Your Career and You...Are You Prepared to Make a Move?

It seems that the turn of the decade is bringing me new opportunities to talk about one of my favorite topics...career progression. In the past week, I have talked with two different public relations professionals, one of whom is now in her first job search in years, the other on the cusp...what's next for me?

The past couple of years have been humdingers, and a lot of my friends have been "transitioned." Having been a victim of the last decade's meltdown (early-1990s), I sympathize and empathize. And I would love to be able to reach into my handy bag of tricks and pull out a couple of hot prospects. But I can't.

What I do is say, "Never forget it wasn't about you as a professional. It was a corporate decision to cut costs, and the public relations function usually is one of the first to get whacked."

What I do next is ask, "What are you doing in your search? Where are you looking? What search venues are you using? How are you using your network?"

One of the people I spoke with is a very recent college master's degree graduate. She has been in touch with my friend Ted Chaloner at Chaloner Associates. She has been using some of the online job sites including the Public Relations Society of America's members-only resource. She has been talking with some of her professional contacts. All very good steps.

But she has not talked with her college's career services office...a typically overlooked resource for college graduates. I never cease to be amazed, when I visit the career services offices at either Curry College, where I am a full-time communication faculty member, or Regis College, where I am an adjunct professor, at the wealth of information available for the respective college's current students...and alums!

I have been invited to serve as moderator for a Publicity Club of New England program on career opportunities in the new decade. Ted, as well as representatives from public relations firms, consumer products companies, and career advisory agencies, will be on hand to offer advice for anyone either in a job search or anticipating the need to start conducting a job search.

Hopefully one or more of the panelists will address the value of using career service offices. But, if they don't, no problem. I will!

Both the Pub Club and the Boston Chapter, PRSA, offer excellent programming. More importantly, they offer a wealth of networking opportunities. This was how I found an amazing job when my wife and I moved from Boston to Hawaii back in the early 90s. (Remember I said I got caught in the meltdown? A quick Aloha to my friends in the PRSA Hawaii chapter!)

Take advantage of these and other resources. You just might be surprised!