One of my best friends, truly nature's nobleman, has just been laid off from his job after two decades in an executive position. He's not only capable, but a great, generous personality. I love him to pieces. The only problem is that he is going about his approach to getting a new job in the way a nobleman would attempt to find a job--and this is not the best way to get work in a nation that bans titles of hereditary nobility.
I have seen so many others do likewise that I thought I might examine his case, decide what he's doing wrong, and advise him how to do things differently. This story may help you, too, whether you are nobleman or worker-bee. Ivan, as I will call him, is about fifty. He used to earn about two hundred thousand a year. In his field and in his location, this was a spectacularly good salary. It will be a major coup if he can find work that pays even close to what he was making before.
The solution: Undertake a major blitz to find a job that pays as much as possible--given the realities of the situation--and then fill in the holes with consulting or freelance work.
1. Self-Reliance When you lose your job, it's up to YOU, not anyone else, to get the new job. Your friends can, will, and should help. But it's your life.
Ivan has called me a few times and, in disgusted tones, told me that certain employers are not offering what he needs to maintain his lifestyle and send his girls to college. Ivan has every right to feel dismay. He's a capable guy in his field and deserves to enjoy a pleasant way of life. But he is making a serious mistake. The employer has absolutely no obligation to pay Ivan what Ivan wants or needs. The employer's job is to get the best possible help he can get for the least money. That's what he owes to his owners. Job applicants must show the employer that he (or she) will be so productive that they deserve a big salary. Work is not charity. It's not asking your parents for a raise in your allowance. Work is a marketplace where people, jobs, and money are matched according to some system of fair exchange.
2. Demonstrate Your Value By and large, you earn what you're worth, and it's up to you to show that as a big number. You are selling your productivity, not what you need to live on. It's that simple.
Ivan also is trying to find an environment like the one he had before: one employer, absorbing work, friendly colleagues, a general feeling of fulfillment. Alas, the work he finds now is not as interesting, not as well paid, performed by strangers, and devoid of passion. Ivan shows a certain contempt for this situation, and I totally understand him. But his first job at this point is to feed his family, pay his car insurance, and put aside some shekels for future tuition bills. In this life, bills are usually paid by labor. We must settle for what we can get.
3. Put First Things First If we can't always get what we want, then we have to settle for what we need. (I think I've heard that before
