When all else fails…what next?
The idea for this post actually comes from my husband. As I’ve posted before, he has been unemployed since June 2008. Just so you don’t think he’s a slug, he has been unemployed as an artist in the giftware/greeting card industry for over 30 years. He’s never been unemployed before. His previous employer did a company reorg and his job was eliminated. He knows his industry and is quite talented. So does he take just any old job? My answer—not if he doesn’t have to! But he’s getting a bit discouraged.
Here’s his question—When he’s tried everything the “experts” have suggested and still nothing works—what does he do next? Keep in mind he’s married to me and I’ve offered my share of advice! To give you a sense of what he HAS done…here’s the list in a nutshell…made cold calls to employers, gotten names of hiring managers when a position is open and made a “sell yourself over the phone” call, attended many seminars on successful job searching, had experts review and update his resume, has a pretty good LinkedIn profile that he’s actively using and been to a workshop in upgrading those skills, attends a weekly job search networking group in his field, returning to school to upgrade his computer skills, tailors all correspondence to specific job. There’s more, but you get the idea. His isn’t just sitting around waiting for the job fairy to show up! He feels stuck and out of creative ideas.
Believe it or not—I’m a bit stumped myself. That’s why I thought this was a great subject for my post this week. He has a couple of big things that are stopping/hindering his process. 1) The giftware industry is at a virtual standstill. Nobody is buying cutsey dust catchers—they’re paying their mortgage and buying food for their family. 2) He’s no spring chicken. Do the math. He started working straight out of college and has been employed for over 35 years. Before the economic downturn, he was seeing retirement in less than 5 years. He fears he’s being discriminated against and that’s tough to prove. He’s smart, articulate and interviews extremely well. He’s kept in great shape and has outside interests that keep his energy and enthusiasm high.
I admire him as he has kept a fairly positive attitude through all of this. I must admit, it has been nice to come home to a lovely meal I didn’t have to fix and to have extra help with chore around the house, but it’s important he continue to feel like a productive contributing member of the family and society.
So what does he do when all the expert advice he’s received doesn’t work? Your ideas?
Photo by Divya and Deepak (Nimbu)
Hey,
I have an idea for your husband. From only what you have written he sounds like a hard working man. Clearly he has a ton of experience in his industry. The economy today demands that businesses become as effecient as possible. Due to your husband’s knowledge of the industry he must be able to think of ways the industry could go green or save money in one way or another. I suggest he become a consultant for agencies in the card making business looking to become more efficient. Lets face it he has been applying in the right fashion for a while, business won’t hire him unless he can make them money or save them money. The inspiration from this comment came from the blog with a link below. I wish you and your husband the best of luck in your future endevours.
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2054-Job-Search-Try-Before-You-Buy-How-to-Get-a-Job-that-Doesnt-Exist/?sc_extcmp=JS_2054_home1&SiteId=cbmsnhp42054&ArticleID=2054>1=23000&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=18e6ace373b448efbec10388331aa896-309621672-ws-6
Hmmm, I’ll have to think about this some more and I feel like I really should express that not knowing the situation in more depth it may not be the perfect solution. However….
I guess one thing to consider could also be volunteering. I know that his skills are not as easily transferred to a volunteering role but with some creative thinking there might be a place. I thinking of this as a primarily motivational tool rather than a job opportunity. This comes mainly from your comment that “it’s important he continue to feel like a productive contributing member of the family and society.” While a job is obviously the ultimate goal I feel there is often a need for assistance that isn’t directly job search related. Something that would enable a sense of fulfillment, make a difference, or of making a contribution. Reading this back I guess he could also look at mentoring or assisting at a technical college.
I guess it’s kind of like when you are ill in hospital for a long time it’s nice just to get out of the situation and see the sky. Perhaps some non-jobsearch activities could have the same effect, plus it wouldn’t look bad omn a resume to explain what was happening in the meantime.
Wow! It sounds like your spouse is doing everything that can be done. The one thing that wasn’t mentioned and you may already be doing it, is to pray. I love the verse in Genesis 39:23 it says, “….because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did”. We, too, may think that our success comes from the work of our own hands, but in reality God delivers us through His mighty work into times of famine and times of success. If we are His, He does it for our good. I thank God that you seem to have a loving, healthy, and optimistic husband. Use this time as a couple to pray together in Jesus’ name and ask God what His will is for your husband’s career. Read His word together. Seek His guidance in this matter. I try to always remember to pray for my career clients. God cares about everything we do. God bless!