I call for a Do-Over!

I call for a do-over!

In the adult world there is never any time where you can call “Do-Over” and wipe out the actions you just did. Nope, if you’ve done it – good or bad – it stays. This is just how the world works. However, with the economy in the reflux state it is in, you can do over your career. Huh? What? When did this childhood rule come into the adult world? It showed up a few months ago.

Reading article after article, listening to interview after interview of people who have been unemployed for a couple of years I realized that a do-over is definitely in order. The reality is that a lot of the jobs held are not coming back. If they have remained, there aren’t as many anymore, so finding one will be like looking for a needle in a hay stack. It’s time to view your career as if you were starting over. The difference is you know more now than you did so many years ago. You also have become experienced in your field and an expert of your craft. Oh, you are quite valuable, just not in the exact role you were in before. Or, the exact type of company you worked in before. Example: you were a senior manager at a firm in the accounting department. Maybe now you can work as a budget analyst, financial advisor, an accounting technician at a school or hospital. Maybe the state is looking for someone to audit the department expenditures. Or the post office needs auditors in the Postal Inspectors office. Hmm, didn’t think of that before maybe? Or maybe you did and the jobs are still not available.

Let’s really do the “Do-Over”. As the senior manager of accounting – yes, let’s keep that example – you also trained staff, performed procurement tasks for the department, did some things that fall under the heading of project manager. Or, you worked with employee relations a lot so your employee negotiation skills are impeccable. Knowing the skills needed in your field makes you an excellent human resources associate specializing in accounting /finance hiring. It may sound a little like thinking outside the box, but it’s not. What I’m asking you to do is “Do-Over” your career. Take all the bullets under each position you’ve held and relate them to an entirely new career route. Find the tasks that you, at the time, felt weren’t adding to your bottom line. Well, now they are not your bottom line but the meat and potatoes of your resume.

The Lord is all forgiving; family members stand with you unconditionally. The world, however, requires a Do-Over.