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Wednesday, Feb 25th, 2009 ↓Postcard from the Edge (2)
Our friend has written again with more information about his new situation:
“The company is located in an industrial area in northeastern Brooklyn near the border with Queens. It is far not only from Manhattan, but also from the hip and stylish quarters of Brooklyn. There are only a couple subway lines in this part of the city and while trains that go to Wall Street and midtown are unusually empty at times due to the economy, that is not the case on the “G” and “L” trains. Since there are only a couple of trains and because many of the workers in this area live in Brooklyn, Queens or Long Island, many people drive to work instead of using public transport. Throughout the day, the streets are crowded with both commuters and heavy commercial traffic. Within a couple blocks of our light manufacturing plant, there are a couple of cement mixing factories. There are both dust and fumes: the air quality is noticeably worse than in other parts of the city.”
Postcard from the Edge
A friend who just started a new work assignment writes:
“Just started with a small (fewer than 20 employees) company this past week. The contrast with the Fortune 500 company where I spent the previous 11 years couldn’t be greater. I started working on President’s Day, which is a difference right there. At my old company, not only is President’s Day observed as a holiday, but many employees take the whole week to go skiing. Stuff that takes ages in a big company - getting an email account, for instance - took about 20 minutes. Also, in contrast with a corporation, the learning curve is quick and the time allowed for getting up-to-speed is short. I started diving into my work right away: someone asked me to do something within 20 minutes which I figured out and completed within the hour. I spent much of the week learning the firm’s production process and getting different perspectives on strengths and weaknesses of the operation. It’s going to be a hectic assignment, but I feel fortunate to have landed anything in the midst of our current economic turmoil.”
Career Change: Then and Now
For the second time in my career, I find myself engaged in an extended career transition (first time was in 1996-7) and I will address a few posts about how the experience has changed over the past 12 years.
The circumstances are different now:
- In 1996, I voluntarily left a secure government position because I wanted to work in a more dynamic field where my work would have more impact. Last summer, my position was restructured out of existence and I joined the 2 million other Americans whose jobs were lost in 2008.
- In 1996, I had been in the workforce for only five years and while no longer “entry level” was at the beginning of my business career. In 2008, I have been working for nearly 20 years and am in mid-life and mid-career. That fact significantly affects the way that potential employers will view me and how I must present myself to them.
- The most important circumstantial difference is that in 1996-97 (the year of President Bill Clinton’s reelection), the economy was growing at nearly 4% per year. In early 2009, as we prepare to begin the “age of Obama,” the severest financial crisis of our lifetimes has led to a deep recession. The national economy is shrinking.
Nevertheless, there are elements of continuity. In both cases:
- I have spent my transitional time in New York City; a town I know intimately, but where I have never worked happily.
- I derived considerable satisfaction from redirecting energy from a career focus to a family one. Key difference - my 1997 toddlers have grown in millenial teenagers. And don’t misunderstand - I need to get back to work for a variety of reasons.
That’s the context. In subsequent posts, I’ll discuss how the business environment has changed for job hunters. Notwithstanding the ill condition of the economy, I believe technology has enabled significant opportunities that were not feasible as recently as the late ’90s.
