There is a great article in Time this week about what they call “economoms.” Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/c5tbc5 . “Economoms” are stay at home moms that have recently gone back to work full-time due, in large part, to the recent economic downturn. It is ironic that they ran this article this week, because this is the new reality of the Kelley household.
My wife and I have been married for almost 14 years. In that time she has worked full time for less than 3 years. All but a few months of that time was prior to the birth of our son who will be 11 in May. We have been fortunate enough to have enough income though my career and off and on part time jobs on her part to very comfortable lifestyle. She has dedicated her time to raising her three kids. That would be Joe the 11 year old, Louise the 8 year old, and me the 38 year old. She has done an amazing job but we a standing on the precipice of all of that being undone fairly quickly by me, the "econodad".
Christy started a full time job yesterday. She is going back to work for a national professional association. Is a great organization and it seems like the culture is a good fit for what she was looking for. She is really excited about it and is looking at it as a long term opportunity. However, the down side is I am now Mr. Mom.
While the "economom" should be celebrated as another example of moms’ “do whatever it takes” actions when it comes to her family, the scary side of this equation is the “econodad.” These men, who were once master’s of their domains in the workplace, are now domestic managers. Now they are no longer in charge of “developing high performing teams who work in cross functional environments”. They are now in charge of wiping noses and doing laundry. Being recently thrust into this role, I can tell you, I’m not sure I can handle it. I’m scared. Can I juggle all the responsibilities that are now mine? Can I get the kids to school while doing the laundry, making the grocery list, scheduling Dr’s appointments, paying the bills and making sure everyone eats their vegetables? It is not going to happen. Something has got to give.
I just hope that when things settle down and my wife and I settle into a more normal schedule with us both working and sharing the duties at home that I have not ruined her 10 years of work. I have already seen the negative effects of my poor job performance. We have already had triple the amount of “fast food nights” since I have been in charge. I can only hope that on my next performance review, my wife takes a little mercy on me. I would not want her to rate me “significantly below expectations.”
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
The more things change...
It was not very long ago that a job search involved a few key tools. First, you had to have a resume. I remember taking my first resume to a printing company to have 500 copies printed. Second, you had to find the jobs. The Sunday paper was the key source of your week's leads. If you were a more senior job seeker, the Wall Street Journal's weekly jobs section was the source of your leads. Thirdly, a big glass of water for the inevitable cotton mouth you would get from licking all those envelopes. These three things and few helpful people to network with and you were in business. Wow, what a different world we live in now. Or is it?
You still need the resume. In fact you need many resumes, Word Docs, .txt copies, one pagers, full resumes. I would argue that your resume is not a just a document but a living organism that changes everyday you do something of note. If you volunteer, that goes on the resume. Pick up some contract work, that to makes it on the resume. Learn a new programming language...yep you guessed it. Unlike George O'Leary when he got the head coaching job at Notre Dame, we put those things on our resume that we have actually done. But we can change it everyday if we need to. We are not stuck with 500 copies like we were in the past. It can truly be reworded for every opportunity. What an advantage. Imagine if a company could re-shoot their Superbowl commercial to appeal to every person watching. That is the power of the modern job search. You still need a resume but it can be targeted for whatever audience you need to reach.
If you have looked at the Sunday newspaper recently you know how sad the classified section looks. It has been a few years since I have looked at it for any reason but I doubt that it has improved. In the modern era the tools to find open positions are endless. Job Boards come in all shapes and sizes. There are even job boards that search job boards (i.e. http://www.indeed.com/ ). Unlike the classifieds, which were only one section of the paper, the access to the myriad of opportunities in endless. This is also a pitfall. There is so much information out there that it can lead to feeling overwhelmed. You can fall victim to jobseeker "brain freeze".
While the occasional snail mail letter does go out in the 21st century job search. The index finger is now the heavy lifter. This digit gets the honor on hitting the send, upload and submit buttons on all those emails, networking sites and HR portals. These represent the new mass mailing. While we strive to network to the decision makers, most job seekers have to justify themselves by applying to those jobs where they have no contact. That's okay. In today's world, why not? It's not like you are spending $0.40.
No, Toto we are not in Kansas anymore. Things have changed, but like most of today's technology, it is just a more efficient way of doing the same thing we used to do. The modern job search requires a resume, a way to source leads and a method to get your information to them. Seems like things have not changed all that much.
You still need the resume. In fact you need many resumes, Word Docs, .txt copies, one pagers, full resumes. I would argue that your resume is not a just a document but a living organism that changes everyday you do something of note. If you volunteer, that goes on the resume. Pick up some contract work, that to makes it on the resume. Learn a new programming language...yep you guessed it. Unlike George O'Leary when he got the head coaching job at Notre Dame, we put those things on our resume that we have actually done. But we can change it everyday if we need to. We are not stuck with 500 copies like we were in the past. It can truly be reworded for every opportunity. What an advantage. Imagine if a company could re-shoot their Superbowl commercial to appeal to every person watching. That is the power of the modern job search. You still need a resume but it can be targeted for whatever audience you need to reach.
If you have looked at the Sunday newspaper recently you know how sad the classified section looks. It has been a few years since I have looked at it for any reason but I doubt that it has improved. In the modern era the tools to find open positions are endless. Job Boards come in all shapes and sizes. There are even job boards that search job boards (i.e. http://www.indeed.com/ ). Unlike the classifieds, which were only one section of the paper, the access to the myriad of opportunities in endless. This is also a pitfall. There is so much information out there that it can lead to feeling overwhelmed. You can fall victim to jobseeker "brain freeze".
While the occasional snail mail letter does go out in the 21st century job search. The index finger is now the heavy lifter. This digit gets the honor on hitting the send, upload and submit buttons on all those emails, networking sites and HR portals. These represent the new mass mailing. While we strive to network to the decision makers, most job seekers have to justify themselves by applying to those jobs where they have no contact. That's okay. In today's world, why not? It's not like you are spending $0.40.
No, Toto we are not in Kansas anymore. Things have changed, but like most of today's technology, it is just a more efficient way of doing the same thing we used to do. The modern job search requires a resume, a way to source leads and a method to get your information to them. Seems like things have not changed all that much.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Caught Up in the Wave
I was in a hotel room watching Brian Williams. He was trying to sound upbeat while telling the American public that it was going to be one of the worst holiday seasons for the retailers on record. Apparently, this was supposed to be a surprise to everyone. Since September the never ending flow of bad economic news had been pounding us down like an enemy that cannot be stopped. So the revelation that no one was spending any money did not strike me as "Breaking News".
I was spending the next day in Wilmington, NC with one of the sales reps that worked for me. I had spent the early evening planning and eating take out Mexican food. I was half listening to Brian Williams and the economic doom and gloom he was reporting when I got the call that changed everything. "Pete, are you traveling?" my boss said with a pretty somber tone.
"Yeah, I'm in Wilmington riding with Matt tomorrow. I think we are going to Myrtle Beach. What's up?"
"We're done" he said.
"I'm not following you." I said, wanting clarification. I had already figured out why he had called.
"Tomorrow, there will be a company wide conference call announcing that we will be shutting down operations" he said not bothering to disguise his own disappointment and bitterness.
We talked for less than a minute and in that time my world was rocked. I had gone from having a job I loved and provided me the perfect work-life balance to being one of the millions currently unemployed. I went from knowing exactly what I needed do and where I was going to be for the next two months to having no clue as to what to do next. I felt beat up, thrown out, discarded and most importantly pissed off. I was caught up in the wave.
That was two weeks before Christmas. After the initial shock wore off I have come to accept and even embrace my current situation. I have faced job losses before. I was working for an Internet company in 2000. We were squarely on the the bubble when it burst. Needless to say the stock options that lured me to that company are worth as much as a share of Enron stock. But I have never experienced a job loss when the tide of bad news was so strong. I have completely sworn off the nightly news and am down to only reading the sports section of the local paper. I cannot and will not let the media rob me of any optimism I have.
I am writing this blog as a therapeutic exercise for myself. But if anyone reading it is in a similar situation, please do not hesitate to comment or share your thoughts. I'm in sales, I have thick skin. I will update it between a seemingly endless schedule of networking groups, coffee meetings, trips to the gym, honey-do's and kids activities.
I was spending the next day in Wilmington, NC with one of the sales reps that worked for me. I had spent the early evening planning and eating take out Mexican food. I was half listening to Brian Williams and the economic doom and gloom he was reporting when I got the call that changed everything. "Pete, are you traveling?" my boss said with a pretty somber tone.
"Yeah, I'm in Wilmington riding with Matt tomorrow. I think we are going to Myrtle Beach. What's up?"
"We're done" he said.
"I'm not following you." I said, wanting clarification. I had already figured out why he had called.
"Tomorrow, there will be a company wide conference call announcing that we will be shutting down operations" he said not bothering to disguise his own disappointment and bitterness.
We talked for less than a minute and in that time my world was rocked. I had gone from having a job I loved and provided me the perfect work-life balance to being one of the millions currently unemployed. I went from knowing exactly what I needed do and where I was going to be for the next two months to having no clue as to what to do next. I felt beat up, thrown out, discarded and most importantly pissed off. I was caught up in the wave.
That was two weeks before Christmas. After the initial shock wore off I have come to accept and even embrace my current situation. I have faced job losses before. I was working for an Internet company in 2000. We were squarely on the the bubble when it burst. Needless to say the stock options that lured me to that company are worth as much as a share of Enron stock. But I have never experienced a job loss when the tide of bad news was so strong. I have completely sworn off the nightly news and am down to only reading the sports section of the local paper. I cannot and will not let the media rob me of any optimism I have.
I am writing this blog as a therapeutic exercise for myself. But if anyone reading it is in a similar situation, please do not hesitate to comment or share your thoughts. I'm in sales, I have thick skin. I will update it between a seemingly endless schedule of networking groups, coffee meetings, trips to the gym, honey-do's and kids activities.
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