FINDING JOBS IN A DYSFUNCTIONAL MARKET

By Brooke T. Allen

Originally published in Science Careers on February 15, 2008

Take responsibility for finding hidden opportunities offered by companies and organizations that need your talents but aren’t creative enough to find you.

You can experience a buyer’s market (more sellers than buyers) or you can experience a seller’s market (more buyers than sellers)–but a dysfunctional market (like the market for science jobs and most others) cuts both ways. Employers can’t find good workers and the out-of-work (and underemployed) workers can’t find good jobs.

An inefficient labor market isn’t such a bad thing for those who are willing to dig a little deeper. Such a market can reward well-spent effort in ways that efficient markets don’t. As a job seeker, your well-spent effort can lead to job opportunities you would have had no hope of landing if the markets were efficient.

Don’t wait for me (or anyone else) to advertise the job you seek. Instead, read the rest of this article and get to work.

In 1982, I quit a job, driven by the vague desire to become an independent consultant, only to confront an economy in recession. The first thing I did was spend some of my meager savings to attend the national conference of the Independent Computer Consultants Association. I asked everyone whose ear I could bend, “What should I do?” Then I listened to what they said.

After the conference, I followed up on one suggestion. I wrote to everyone I knew or knew of–friends, acquaintances, distant relatives, former employers, and former employees–about 200 people in all. I explained that I was now a freelancer (read: “unemployed”) and was looking for work. I gave an outline of my credentials as a programmer, but I attached no résumé. I asked everyone to please let me know if they had work and to introduce me to anyone they knew who might.

I was immediately contacted by an investment bank offering 4 weeks of work that nobody else wanted: reading some programs and writing a user’s manual. I knew nothing about investment banking or writing manuals, so I said “yes.” (When someone offers you the chance to do something you’re not yet competent at, you’ve got to jump at it. Such opportunities to explore new territory rarely present themselves.)

The experience was painful, but I’m so glad I did it. My first draft was run past their in-house editor, who returned it covered in red. It was reminiscent of my first COBOL program; how can a 28-line program generate 55 error messages? I discovered that I was no writer, but the experience made me want to become one.

At the end of the month, the company came to the same realization–that I was no writer–and offered me a full-time position: coding, not writing. By then, a friend had also helped me land an offer at a manufacturing company, while a consulting firm wanted me to work at an oil company as a subcontractor.

In the past, I always had to decide between two alternatives: take this job or remain unemployed; stay here or go there. This was the first time I had to choose among three alternatives–and it felt good.

I took the job as a subcontractor and referred friends to the other two jobs. My career as an independent consultant was established.

So as not to feel so disconnected, and to help each other market ourselves, some colleagues and I formed an umbrella corporation through which we billed our clients. We printed some snazzy letterhead using the fancy midtown address of a member of our group. But we had no permanent place of business; we met at a bar once a month.

Our company took 1% of the gross revenues to cover expenses, but because we had none, we spent the money each December on a holiday party. We invited all our clients and their friends. Hundreds attended, and it was great fun. The message to our clients was clear: “If I don’t hold on to this guy, there are so many other places he could go.” And all of us did have other places we could go.

That mass mailing was so effective that I’d do it again today if I had to look for a new job. But I wouldn’t stop there; I’d open my house for a party and invite everyone to help brainstorm my next move. The only problem is that, realizing how valuable a contact can be, I have tried to keep track of nearly every person I’ve met since 1982. I now have more than 2500 people in my contact list . That’s a big party.

In a previous article about hiring, I wrote, “The world will be a better place when more people take a more innovative approach to discovering hidden value during the hiring process.”

But employers rarely do, so don’t wait. You’re the hidden talent, so take responsibility for finding hidden opportunities offered by companies and organizations that need your talents but aren’t creative enough to find you.

If you find these suggestions interesting, pass them around. If you are not looking for work, e-mail this article to someone who is or print it out and tape it to the wall.

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