6 Ways You Are Making Yourself Virtually Unemployable
There are going to be struggles in your career. You are going to make moves up, laterally, and sometimes you have to take a step back to get in the right career lane. It's messy and you are going to make mistakes. It's OK!
Yesterday I encountered a young talent who had posted an unflattering rant about her former employer. The reason she was so bitter was that she couldn't live with the terms of her employment agreement. Somehow the fact that SHE signed the agreement, accepted a paycheck under those terms for years, and finds it doesn't work for HER is now the employer's fault?
Reading the ensuing comments led me to think about the ways I've watched peers, mentees, even bosses, become virtually unemployable. There were six that came to mind:
1. You bash an employer on your social media platforms. Listen, it lasts forever. Screen caps happen in seconds and you have lost control after the very first one. If you burn every bridge you cross you'll eventually run out of bridges. Your next employer is going to wonder if that's how you'll speak about them. Welcome to your own career island, don't drink the water!
2. You have unrealistic compensation expectations because of an anomaly or windfall in the past. Markets change so should your expectations. As a smart entrepreneur once told me "Mike, the tooth fairy only comes once, you better recognize it and take advantage of it when it happens".
3. Entitlement. If you feel time in position deserves status and compensation it might work well on the way up in a rapidly growing company and industry but when you time out (media) or your skills become obsolete (tech), you are going to find yourself in a difficult position to maintain what you have.
4. You have ZERO network because you've been putting all your eggs into a single basket. All of a sudden the job is gone and you struggle to identify even 2 influencers that can help you. Our networks LOVE to help, it's human nature. You'll be amazed how others will step up and open doors for you.
5. Your skills are either not transferable or you can't explain how they are relevant. This is what I most commonly see for those coming out of the broadcast news business as it contracts. You must constantly test the waters outside of your current role and industry. As crazy as it sounds, you need to go into the first day of a new job with one foot out the door headed to your next job.
6. The industry is in rapid decline and you are somehow surprised when you are laid off or your role is outsourced. All success in your career can be dependent upon two simple things: timing and execution. You need to be aware of when the time is right to move and then successfully execute a change strategy.
In summary, the biggest takeaway to all 6 above should be that YOU are in control of your career, until you aren't.
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