Turn off the pessimistic news...it's not that bad out there!

A week or so ago CNBC aired a special report called "Where the Jobs Are: Special Report" hosted by Erin Burnett and Carl Quintanilla. I was unable to watch the program, but was able to find the content online. I think the site is worth a review...and we all may want to find future airings and get it on the TiVo. I will focus my next several blogs on offering my point of view on this content from the perspective of a e-commerce/Internet marketing in the Silicon Valley.

I understand the fear of being unemployed that grips people. Not being employed and having an income is scary, but I think the pessimism within the market and country is exacerbating the problem. The CNBC report mentions that nearly half of all Americans FEAR of becoming unemployed and 90% say now is a BAD TIME to find a quality job. This language may reflect the sentiments of Americans...but is the fear warranted or does it inhibit us from finding the solution?

The unemployment rate in some states is hovering around 10%...but that means 90% of the people are employed. If I remember my econ policy class correctly, the unemployment rate during the Depression was roughly 25%....and capacity set idle for several years. Unfortunately too many politicians are saying "the worst economic environment since the Depression." These repeated statements reinforce the fear. Based on these data points, it sounds like we are NO WHERE NEAR that state of the economy during the Depression.

Now I am an optimist and see the glass half full. Since I've started my job search in early February I have found opportunities to explore. I've spoken to recruiters who have all said "there are jobs out there...just be patient." I've had phone screens, interviews...and have been doing A LOT of networking. But the opportunities are out there. All of us on the hunt must leverage our networks, apply new tools available like Jobaphiles or TwitterJobSearch and continue to do our home work for where opportunities may exist. Unlike the Valley in the mid 1990s where the jobs found us, we now must find the jobs.

I suggest that we all turn off the news for a while and get busy searching.

This too shall pass.

Stay positive and on routine

This morning I was following up with several friends and contacts who I reached out to late last week. My goal of these follow-ups is to keep top-of-mind of friends as if to say "hey, I'm here...don't forget about me." The goal is NEVER to be a pest, but to simply keep oneself visible as employed contacts deal with their hectic days and always growing email in-boxes.

One of my emails this morning was to a friend who works at a potential employer that has a great CRM opportunity. My contact knows the internal recruiter for this job...so it's important to stay visible and connected. The follow up email did it's trick and I confirmed that my resume is now in front of the right people. Thanks!

However, out of this correspondence came another job search "nugget" of advice. My friend has always had a great sense of balance and presence both physically and mentally. It's relaxing just be be around him. In his response back to me he closed his email with a piece of wisdom spiritual masters typically provide during daily contemplative prayer.

"Stay positive and on routine."

Being laid off displaces all of us from the basic daily routine of working....getting up in the morning, working out, going into work, driving home, having dinner and spending time with the family...and the cycle starts again the next day. I thinking maintaining the same routine reduces the shock of being laid off and enables stronger focus on the goal of finding the right next job. It also helps keep a positive outlook when the "we found another more qualified candidate" emails and phone calls come in.

Great advice.

School is never out

I just had morning coffee with the VP of the last group I worked in before leaving eBay. As a marketing professional myself, I greatly appreciate this VP's mentoring and marketing insights for he lead organizations at Proctor and Gamble, Taco Bell and eBay. He knows his stuff and is a Marketer's marketer.

We spent the first 10 minutes updating each other on our personal lives and then we got down to "business." I provided my standard 2 minute "elevator" pitch that begins with "when I made the decision to leave eBay" and ends with "and then the revenue dried up and now I'm on the hunt." I also brought optimism to the conversation by sharing that I had interviews at PlayPhone, Shutterfly and Chegg. Vice Presidents are sharing a different elevator pitch.

"I think the days of having a big budget, a staff and a corner office are gone," he began. "Any company that has a budget...is holding it tight. I think more companies are looking are marketing on more of a project basis...they want to accomplish a finite task...and then move on. There simply is not enough company revenue out there to do BIG stuff."

I took a sip of my cooling latte.

"I'm starting my own consulting company...which is strange for me. I want to provide a service that helps a company evaluate their products, or evaluate their current marketing tactics...to then develope a plan to lead and execute for them. So I'm pulling together a lot of the programs and thinking that we did at eBay and providing that bundle as a service. Having to pound the pavement for new business is tough."

The next several minutes were spent talking about the realization that in downtimes marketing teams need to really demonstrate their value...and adapt to the changing environment. We also discussed the fact that school is never out for a marketer...or for any business professional for that matter. The strategies and tactics marketers applied 5 years ago are very different than those of today. The social web, for example, has brough the concept of "direct marketing" or "1:1 marketing" to an entirely different level where brands talk to and interact with consumers directly.

"Always keep up on what's going on in the marketing world...understand the new ways to approach marketing...have a point of view...and be able to articulate what to do with it," he added.

"Yes, I agree," I replied. "But I really think that it's those of us with deeper experience who know how to integrate the new thinking (tactic) into the overall marketing strategy so that it's effective. The more experienced marketer continues to add a lot of value provided we keep current."

I hope I'm right...or experienced marketers like the VP and I will be out of a job!

The lesson learned this morning is to always keep refining and building the "tool box" for whatever profession you are in. These new tools will help all of us adjust to any industry changes that ARE happening now.

Well, I'm off to half.com to buy the latest marketing books to learn about the latest trends. I think my first stop will be "Marketing to the Social Web," by Larry Webber.

Know what you are looking for

This past Tuesday afternoon I checked in with the VP, Rob, of the group I used to work in at eBay Motors. Over my tenure at eBay I have developed a great relationship with Rob who always has a steady hand and mind to guide a business or colleague through a challenging time period.

"Be sure to know what you are looking for before you begin your search. Don't just apply for jobs to get a string of interviews," be began. "You will waste your time. By the time you interview, they will be selling YOU on the opportunity as well...and you will lose perspective if this is a job you REALLY need to grow. Take some down time and think through what you want to do next...and what factors are most important to evaluate a position against."

Hmmm....what are the most important factors? Well...decent money is important!! He he. Factors may include: industry, size of company, money, scope of position, career path growth, title,geographic location.

"Whatever your criteria," he continued "be sure to rank them and give yourself a time period to find a position. If at the end of the time period there is nothing doin'...then re-scope. Let's say industry is really important to you...but if over 6 months there is no job, maybe reconsider that #1 factor."

Given the economic times I think it's important to jump on an opportunity that has cash in the bank and is in a "growing" (at least not declining) industry. These two attributes will enable me weather the storm for a few years. A third attribute is growth opportunity to expand my marketing and leadership abilities within the organization. The money...well there are salary ranges that I'm well aware of...but to what end of the spectrum is negotiable looking at base, bonus, stock (yeah right) etc. I do have a magic number though...don't we all?

Over the next three months my job search criteria will be...

1. Well funded organization (most likely a brand name)
2. Company is "growing" (or at least not expecting to downsize in the next six months)
3. Opportunity to grow in my role
4. Compensation (within ranges)
5. Title
6. Geographic location

Five years ago my list would have been different...many companies were well funded and growing. My how times have changed!

What's is your criteria?

Get out there and meet people

Over the past four weeks I've sent out A TON of emails to various friends, colleagues on LinkedIn or Facebook and even previous co-workers who I worked with or for many years ago. I've notice a fairly decent response rate with replies...but the real learning about opportunities or good career mentoring comes from lunches or coffees...not over email or the phone.

I take a notebook with me to each in-person meeting to jot down any, "you should call X-Person...I hear they are hiring," or "do you know what space is HOT now...it's such 'n such..." notes. As I leaf through my pages at the end of each day I'm surprised by how much new information or new contacts that I've gathered for follow up the next day. The big tip here is to be sure and de-brief yourself after each meeting in the car. Before you start the car, write down further thoughts or information shared during the meeting before it leaves your head...you don't want to get home and think "Ugh...what was the name of that guy who knows that person..." Take the extra five minutes and do the self de-brief...you will not regret it.

I recommend that during these in person sessions that you practice your best social etiquet that your mom taught you. Shake hands firmly, but don't induce carpel tunnel syndrome to your colleague with an iron death grip. Chew your food first...and swallow...don't talk with your mouth full and demonstrate what your hamburger looks like blended. Lastly, and this is most important, don't be a "close talker"....


By internalizing these three important social safety tips you are sure to have a successful meeting that leaves a positive impression with a future employer.

An ancillary benefit of working the "lunch circuit" is the opportunity to get out of the house and see some interesting parts of town. I met my friend Carolyn for lunch at Club Slow in the Mission...a place I would never have found without someone with neighborhood knowledge.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment.

Holding out for the right opportunity

I had coffee last week with an executive leader and mentor from a previous e-commerce company that I worked for in San Jose. We met at Peet's in Menlo Park at 8:00am...and WOW, there was a line leading out the door with people getting a cup on the way to work. The economy can't be THAT bad in the Bay Area! However, most of those people in line were knowledge workers...and not a part of the retail worker sector that financial reports on CNBC say make the largest contribution to the unemployment number.

My executive friend is very "human" and willing to share his "from the trenches of the business world" experience with me, a middle manager. I respect his advice a great deal because he's been around a while and has seen economic downturns several times...and knows what NOT to do to foster career growth.

"How badly do you need a job? If you don't have to work, wait for the opportunity that has most of it right. Don't settle for the first job that is offered just to get a job in this tough economy," he replied. He was responding to my question of how flexible I should be with title and compensation...specifically as it relates to my transition from being an individual contributor to a team manager/leader.

In my focus to "stop the financial bleeding" I had expressed to my mentor a possible interest in an individual contributor job at a company that is in a growing industry received Series C funding in late 2007. "Getting ANY job in this economy is a good thing," I mused.

"What you want to avoid is having to explain what happened in your interview for the job AFTER this next job," he began. "You had a nice run...with great career progress. You went from manager to senior manager when I met you. You left our company to become a director. If your next position is back to a senior manager (individual contributor) you will spend time in your next interview explaining what happened to your career. You need to keep progressing...even through tougher times."

Wow, how have economic times changed...even from a year ago. I've discussed my mentor's input with several other unemployed friends who are making the transition to middle management too. There are several individual contributor roles that I've come across...and very few team leader positions. Position title and compensation all depend on the organization, though, so it's hard to create a "rule" for the right position.

Can the unemployed in this downturn afford to hold out for the "right" opportunity? I re-connected with a previous coworker who cannot..he needs a job to make ends meet. Or, is it better to take hold true to career growth....and dig deeper into the network to find the "right" opportunity?

I think the decision will be made based on the level of savings in a person's account...and level of risk tolerance...or faith, that something "more right" will come along.

I'm taking a wait and see attitude. Good things will happen...they always do.