Author: Nancy Ahlrichs

Career transition services made all the difference

The marketplace is being flooded with job seekers from EVPs to Managers to restaurant servers as organizations of all sizes go through the emotional process of downsizing. Employers can add one thing that will make this tough situation better for affected individuals, remaining employees, and the Human Resources department. Career transition services make a tough situation better. I know from being in all three roles.

Early in my career, after I relocated with my company from Chicago to Orlando, my job as a Training Manager was eliminated along with the jobs of 30 others who had just moved. Career transition services made all the difference and changed my career trajectory. I could not be more grateful to my employer for helping me at this difficult time. I would not have had the same career success if not for the advice and knowledge shared by my career coach during that time of unplanned life change.

It was shocking to lose my job--and equally shocking to learn I was just like anyone who loses their job after being “heads down” in their work. I didn’t have current job search skills. My old resume wouldn’t get me an interview. I wasn’t a member of a professional organization. I’d never networked and “didn’t have a network.” And I didn’t have a sense of the size of my potential employer universe. Worst of all, I didn’t want to go back to what I was doing. I wanted a true career change.

Today’s job seekers find themselves in a foreign-feeling, technology-heavy job search quagmire. The typical job seeker doesn’t know the keywords that must be in their resume. They never built a Linked In page. They don’t realize that they DO have a network, but they don’t know how to structure a networking conversation. They don’t know how to use the questions they ask in the interview to help them negotiate the best possible compensation. They don’t realize the effort involved and face months of searching.

Any job change requires “packaging yourself” to become the logical candidate for an interview. My career coach helped me to create a resume that served to “bridge” my past experience to my new career. He taught me networking skills, how to position myself from the competition, confidence, and how to strategize my search, and ensure a successful interview.

Thanks to the coaching and personal attention I received, I used my new-found knowledge and co-founded what became the largest public relations firm in Orlando. That knowledge has served me in my career ever since.

A few years after that, I was recruited away to open the San Diego office for the career transition firm that assisted me when I originally lost my job. From there, I returned to Indianapolis, got my certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and launched a rich new career yet again.

I know that career transition services help to shorten the employee’s job search which is a good thing. The faster he or she lands a job, the better for the individual and for the organization that had the downsizing. By making these services available you help the recipient, the remaining employees by demonstrating care and yes, the Human Resources professionals who managed the transition process.

About the author:

Nancy S. Ahlrichs, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is an author, speaker, and talent management expert who resides in Indianapolis, Indiana.