"Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore"

Imagine that you've spent hours and hours studying for an algebra test and that you feel reasonably confident that you're ready for the exam. You show up, take your seat, and the teacher hands out the exam papers to the class. You begin to read, and to your great dismay you discover that the exam is about history, not algebra.

How could this happen? You're reasonably sure that the teacher said to be ready for an algebra test, so that's what you studied. When you question the teacher about this surprising turn of events, you're told that sometimes things change unexpectedly and that you just have to adjust to the new circumstances.

This scenario is pretty much what has happened to a lot of people who are caught up in the groundswell of change that has occurred in the economy over the last year and a half.

Jobs and futures that we once thought were secure are now gone like a wisp of smoke from a campfire. That doesn't mean that new jobs and futures aren't out there, but they aren't going to come find you...you have to find them...and the rules for how to go about it are completely different than those you used to get and hold onto your former positions.

It's human nature to want to hold onto the familiar in our lives, sometimes even when the familiar is not all that good. It's also natural to grieve the loss of a job or any other big change in life. In my consulting practice, I tell displaced clients to give themselves a few days to a week to feel sorry for themselves, then put it in the past and focus on the future.

That focus, however, has to be properly directed and channeled in order to bear fruit. An old skill set, even if it's a skill set that still has value in the new economy, is not enough to get you in the door for new opportunities. No matter how good you were/are at what you used to do, there are a lot of other people who are also good at that task and you're competing with them for fewer positions than there used to be in your field.

The economy will turn around again, but employment figures are a lagging indicator. Expect that it will be another year to sixteen months before you see significant hiring again...and some fields are not going to come back at all. Employers will generally try to get more productivity out of the remaining work force before they will consider adding new people. In the meantime, unless you have the resources and the patience to wait it out, you would be advised to adjust your focus to the new standards required for re-entry into the job scene.

Getting noticed, nailing the interview, and negotiating the compensation package require different skills and knowledge than what worked in the past. Don't be a victim to your own reluctance to recognize that "we're not in Kansas anymore."