate, the torn and the sort of body language can indicate that you are and employees can pick up on that.

Dobbie: Yes

Buchanan: And it can put people off so you’ve got to try and be patient. Don’t panic. Try and rationalise issues that are stressing you out and try and be professional. Play it safe and give your best performance at an interview or when writing to employers etc.

Dobbie: And keep your tongue in your mouth and don’t look too hungry.

Buchanan: Yes

Dobbie: Nine is determination. Now what are you getting at here with determination?

Buchanan: People can get very quickly despondent if they’re getting rejection letters or can’t get to an interview or their agency isn’t finding that many interviews as they’d like and they’re confidence drops and again that starts to show when they attend interviews or write letters or whatever else they may be doing to find work. So you’ve got to be persistent and you’ve got to be determined. You’ve got to focus on the task at hand of getting yourself another job and really think outside the square, think outside your comfort zone of how you can try and identify opportunities that will get you into employment. It could mean that you might have to take a lesser job than you would want to or be used to. You might have to take a lesser pay or salary than you’re used to but you’ve got to be determined, get your foot in the door and then you’ll have more control of where your career path is going to go from there on.

Dobbie: Now the 10th point, which you sort of mentioned there, relates to confidence. It’s almost the same point but it is easy to lose confidence but I guess you’ve just got to keep on telling yourself and it’s easier in this market, isn’t it, to tell yourself that it’s not you. It’s the economy.

Buchanan: It is but people take things like redundancy or terminations very personally, which of course they are but they can start to get the impression or give themselves the impression that it’s something wrong with them or something that they’ve done wrongly which often and usually, especially in a market like this, it isn’t. It’s just the nature of the market. Its employers having to take some fairly desperate and immediate action to ensure that they survive. So you’ve got to try and rationalise that. Look at things that you’re good at and remind yourself of things that you’re good at. Things like interviews it might sound a bit corny but practice with people if you are worried about losing your ability to perform in an interview or if you haven’t been on interview for a while, have a practice with a friend or a colleague or something like that. But keep your confidence levels high because that will show up when you’re talking to employers, particularly if they ask you some sticky questions or they ask you to comment on something that you’re not totally sure of, you’ve got to try and be confident and give a good impression.

Dobbie: Now these 10 tips really are survival tips, aren’t they? Because it’s a barren job market right now. We see a huge drop in advertisements in newspapers and online and a complete turnaround from where we were only a year ago. Are you really surprised by how quickly it’s turned?

Buchanan: For our market, I’m not really. The difficulty is what lies in the statistics. There’s all sorts of facts and figures out there and some get refuted and you hear one explanation versus another and it’s really hard to know what is actually going on. And I think what I’ve been saying to people is you’ve got to focus on what your experience is. Not what governments are telling you or other employers are telling you. You’ve got to focus on what your experience is and if you are in a situation where you’re being made redundant, that’s what you’ve got to deal with. If you’re still working for an employer and they’re looking good and healthy then that’s what you’ve got to focus on. With regard to the jobs market I’m not surprised that it’s slowed as much as it has because it’s one of the first things to go when companies tighten their belts, they stop recruiting. They might not go short on a lot of staff but they stop recruiting and hold on to what they’ve got. The job ads again same thing, companies stop advertising because they’re just holding the staff that they’ve got. But our experience is there are still a lot of jobs out there, less than there were but there are still a lot of jobs out there. Areas like IT are still very buoyant. Sales companies in some cases are ramping up their sales force in an effort to try and push their products or their services, banking is a sector that has been particularly affected but in other sectors it’s still relatively buoyant.

Dobbie: Well a lot of us would say hey there are too many people in the banking sector anyway but that’s not being particularly unforgiving isn’t it? Hey listen those 10 points make a lot of sense. Thank you very much for talking us through them and we hope that things bounce back quickly. Thanks for your time today.

Buchanan: Yes, thanks, no problem.

Dobbie: And you’ve got to love that Geordie accent. He actually lived just around the corner from where I used to live. We’ve never met but in former lives we lived in the same part of the world.