Your Skills Move Forward With You
When I meet individuals in job search, I can meet them at all different points in their life. Sometimes they may be pre-occupied with life issues in addition to the job search, such as the taking care of ailing or aging relatives that need physical, emotional and administrative support. Others may have been in their field of work for a long time, and find that the way they have done things in performing their job have changed. New methods and technologies have been introduced and replace how they meet the needs of the customers they serve. Often the job searcher finds that getting to the role that may ultimately be right for them does not come in a straight line, but in a series of different steps that they could have never imagined.
In the past week, I have seen the successful completion of two job searches. One was by a gentleman I met almost 10 years ago in one of the job search support groups I facilitate. The other was by a woman I met almost 18 months ago, who found her job search transition initially begin with the caring of her disabled brother, and then within the last 6 months the caring of both of her aging in-laws. In each situation, I saw put into practice many of the job search tips that I have been privileged to learn in my own trainings to become a job search strategy coach. In addition, as much as there is always a big push to learn new and additional skills, sometimes those skills and abilities you learned long ago in your career come back to help you be the right person to fill a position that a company needs to fill.
When I first met Jerry, he was coming off a role as a Marketing Manager for a company where he had worked for 28 years. The company sold storage sheds for one’s home. Jerry had helped design their product brochures. As Jerry began attending job search networking meetings, he started to learn a number of new approaches and techniques. It would help if people knew what he did and his passion for doing that type of work. Picking up on the need often to have a tagline that people would remember, Jerry would indicate to others “Unseen and untold, leads to unsold.” That is where he came in. He could get your product and service to be visible in front of the potential individuals who would need it and buy it. Jerry learned that the types of techniques he used for products, he also needed to use for himself. Having an excellent Linked In profile, with a professional headshot, strong headline, and description of what he could deliver would help.
While many were impressed by Jerry and his skills, others would say, Jerry you are still facing one problem. Everything you did was via paper brochures. The world was moving to a more digital format. If you do not know how to advertise using digital technology, no one will hire you. So, Jerry returned to get certification training in digital marketing. His path was slow and steady back to work. Some digital opportunities emerged. Also, opportunities to help put up the displays in stores for various products started to come about. Recently, Jerry reached out to me, because he had an opportunity at Boost Mobile, and needed some references of his work ethic and the work he could do. He asked me to be one of the references. When Jerry ultimately got the job, he called to thank me, but also let me know one other thing.
While Boost Mobile certainly was looking for someone with digital advertising skills, they also wanted to develop eye catching brochures for their stores. Jerry was one of the only candidates they received an application and a resume’ from that had ever been involved in developing paper brochures. Jerry had kept his experience with the shed company and the work he had done there on his resume’. He said to me, little did I know that the skills that I had used all those years before, would get me a job offer in the world of product promotion, 2022.
Bethany had a 25-year career in the hospitality industry with a major hotel chain. Her role as a Project Manager, helped to bridge the world between the technology people who developed the systems that the business users in the hotel needed, and the hotel staff itself. While working, Bethany was known as the person you came to in order to get things done. After the hotel chain saw staff reduced due to the pandemic in 2020, Bethany’s life took a turn as a caretaker, first for her brother, and late in 2021 for her aging in-laws. In that role, there were a number of administrative tasks for which Bethany had responsibility.
A couple of months ago, at the facility where her in-laws were living, Bethany saw a posting for a Sales’ Manager role. She spoke to the person in charge of the facility. Upon hearing about Bethany and her skills, she told Bethany while certainly she could do the job, she was over qualified for it. While many have heard that and things go no further, she was referred on to the head office in Baltimore where there were two project manager positions available. After a number of interviews, the head office knew they were getting someone special, who not only had experience managing projects, but had a first hand understanding of the caretaking role. Bethany, like Jerry mentioned previously, start their new job positions on July 5, 2022.
One’s life can take a number of different turns along the way. However, the skills that you have learned along the way, especially if you master them well, continue to go forward with you. Your ability to be able to explain those skills, how you successfully used them, or ability to demonstrate them even in opportunities not directly related to your past employment, will make you a candidate for other opportunities. You just need to realize that it may not happen immediately. In addition, never forget to explain to others how you have used those skills in the tasks you have done in helping others.
