There was a saying in one of my previous jobs; “You are only as good as your last success.”  The purpose of the saying was to insure that every employee remained focused on achieving success.  The underlying message however, eventually became “failure is not an option.” 

 It was no surprise that, when the aforementioned company began layoffs, employees looked at their termination as failure, and carried this baggage during their job searches.  The result was that their respective searches became much more difficult. 

 I have given that message some thought lately.  To expect nothing but success 100% of the time is an unrealistic expectation.  This is especially true when it comes to job search.  There are times when you just need to take a step back and accept the fact that success does not occur every time you undertake an effort. 

The holiday season is particularly stressful for those who are unemployed.  So as we enter this holiday season, I offer the following message:

   Whether you have just lost your job, or have been unemployed for a long period of time, DO NOT LOOK UPON YOUR UNEMPLOYMENT AS FAILURE!  During your job search there will be times when you feel that you have failed, and your attempt at finding new employment seems nearly impossible.  Please do your best to dismiss these thoughts. 

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No matter what your occupation is, losing your job is a difficult issue to face.  If, however, you are in the public spotlight, think of how much harder it would be.

When high profile firings are mentioned, many think of the transgressions that led to dismissals of Don Imus and Marv Albert. Thanks to the news media, most of us know why these individuals 

were fired.  Both were eventually re-hired.  Not everyone is as lucky as those two individuals.  Here are some other high profile firings that have taken place over the past few decades. If you are upset about your job loss, please take a moment to think of the following people.

1): Donna Reed.   Donna Reed was one of those actresses anyone could identify with.  She had a “girl next door image” and in the early days of Hollywood she found steady work with MGM Studios.  She was best noted for her role as Mary Bailey in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s she played what was considered an average American housewife in “The Donna Reed Show.”  For Ms. Reed her hardest moment was yet to come.

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It is hard to believe that I have been writing for The 405 Club for one year!  A few days ago I was reminded of this in the form of an e-mail I received from The Ladders.com.  During my unemployment I found a great deal of inspiration in the writings of Marc Cenedella.  In fact, I enjoy his writings so much that I continue to read them on a weekly basis.  This week Mr. Cenedella wrote a piece that seemed very familiar to me.  He noted how potential employers love to poke around the internet to see if they can find any past information that could potentially disqualify you as the candidate of choice.  He suggested that you use a search engine such as Google, input your name, and see what comes up.

   I hate to sound like the advertisement that says “You heard it here first”.  My first writing for 405 in September 2009, titled MY BIGGEST NIGHTMARE WAS TO START A JOB SEARCH AT MY AGE dealt with the same issue.  Exactly one year ago, I pointed out that “There could be something on the internet that a Human Resources person might misconstrue, which, in turn may prevent you from landing your next position”.  I cannot, however take full credit for this idea.  The real credit goes to an employment counselor at Hempstead Works, who raised this issue.

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I make it a point to keep in contact with my former co-workers.  Some have found new positions, however others are still struggling to find work.  I try to encourage them however I can; however the longer one is out of work, the harder it is to find encouraging words.  The inability of Congress to pass an extension on unemployment benefits prior to their vacation has discouraged many of my friends and former co-workers who are struggling to find work.

When I spoke to a one of my friends a short time ago, I tried to point out that every employer is different.  For example, an action that could warrant disciplinary action against you on one job may get you an award for original thinking in another position.  Similarly speaking, conducting yourself the same way at two different interviews will most likely yield two different impressions or results.  This week, I would like to share a phone conversation with a friend who is still struggling to find a job.

About a week ago, I received a call from one of my friends who has been out of work for 18 months…

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One of the first things I learned in outplacement counseling was to develop and cultivate a network.  This was a philosophy that I embraced back in 1996 when I lost my previous job to downsizing and outsourcing.  As a result I have contacts in various industries.

A few days ago I received a call from one of my contacts.  His expertise is the area of finance.  We had a very interesting conversation and I felt it would be a great idea to write about it for this submission:

 A View From Finance     

   It was midweek when I received a call from one of my contacts.  We have always had interesting conversations about the state of the US.  We have kept a running dialogue ever since the recession began in 2007.  When my friend called, I was glad to hear from him.  The conversation went something like this:

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I realize that we all make bad decisions from time to time but I find that there are some that are more upsetting than others. Earlier this month, my wife and I decided to watch some baseball on cable.  We saw Armando Galarraga pitch what looked like a perfect game.  For all practical purposes it should have been, however a bad call turned what should have been a perfect game into a travesty. I found that I could not stop talking about this.

   When I read that the Commissioner of Baseball refused to overturn the call, it really got under my skin. To me, it had the same effect as if a top level executive made a poor business decision that cost employees their jobs. The commissioner’s response to the controversy was weak. He stated that he would “think about” expanding the use of technology. To me, it sounded like he would not do anything to correct a situation that urgently needed to be addressed. 

   I felt I had to write about this issue.  I definitely felt that there was an analogy here between this situation, and badly executed corporate decisions which result in layoffs and increasing unemployment.  After all, if the Baseball commissioner could “just think” about making improvements in baseball, how would we feel if the Federal Government said it would just think about taking action to reduce the high unemployment rate?  My wife thought I was getting too carried away with this issue.   

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