Get Out of the Box!

Thinking outside the box is a term we hear associated with many topics.  Usually, I don't jump up on a soapbox or join the crowd but this time I will promote creative thinking when it comes to the job search process.   There are many professions that are fading away, leaving a huge number of seasoned professionals with useless skill sets, or so it seems.  Whether you have been out of work due to a layoff, disability, or family leave, the fact is the job you used to be great at may not be readily available to return to now or in the future.  This is a very tough realization for many of us to make.  I remember my high school guidance counselor telling me to become a lawyer as there will never be unemployment in that profession.  Over 30 years later, she has definitely been proven to be wrong!

How do you step out of the box and redirect your career is probably the question many of you are asking.  Let's take an example of an Urban Planner with a BS in Civil Engineering and an MS in Public Administration who has spent the past 20 years helping small municipalities develop transit centers.  With funds for massive projects drying up, this person can no longer find sufficient consulting work in their profession.  After 2 years of fruitless resume submittals and a handful of unproductive interviews, we came to have a discussion recently.  I asked this individual about her experience and learned that she has done a lot of proposal writing and of course a ton of research as part of that process.  She really likes writing and feels she is very good at this.  When writing a proposal, it is part instructional guide and part marketing brochure.  We talked about which direction she feels stronger pursuing and she is now grabbing freelance assignments for tourism bureaus, engineering firms, municipal governments, colleges, etc. writing promotional materials on their behalf.  The money per project may not be as much as she received doing urban planning but the workflow is much more regular so there was a good trade-off.

Finding a new direction is not easy.  Some careers transition to others in better fashion while some of you will have to really dig deep to find that new path.  It is not impossible but you will probably need to sound out many folks to help come up with the best ideas.  Think about this for a moment.  If you have been unable to find gainful employment in your field for a very long time, wouldn't it be better to find a way to use some of your talents rather than continue moving in the wrong direction?