Career

Offense, Defense, Whyfense: How We Got To The Defensive Job Search

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Last Column I put out the theory that there’s Offensive and Defensive job searches, and we may want to focus more on “offense” and active career planning and pursuit.  This begs the question – if my theory is correct (let’s assume I am of course) then how did we end up in a state where there was so much defensive job searching – or when it became such a bad idea.

First I think that people have often played defensive with their jobs because that’s where the money is.  There’s an inherently conservative approach to where the cash-flow is.

Secondly, I think for years (but not the last 20 or so) that people often didn’t worry career-wise as much as they do now.  Paths were more defined.  Companies had promotion systems.  The economy hadn’t been ruined by morons.

Third, though I feel that people got more “careerist” 20-30 years ago, more aggressive (coinciding non-coincidentally with globalization, the tech booms, and ideas about economic ownership), this didn’t last a long time.  I think people need to be more “On Offense” in careers, but the idea we’re all Internet-dot-bomb era super-go-getters who lapsed is terribly wrong.

Fourth, then we had repeated economic meltdowns all engineered by various “go-getters” who were unethical, greedy, and ignorant.  Also, probably ugly.  Anyway, you then had people playing Defense on careers because we kept having dot-bomb meltdowns, economic collapses, and of course finally the big ol’ financial meltdown.

Of course people play Defense a lot – they always have, they didn’t have to in a lot of cases, and any era of super-careerist go-getterism was short and got wiped out by the big economy-go-booms of the last decade or so.

So now we’ve got to play more Offense and I don’t think the “cultural infrastructure” is really there for it.  But it’s time – we don’t have much choice, and I think more active engagement may let us solve the problems.

Kind of makes me wonder if we’d had more people on Career Offensive if they’d have stopped some of these problems – and how many aggressive people actually helped cause them . . .

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Getting Offensive On The Job Search

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We all know the classic line “The Best Offense is a Good Defense.”  I of course believe the opposite is true many times and sometimes you’ve got to go on the offense as a form of protecting yourself.

I also believe that a job search and career plan can be both Offense or Defense.  The “offense” job search/career plan involves aggressive planning, moving forward, and following plans that lead to various goals.  The “defense” job search is one where you preserve what you have, plan “horizontal” moves to escape bad situations, and in some cases just take any job.  I’m sure we’ve all done both.

However, I meet a lot of people doing “defensive” job searches (indeed I’ve done them myself).  Based on my experiences I think the “defensive” job search and career planning predominates as we have an unstable, unpredictable, economy.  It’s understandable, of course – but I’m thinking it may be taken too far.

I see so much defensive job searching, that I’m thinking far, far too much time is spent in defense mode.

When you’re defensive, you’re not planning ahead (usually).  You’re responsive.  You’re protective.  This may make sense, but when the economy is in such a shambles there may be no defense, there may be no protection.  In a state without sanctuary you need to build one – you need to get defensive.

After all, when you go “on the offense” in your job search you’re planning, you’re moving forward, staking out territory, making things happen.  You’re not letting the crisis define you – you’re doing your own definition – and you may even be redefining the crisis.  You’re also not letting yourself be defined by the situation.

How many of us are being defined by a situation?  How many of us are just responsive?  How many of us have no grounding and are really just preserving what little we do have?

I think it’s time more of us go on the offensive:

  • Preemptive low-level job searches may be great – but get an eye toward career advancement.
  • Keep your career plan moving forward, with training, coaching, looking at new positions, etc.
  • Make that new business of yours anyway – even if its part time or erratically.
  • Keep your career plan going and chart it.  Even if it’s delayed, you know where you’re going.
  • Define yourself.  Don’t’ let someone else or something do it.

Let’s try to ramp up the career plans and the job search. Let’s go on the offense.

But how did it get that way?  Well that’s for the next column . . .

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

 

Ask A Progeek: When You Have No Job

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This week’s question is one a lot of us face:

If the interviewer asks why you don’t currently have a job, what’s the best way to answer?  (assuming there is no legitimate reason other than, no one has hired you since your last job ended)

See, first of all I’m not going to tell you to lie – and you shouldn’t, both for ethical reasons and because people will probably figure out you’re lying.  You need to tell the truth – it’s just going to depend on the size of the truth.

If the truth is simple, use it.  Don’t embellish it or go over it in detail.  You can overdo it and in a few cases dig your own grave by getting to wordy.  If a truth is simple, keep it simple, “I was laid off as the economy tanked,” “I’m on a search,” “I just left school.”

But maybe the truth needs some context.  Maybe you have to explain a layoff, or a move, or that you took a break.  Maybe you need a larger truth to put things in context – and to make sure you communicate the story, the narrative, about you and your career.  You can mention the fact you’re taking time to look at specific jobs, or you relocated for opportunities.

You have to call out the size of the truth you want to use.

However – and there’s always a however with me, isn’t there – you also need to think ahead about what you say after the truths, big or small.

See no one wants to just hear you’re unemployed.  Wether it takes a sentence or a paragraph to describe things, they want to know what you’re doing.  Don’t just say you’re unemployed and why, let them know how you’re doing nonprofit work, or studying, or something else.  Don’t let them wonder, don’t leave it to them to ask – show that in your unemployment you are staying busy.

For pro geeks like us, it should be damn easy to show how active and self-educating we are – our usual hobbies are often like min-careers.  You probably have done and are doing more than you realize even recreationally.  Anaylze those hobby/geek interests to see if you’re truly developing professionally (and if not then maybe it is time for some charity and other work)

Thus parked with the right-sized truth, you already answered the question doubtlessly in their mind, “what are they doing now?”  You answered their current question and their next one, giving you control of the narrative – all by being honest.

Stick with the truth  – in the right size, and with the right followup.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.