A turbulent economy can generate some “creative destruction” in your career path. The best thing that ever happened to me was the dot-com I worked for going bust in 2001 and that sector staying weak for long enough that I moved on and considered all possible industries. Where I am now turned out to be a much better fit.
A number of companies and industries will do some restructuring over the next few months, both shedding some workers but also potentially hiring others as they refocus. In case you end up with the opportunity (whether forced or not) to consider new career and employment possibilities, here are some helpful issues to ponder from a recent CBC website article:
Tips on finding a great place to work
- See which employers have put some effort into building a high-trust culture.
- Assess the space: Get a sense for the company’s physical environment. Do you feel inspired by the space itself, and what would the commute be like for you? How would that affect your work-life balance?
- Talk to people who say the workplace is tops: Do you have a sense that they’re proud of what they do? Is there a feeling of camaraderie that you get when you go into the workplace?
- Ask about the perks: If an employer is describing the perks or benefits that they offer, make sure you ask how many employees actually use those perks and benefits.
- Long-term plan: Ask about the opportunities for career development and progression throughout the organization. What’s the long-term plan for you in this organization?
The article mentions several top Canadian places to work and how they live up to these above standards. For example, at pharmaceutical giant Nycomed’s Canadian operation:
The company’s permanent employees have access to $3,000 a year in post-secondary tuition funding or $5,000 for post-graduate studies. Last year, about 30 percent of the company’s employees took advantage of this perk.
Being encouraged and supported to grow your knowledge and skills is a wonderful workplace benefit that also can provide new options in times like these.
And, in these turbulent times, a great place to work also offers some job security as those companies tend to outperform rivals:
Companies on the Great Place to Work list outperform standard stock market indices by a factor of two to three,” Jen Wetherow, the institute’s director, said. “Their results are above average.”
What will be interesting this economic cycle, and something I’m actively trying to monitor, is which employers stick with plans to create better, more effective workplaces as productivity enhancing tools and means to better attract and retain talent. I’ll also be looking to see if talented people continue to keep criteria like those on the list above in mind. So far, intriguingly enough, I’m hearing affirmative from both camps (particularly in the accounting / finance / consulting sector).
November 17th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Good article. I’ve heard (and it’s probably incorrect) that the symbols in Chinese pinyin for “danger” and “opportunity” are the same…