It may be time to refocus job goals May 10, 2009

By Kristen Green, Globe Correspondent | May 10, 2009

At a time when it seems no one is safe from layoffs, can you find job security?

Perhaps lifetime employment is nonexistent in some traditional fields, but job placement experts say other careers hold more promise. The key, they say, is to identify growing and emerging industries, such as healthcare, life sciences, technology, alternative energy, and higher education in Massachusetts. Then, they say job seekers have to adapt their skills to fit the needs of those industries.

Marilyn Santiesteban, a career coach at Waltham recruiting and career coaching firm King & Bishop, suggests job seekers ask themselves: What exactly is it I do? Who needs that done? What are the skills I have called upon in another field?

“You want to move to industries that are in a growth mode, or at least flat, not shrinking,” said Santiesteban, who advises her clients to stop thinking about their job titles and focus on skills.

By not focusing on job title, Andrew Appler, 24, was able to transfer his skills to a completely different industry. Appler had worked as a financial analyst for a mutual fund company since he graduated from college in 2006. But with financial services hard hit by the recession and shedding thousands of jobs, he figured his chances of landing a new job with a financial company as he relocated to Somerville from Maryland weren’t good. So, he expanded his job search to other types of businesses, including a beer producer, insurance companies, and biotech firms.

After looking for three months, he landed a job doing business analysis at Boston Medical Center. The work is similar to what he was doing in financial services, but it still requires him to adjust a bit. He’s working on patient financial services, as opposed to doing revenue and expenses like he did at the financial company. And he’s learning the ins and outs of the healthcare industry.

“It will definitely be a new set of vocabulary,” he said. “I had to train myself to change from the term ‘client’ to ‘patient.’ “

As job seekers explore new industries, they also must adapt their search techniques, job placement specialists say. Kip Hollister, chief executive of Hollister Inc., a Boston staffing agency, said that a few years ago skilled workers could post their resumes on the job search website Monster.com, get 10 calls from employers, and land a job in no time. But not anymore.

“Now they post and nothing happens,” Hollister said. “The times have changed, and we’re in the new real. People need to adapt to the new real.”

Job seekers should keep in mind that jobs in emerging fields such as alternative energy tend to be “undercover,” meaning openings won’t be posted on job websites, Hollister said. So, people need to network: Hollister suggests using Twitter to engage the community in the target field, joining groups on LinkedIn, or networking with organizations like the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange, a regional professional organization for the Internet business and marketing industry.

In addition to networking, job seekers need to turn the gloom and doom of a layoff into a positive outlook, said Hollister. Rather than panicking, they should look at unemployment as a time of possibility.

“The people who are laid off and now reemployed say, ‘It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I wasn’t happy anyway. I am going to have a life change,’ ” Hollister said.

That’s where Jeff Cabral, 38, of Winchester finds himself after getting laid off from a technology company in September. Though he worked in the financing department as a pricing analyst for technology companies for years, it wasn’t a great career fit because he didn’t think the job took much ingenuity. He prefers to “get new ideas brewing.”

“I never felt really involved. I might have just been doing the day-to-day,” he said. “I never really felt passionate about it.”

He is now looking for work in alternative energy or a green business. He is an advocate for recycling and reduced energy consumption and is excited about the field. He already volunteers with Sustainable Winchester, a nonprofit in his town that educates and raises awareness about sustainability.

“I feel enthused,” Cabral said about volunteering for the nonprofit. “I feel needed and wanted.”

He is looking for a job in client services or as an account representative, either of which would be a good fit with his experience working as a conduit between departments. He has been going to conferences, seminars, and WIND networking events for New England professionals in transition. He’s also scheduled a few informational interviews.

Cabral said when he is networking, he feels good about his prospects, but sometimes being at home, when the phone’s not ringing, he gets down. Still, he believes he will find a job that is a good match.

“I’m sure it’s just meeting up with the right person,” he said.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company