| Where is the panic button? | ||
| Increased unemployment, whole sectors and countries in deep financial turmoil, and significant economies on the verge of recession – how should a career conscious professional react in such an uncertain job climate? You should not go about looking for the panic button – even with the prospect of a recession, we envisage a continually strong labour market for well-qualified candidates. What to do? Peter Scheuer Jensen (COO of the SAM Headhunting Group), who among other things has been a director in the now declining property sector, underlines the importance of using your common sense. “What is really important is that you state your long-term career goals and in turbulent times like today, stick to them. The economy is and always has been cyclical, the ups and downs in the economy are natural, and your long-term career plan should not change over night unless the financial state of your economy makes it obvious to do so.” In other words, the financial crisis has hit unsound companies with a constantly growing demand for external capital the hardest. What the current crisis has done is to accelerate the downturn of these companies to happen now instead of in the near future. However, most companies are sound and the financial crisis will not affect greatly in the longer run, and many will have forgotten this autumn’s financial crisis in twelve, or even six months time. Hence, be aware of what your long-term career goals are, be realistic and explicit about them and show a strong will in achieving them. What not to do? If you hit the panic button and start to overplay the impact of the current crisis, you are basically displaying a lack of judgement – both to your current employer but also to the next. According to Peter Scheuer Jensen, “the worst thing, anybody can do to their career, is to retort to short-termism.” Whatever you do in the short run, will be remembered in the long run. Hence, do not talk up the crisis – many companies continue to collect good profits and growth rates, financial crisis or not, and will still offer exciting career development possibilities in the future as well. If a job opening does not correspond with your career plan, you should really think twice, since neither you nor the future employer will reap the full rewards from any future co-operation. Many parts of the global economy are still growing strongly, so we consider this crisis to be short-lived and expect most economies to recover fully or partially in the next twelve months. Maintaining your cool and common sense is essential, but if the dream job is within your grasp due to restructuring, you should naturally go for it. However, the bottom line is: do not let this temporary crisis change your overall career plan. | ||
| Date | 09-11-2008 | |||