Maintaining Your "Sweet Spot" in the Midst of "The Restructuring"

So by now most of us either have been or know someone who has been swept up in "The Restructuring" "The Restructuring" is the change going on in the job market where one year you are relevant and needed in a given organization and then suddenly not. Such restructuring does not mean that you are not valuable but that the "sweet spot" where your value is relevant has shifted. Such a shift happen in the context of organization, industry, network, problem set, geographic location, etc.. Wherever the shift occurs for you the point is that you have to stay nimble and aware so you can migrate your value to the new sweet spot that every restructuring" naturally creates. Too many of us believe our value is in a job, title or organization when, in fact, our value is in our education, experience, skills, networks and knowledge. That value creates what we need, in terms of money and other benefits, when matched to a need that organizations and customer have. This intersection is what I refer to as the "sweet spot".

I have been getting lots of call from colleagues lately asking for insights on how to recapture their "sweet spots" in the midst of "The Restructuring" and here is what I have given in the way of advice:


1. Reorganize your resume around skills versus jobs. We have been taught to organize our resumes by job, but the fact is that skills and results are more critical these days than a list of jobs and responsibilities. Job-based resumes make potential employers work too hard to find your value. Organize by the skills from target job description you are applying to so you are pinpointing your value against what the employer is specifically looking for. Use the job responsibilities from the job chronology of your resume under relevant skill in the skills section of your resume and include results with as many of those responsibilities as possible. Include your job chronology in a section of your resume after your skills and results. This is a very difficult exercise but it will make your resume stand up and sing while also preparing you to interview better as you will have your skills and results top of mind.


2. Look for projects in addition to jobs. The employed, even temps, get jobs faster than the unemployed. Its an unfair bias but one nonetheless. When restructured, stay employed, even if self-employed. Often when an organization does not have a job for you, they can offer you a project as a contractor. Go for jobs, but do not neglect projects. Until you get a job, projects get you income, keep you in circulation, and put you closer to a job than those who are unemployed otherwise.


3. Identify what you have of value and give it away relentlessly to those who value it. Know your gifts, resources and value. Know who values your gifts and resources. Get good at matching the two. Be a go-giver.

4. Be relevantly differentiated. Know your unique value proposition (UVP). You must stand out in the crowd. If you are not differentiated on the basis of your UVP, you are lost in the memory and perception of others. People must know you as a above average provider in the area of your competence. You must learn to communicate this, and to those who care as well as those who know those who care. This is called "Personal Branding" and is a critical skill in today's career market.


5. Be relevantly ubiquitous. When you nail down your UVPs, be everywhere that UVP is relevant. Meet the other experts. Offer your expertise and service in those relevant communities of practice. Speak at relevant conferences and forums. Write articles & comment on blogs, book & videos in the area of your UVP. Engage in online forums where relevant discussions are going on. Do research which adds to the field of knowledge. Develop your thought leadership! Practice the "go-giver" principle! Remember the greater blessing of giving! As you do this, you will tip into the projects and jobs you desire in the area of your UVP.


6. Cultivate your referral network. Who you know is important, but the network of those you know is even more so. Know who in your network knows who, and what organizations they are associated with. Ask for connections and referrals, more than for jobs. People can offer more of the former than the latter.


Please feel free to comment adding other suggestions you have in addition to these for how we can all stay nimble and in our "sweet spots" during this current "Restructuring".

Knowing & Telling Your Value Story

Recently in my "Natural Gifts" class, I engaged my students in a discussion about their value at work. I asked them if they understood the value their respective jobs contributed to the organizations they worked for. I was not surprised to see the blank stares. Unfortunately, this is too often the case. Most of us do not give thought to this question day to day, nor are we able to articulate our contributed value to our management, peers, reports or prospective employers.

I challenged each of them to consider why their organizations should not get rid of them and what would be lost if their jobs (or they) were eliminated. This is important and critical! I explained that every role in an organization must:

1) generate revenue or savings of time, money or relationships,

2) reduce/control costs, or

3) improve effectiveness or efficiency of processes or relationships.

If we do not know and cannot talk about our value in these, or other terms, we are in trouble in organizations of today, whether public or private sector, for profit or non-profit, or management or non-management.

To avoid this trouble, it is critical that we know our value in all the organizations we are members of, and that we are able to tell a compelling story about this value. This makes our present positions more secure, and in the case where we have to go, we are able to better conduct "value conversations" which open the door to our next opportunities.

For more on this, read my past blog post, Interviews As A Value Conversation.