I love Gail Collins, Charles Blow, Frank Bruni, Paul Krugman, Nicholas Kristoff, Brett Stephens, Tom Friedman, the Editorial Board, the sports section, Arts and Leisure, Real Estate; I could go on. You get the point. Mostly, I admire the integrity of the paper. And that it’s so well written.
But.
There has been a too-frequent gap in quality when it comes to career/employment reporting. This usually happens at the worst possible times – in times of economic dislocation, unemployment, and fear. I’ve personally witnessed these gaps during the 1982 recession, the 1987 stock market crash, the 1991 real estate crash, the 2000 dotcom crash, the 2008/9 economic meltdown, and now, the 2020 pandemic.
Mostly, The Times has reacted with what I think of as hysteria when it comes to employment issues. Frequently inaccurate, misleading, and damaging. The latest was a major front page piece a few days ago, in which the reporter did what many have done in the past – cherrypicked a few people who have had a rough time during the past couple of months, and then globalized those experiences. The conclusions drawn, basically that everything is melting down for everyone, are simply not true. It’s not the case that it’s impossible get or keep a job across the board, or that people are not able to get interviews, let alone jobs, to name a few of the negative conclusions presented.
I remember vividly, in 2008/9, several Times articles repeatedly saying that if people were out of work for long periods of time it would be nearly impossible for them to get a new job, and that they were somehow permanently stigmatized. The only word that comes to mind when I read such pieces is… nonsense. A well-prepared, positive, and non-defensive explanation regarding those time periods is what job seekers need. I’ve rarely met anyone who’s encountered this as a major stumbling block when they’re well-prepared with a response to questions about the period of unemployment. This whole negative way of thinking about periods of unemployment strikes me as very 1950’s.
Yes, there are certain professional areas that have become catastrophic recently, especially hospitality/tourism. And a few others. I recently had a client in a group who announced that he couldn’t possibly find any job in his discipline (hospitality) and at his level (very senior). By the end of the group meetings, he realized that there were alternatives in which he could utilize his considerable skills and experience. There were even alternatives for investment bankers in 2008! But, if those people paid too much attention to The Times’ estimate of their chances, they might have given up.
These articles, because of the trust so many readers have in The Times, can easily derail a search – and have. After all, The Times said so! Unfortunately, the material in these articles is so frequently inaccurate. I have rarely met in my private, corporate, or business school practices any client for whom there wasn’t a solution to a difficult employment period.
The big difference in technique this time is the ability to intelligently use Zoom/Skype/FaceTime as a primary interaction method.
As a matter of fact, I think that this moment is an ideal time to be doing a search. Maybe a combination of “don’t let a crisis go to waste” and get ahead of the competition. Since others believe that there are no jobs available, they drop out. The proactive job seekers see opportunity when others disappear from the market. They can see that chances increase, that it’s easier to get networking meetings, and that in fact there might be less competition for available jobs (but certainly not through postings).
Many of my clients have done well during this period, often landing new situations by never having physically met anyone at their new jobs – and starting the jobs the same way, virtually. They do have one major thing in common, which is that all the bad and frightening news of the past few months has not changed their drive to get the new job. They’ve adjusted to changing markets, changing emphases in their professional areas, and new virtual search techniques.
I’m not saying you should ignore articles in The Times about career transition. Just be careful to not believe everything you read. Read elsewhere, too. Actually, I’ll take this opportunity to suggest you might want to carefully read articles on a daily basis on LinkedIn! You’ll get better information, in general, from people who are directly engaged in career management, and from other news sources as well.
Time to get going!