by Chuck McConnell, President, COO, Stewart, Cooper & Coon
Part 2
Working world guidelines are changing rapidly. Career ladders are disappearing. Upward mobility is a luxury. Job security is all but totally gone. The rules have changed. Technology is clearly one of the driving forces behind this constant state of change. The changes will continue into the foreseeable future.
The Role of the Career Campaign Director (CD)
Part of the CD role is to help clients understand the complexities of this new workplace from both a macro perspective, as well as the impact these changes may have on individual careers and lives. Consider, for example, changes in the banking industry (or any industry that has been deregulated). The pattern of change is clear. First, the industry deregulated in the name of free market capitalism. Deregulation led to break-ups and break-outs and then followed by industry consolidation in the name of efficiency. Technology made it easier to automate functions and increase individual work unit effectiveness so that the Big Fish were able to swallow up the Little Fish. Suddenly, banks didn’t need as many people on the payroll. Whole departments got out-sourced. Contract workers (who didn’t receive benefits) replaced permanent employees. Voila – an industry transformed. Down the road, consumers may miss their neighborhood bankers or demand the return of more personal service; but things will never go back to the way they were. Technology has changed that forever.
The public sector also has been affected. Once also a bastion of security, it, too, is seeing the effects of technology, competition, and consolidation. Let’s look briefly at the research librarian’s profession, by way of example. Librarians (now known alternatively as Information or Media Specialists) were once considered the “bookworms” of the job market whose domain was largely schools and public libraries. Today, these Information Specialists also occupy executive positions in the world of business and commerce as well as academia and government. Their product line has expanded, too.
Once viewed as low tech roles, today’s IT executives work in worlds that seemed out of reach a decade ago. It is a virtual as well as a very real world of instant access to information that creates opportunities and challenges for all in career search.
This technology transformation can be a bonanza for some careers and a disaster for others. Clearly, the new career search paradigm requires new skills, tech-smart strategies and new tactics to meet demands in the executive marketplace.
Need For A Fresh Perspective
While most of us are acutely aware that along with the technical tides that push all of us into uncharted territory, lost job security presents additional sources of angst; and it isn’t clear what the erosion of employment anchors ultimately means for any of us. We do know that it definitely requires a new mentality – a mentality that some experts have described as “You, Inc.”. You, Inc. means that, in the absence of an employer to guide and manage your career, you have to manage your own career like it’s a company of one. You are responsible for your own development. You need to take responsibility for building your own skills, making sure you stay competitive, promoting your own talents, securing your own finances, and developing your own supporting network.
Stewart, Cooper & Coon CDs counsel clients to understand, position, and market themselves to capitalize on the changes inherent in this – and the future – economy. The skilled Campaign Director understands how to make use of these dynamic changes to your advantage and to further your individual long range career success and satisfaction.
Career Campaign Directors Are Excellent Mentors
Just when you need a mentor most, you may be discovering that they’re hard to come by these days. Because so many people today are confused, anxious and overworked, it can be difficult to find someone who has the time, executive search wisdom and inclination to take you under their wing. Given the reality of change and age discrimination, many of the people who once upon a time made great mentors are themselves in need of mentoring. With so much to learn in such a period of rapid change – and everyone scrambling to keep abreast of technology – it makes perfect sense to seek out a competent professional career advisor who understands the complexities of the job market and has the time, energy, and desire to coach and mentor you throughout the search process.
Graduate schools get us well prepared for the demands of the executive workplace. But they seldom teach us how to make good career decisions. A CD within an executive career campaign program should be seen as an investment in yourself. It is a substantial and lasting gift you can give yourself, to utilize the knowledge of people who know how to advise, support and direct you to your next executive position.
Just as you hire a lawyer to handle your legal problems, a CPA to help manage your finances, and a physician to keep your body working, bringing in a skilled CD can help you manage your career. As experts in the executive career marketplace, they are the ones who are best-prepared to help you master its challenges, nuances and obstacles.