The Good Old Days People Were Stuck
I remember the "good old days" the days of one employer and one career. It used to be that when you found a job, you had found a home. You expected to get in there, do what the company wanted, learn to play the game, rise through the ranks, and eventually retire. People had secure jobs with large, stable employers.
People may have had job security, but the downside is that they were often stuck. Changing jobs was frowned upon. For every satisfied person, there was someone stifled, who knew he or she had made a dreadful mistake.
Today, many of us might fear losing our jobs even from week to week but no one absolutely no one needs to feel stifled, deadened, or stuck in a career they no longer find satisfying. Everyone has an opportunity to do something that is better.
What we see now is that many of the people pushed out of companies after twenty years are actually relieved to get out of jobs they'd found deadening. Some decide to think about what they really want to do and make the second phase of their lives much more fulfilling than the first.
Many people who are laid off say, "This will never happen to me again. I will never again be caught off guard and unprepared."
A New Definition of Job Hunting
Job hunting in our changing economy is a continuous process and requires a new definition. Job hunting now means continually becoming aware of market conditions both inside and outside of our present companies, and learning what we have to offer to both markets. This new definition means we must develop new attitudes about our work lives, and new skills for doing well in a changing economy.
Today's economy requires job hunters to be more proactive, more sophisticated, and more willing to go through brick walls to get what they want. Employers no longer plan your career for you. You must look after yourself, and know what you want and how to get it.
Understanding How the Job Hunt Market Works
Knowing why things work the way they do will give you flexibility and control over your job hunt. Knowing how the hiring system works will help you understand why things go right and why they go wrong why certain things work and others don't. Then you can modify the system to fit your own needs, temperament, and the workings of the job market you are interested in.
It is overly simplistic to say that only one job hunting system works. The job selection process is more complicated than that. Employers can do what they want. You need to understand the process from their point of view. Then you can plan your own job hunt, in your own industry. You will learn how to compete in this market.
Always remember, the best jobs don't necessarily go to the most qualified people, but to the people who are the best job hunters. You'll increase your chances of finding the job you want by using a methodical job hunting approach.
Even if you have worked for the same employer for many years, learn how to job hunt in a changing economy. At first it will seem strange. It's a new skill, but one you can use for the rest of your life. For a while you may feel as though things will never be the same. And they won't. No job is secure. At the same time, we now know that no one has to be locked into one job, one boss and one employer. Skilled job hunters have a real ability to plan their careers.
Changes Mean New Opportunities
The world is changing. What's hot today is not tomorrow. You can use these changes to your advantage. You can choose to head your career in the direction that's right for you.
You can impose your own terms upon life. You don't have to accept the terms it offers you. Read on, and see what others have done.
Alice said nothing: she had sat down with her face in her hands, wondering if anything would ever happen in a natural way again. LEWIS CARROLL Alice in Wonderland
