As layoffs top 1.9 million this year, many more managers and senior professionals are out of work.
Many executives discount the opportunities of insights career coaches offer because they believe they know what it takes to get a job. 7 out of 10 job-seekers say they thought they knew exactly what they needed to do to land their next job, according to a continuing survey by Right Management, an outplacement firm.
There is a deeply rooted myth in American culture that shapes our behavior---a myth so strong that to question it might challenge our history.
The myth: Success in America is an individual enterprise. This myth celebrates our rugged individualism as the key element in becoming a self-made man or woman. We believe that everyone succeeds or fails on the basis of individual efforts and abilities but this just isn't so. Revering this go-it-alone mentality, frontier spirit and lone wolf perspective actually holds us back from achieving the success we seek. The longer you wait to use the services of a career coach, the harder it will be to mobilize yourself and get focused. Simply put, 'Success is not only determined by what you know but also by whom you know.' The real Success Formula is: Human Capital (what you know) X Social Capital (who you know and who knows you) X Reputation (who trusts you).
You want to process what has happened to you as quickly as possible and then get started on a strategic job seeking plan that leapfrogs your competition.
To do that your career coach will suggest some homework to pre-pave the tailored job-seeking course ahead. Don't balk at the personality tests and career assignments that your career coach recommends. "I had absolutely no idea how valuable they would be in terms of focusing my pitch on my value, rather than my skills," says Cathryn Cronin Cranston, a senior publishing executive who was recently laid off from Mansueto Ventures, owner of Fast Company and Inc. brands. Ms. Cronin Cranston's coach says the homework keeps "clients focused, provides material for [their] resume and interviews and helps [them] make better strategic decisions."
Source: The Wall Street Journal, December 16, 2008
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