Engine for Job Growth: YOU!

You’re probably familiar with the idea that small business is the engine of job growth. While this may well be true generally, today’s economic reality makes it difficult to wait for those new jobs to materialize. Increasingly, it now looks like the engine of job growth needs to be the individual.

In fact, in the job search strategy sessions I lead, a regular theme is the need to develop an entrepreneurial mind set in managing one’s career. For many people, this mostly means starting one’s own business. Yet, being entrepreneurial can also mean managing a portfolio of work as a contractor or part-timer.

Lately, it seems the experiences people are having at the hands of large employers support “a radical rethink of the hiring game” – according to a recent BusinessWeek article, “Winning Back a Wary Workforce.” The article states that “Many people have come to the conclusion that they don't want to work for ‘the man’ anymore.” It goes on to say that to win workers back after the current recession, “Teams will need to be smaller, organizations flatter, and the values of candor, informality, and innovation must be baked into the culture. People will need to feel that what they say matters…”

Indeed, a work climate that is built on entrepreneurial values is what has long driven people to want to work for themselves. And according to Pam Slim, author of Escape From Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur, breaking out is easier than you might think – provided you’re able to identify and build on your passions, and to create value that people will actually pay for.

Easy? Maybe. Working in a “comfort zone” provided by an employer can be a big barrier to making the leap. Even if your company has given you a push with a forced separation, your instinct is probably to find another job as soon as possible – and you’ll probably rely on a standard approach to job search to do so. Yet, we’re seeing that traditional methods of finding a job are increasingly limited in the results they produce. Yes, it is time to rethink – and you would do well to start that process for yourself.

To start driving job creation for you, start managing Brand You. Make sure you offer unique value, determine the customers you serve, and identify what sets you apart in their minds. Then, rely less on your resume and more on implementing a media plan that helps you become visible, conveying your passion and the results you can drive for your customers in the future.

Cross-posted at the Threshold Consulting blog 

Comments

[Paul Copcutt - Square Peg]

Walter, good observations and advice. Just came back from a meeting with a client who is a franchise broker - helping people decide on the best franchise for the life and work they want. It's no longer about food retailing, there are many more options, and he told me that by the end of next week they will have closed more deals this year than the whole of 2008.

We have all heard the fact that Google and the like were started in a recession, but for many the huge leap to entrepreneurship is just too big. Franchising offers a proven method and system with the support of a bigger corporation.

Another is direct sales, or that dirty word networking marketing, again some great opportunities out there for those looking for a balance of some security with flexibility and good potential - and still not having to go back and work for 'the man'.

[Walter Akana]

Hey Paul! Thanks for your comments. These are, in fact, all good avenues for people who want to venture outside the big corporate environment. Just today, though, in the weekly strategy session I lead, we looked at “repackaging” one’s skill set and leveraging them as a consultant or contractor to small business – a few people in the group have actually gone down this road. It’s great!

More broadly, people are beginning to see they have very little leverage in being a “job seeker” and are beginning to network not for job leads, but for one-off (foot-in-the-door) opportunities to do projects.

I think that it’s really time to step outside of old assumptions and tackle career management in new ways.