Once upon a time there was a man who had everything a man could want. He had worked at the same remote branch of a major corporation for thirteen years and lived the classic dream. This was his first job out of college and he started at the bottom in IT and had worked his way up to a management role. He was respected by his team, admired by upper management, and valued by peers. Business was not particularly good, but he felt secure with his life in this small community, including a family, mortgage, and a life style that sometimes cost more than he earned. He had all of his ducks in a row and had no major worries. Everything was perfect except for impending doom on the horizon.
One Friday morning when he arrived at work he found a message that his boss wanted to see him right away. It was unusual to be called into her office for no apparent reason and was surprised to see her at her desk with the HR Director and a woman he had never seen before sitting in the guest chairs. “Corporate has made the decision that we will be downsizing this site.†After listening without really hearing all that was said, the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach got more real when he finally understood that his whole department had also been outsourced and this would be his last day working there. Mystery Woman was introduced as an outplacement consultant that would work with him on a new job search starting Monday.
He wandered unconsciously through the next several weeks somewhat alone, not willing to believe that it wasn’t something he had done wrong. Guilt and self doubt added to the problems of a huge credit card debt, monthly payments on a home currently worth less than the balance on the mortgage, and a job search in a location where there were no jobs. He found a temp job working for a small local company, but soon left after he felt the stigma of being branded a loser by his new boss, coworkers, and even his old friends. On the horizon he saw others flying into new jobs as he remained unwanted. His management job had been a reward for his service, but it also took him away from the first line technology and felt he was not qualified to manage or work in IT again.
He heard about a user group meeting in his former area of specialty being held in nearby Lake City. He was reluctant to go, but decided that it would at least be a chance to get away and clear his head. It would actually be better to be teased or harassed by people in a place where he could walk away than stay home and talk to his neighbors. When he arrived, he was pleasantly shocked when the other participants welcomed him and accepted him as one of their own. He realized that he had grown in knowledge in his former job in a way that made him not only fit into this crowd, but also allowed him to talk intelligently about his expertise and give added insight to the conversation. He discovered that one of the participants was the CIO of a local company and before the evening was over he was invited to interview for a manager position there.
Everyone lived happily ever after, right? Well, this is not only a story about an ugly duckling that turns into a swan, but it is also a composite of many actual lives today. For the sake of brevity some of the worst possible scenarios are not mentioned. I know some individuals that are swans, but don’t know it yet. I know hiring managers that only see ugly ducklings when they look at unemployed job seekers without realizing the trauma that often accompanies a job search. The real moral of this story is that hope never dies for anybody and perseverance pays. It also points out that looking for potential in candidates is a greater asset than the “What have you done lately…†mentality that many shortsighted managers seem to have.
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