What to do when your Career takes an UNEXPECTED Turn

Wirtten by Robert Mann - ETATS UNIS, MBA - Labor Relations Manager. Experienced Transportation Operation, Industrial Engineering, & Information Technology Manager.

Have you ever went out on a limb and taken a chance only to see it blow up in your face? This could apply to many situations. For instance; taking a new job, moving to a new area, or a career change. In my case I had decided to leave a very secure stable position to take a chance and become an entrepreneur, something I always wanted to do! Joan Rivers once said, “If you are not doing what you love you’re a fool.” I took that to heart and wanted to do something I always dreamed of doing. I decided to resign from an organization I had been with for 20 years and take a chance only to see it blow up in my face unfortunately. I do not plan to get into the gory details due to legal reasons however my life took a major turn. When making a major change you have to plan obviously, Benjamin Franklin once wrote, ‘If you fail to plan you planning to fail’. You cannot plan on people failing you unfortunately. With great risk come great reward they say and you must be prepared to fail. That which does not kill me makes me stronger Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, ‘What does not destroy me, makes me stronger’, the key is not letting it destroy you of course. Again no matter how much you plan you cannot predict the future and sometimes even the best plan can fail.

With that said, what do you do in response? There is an old saying that states, ‘If life gives you lemons, then make lemonade’. You can’t just sit and complain you must get up dust yourself off and move forward. Dale Carnegie wrote, “Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain – and most fools do.” Do not be that fool by complaining and feeling sorry for yourself; what is this accomplishing? Mr. Carnegie also wrote, “Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have.” Think about that for a moment? It is human nature to complain and feel sorry for ourselves when things do not go our way. You must fight against this nature and stand up! I will not allow this situation to destroy me! I am stronger than this and I will win in the end! One of the great minds the world has known, President Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” When life deals you a lemon make lemonade and proceed with making your own future. Take charge of the situation.

When my business venture came to an abrupt end I found myself back in the job market. I did not have enough to retire so off to the job hunt I went. Time was ticking. I felt I needed to get started right away. This was the first time in my life I had been unemployed since I started working. I jumped into the water head first and got started on my job search. I wasted no time. I continually added activities to my strategy as I learned more during my journey. My new full time job was looking for opportunities that matched my skill set and back ground.

Right away I started to apply for jobs on line that met my skill set and back ground. I joined many job boards. This produced very little response my first couple of weeks of this process. I reached out to friends and attempted to network. A good friend who I knew for many years from the Information Technology department while at a large transportation company was able to offer a lot of help. He sent me his book ‘Guerilla Marketing For Job Hunters’. This book set me on a new course. It talked about building your network in social media, namely LinkedIn. Right away I began targeting people in my field and began sending invitations at a feverish rate. When I started I had 68 connections. Within a three week period I was over 1800. I now have a network of over 3,300 connections with a reach of over 15.8 million professionals.

I started to write and post articles on the LinkedIn post board. I now have 17 Postings, with close to 4,700 followers. My most successful article has been, ‘Six Steps to Developing Your People’ which was seen by over 89,000 people and received over 2,400 Likes. I wrote this posting based on my experience and technique I have used as a senior manger over the years. This article really helped grow my following and pushed my profile views through the roof!

My Strategies to finding a new position included but were not limited to:

Build your LinkedIn Profile, detail your history, and add key words so you will be found by recruiters, make sure you include in your header that you are seeking opportunities

Update your resume to build detail and show who you are – show accomplishment details, for instance detail revenue growth, cost reductions and quantify the details – be able to explain how you did it!

Target Companies you want to work for and apply online on their websites directly – make connections and network with company officials that can get your information to a decision maker

Job Boards – get resume posted and apply for jobs that meet your needs and setup email alerts

Build your LinkedIn Network – Target Professionals and HR Recruiters in your field of expertise

Target Recruiters in your field and network with them

Write postings in LinkedIn to market your brand and show your expertise – this really helps grow your connections and following but it is a lot of work

Participate in Groups and show off your expertise to market your brand / Start a group of your own for the same purpose like I did

I laid out a list of companies to target. I began applying on their web sites and making LinkedIn connections with officials in these companies. I then reached out to network with them about open jobs and if they could point me to the right person to get my foot in the door.

Within a month of serious job hunting I was able to land a great position with another freight company that was exactly what I was looking for. God blessed me and my family with this opportunity and I plan to make the very most of it as we move forward. At the end of the day all you have is you and your family, you must remember that. Life can deal some tough blows from time to time but you must be strong and fight adversity head on.

I will leave you with a quote from Walter Anderson, “Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have – life itself.”

It has been said that losing your livelihood can be very similar to losing a love one; it is a major life change. It can be a very humbling experience when your career takes an unexpected turn for the worse. Choose to rise above it, follow the steps in this positing, and your next great opportunity you will find is just out there waiting for you. Best of luck to you job hunters out there! Please feel free to connect with me if I can help you in any way.

Robert Mann, MBA
Labor Relations Manager