Turning up, putting your head down, and working hard are commendable actions that may led to recognition and career progression. In a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, however, such an approach to career management is insufficient. This presentation offers employees who are nervously employed, and experiencing job insecurity, career management tips. The tips are based on reflections of working with hundreds of employees who have experienced role redundancy. Explored themes include: * Awareness and anticipation of emerging change; * Helpful ways of thinking about careers; * Career management proactivity and agility; * Engaging, contributing, and achieving at work. Viewers are encouraged to be alert, prepared and dignified in the face of potential organisational change.

1. Barry J Horne
Executive Career Coaching M: (0425) 308 625
E: barryjh@amnet.net.au
June 2016 L: linkedin.com/in/barryhorne

2.  Consulting to Organisations:
Change Projects, Employee Benefits
 Coaching Teams: Cross-Functional Projects
 Leading Professional Teams: Research, Actuarial
 Workplace Coaching: Executives, Managers
 Coaching and Advising Individuals:
Career Direction/Transition, Financial Planning
 Training Career Professionals
Horne (2016)

3.  The State of the Economy
 Career Transition Practice Learning
 Inadequacy of Either/Or Thinking
 Helpful Career Perspectives
 Workplace Engagement
 Contingency Planning
Horne (2016)

4. ABS (2016)
Western Australia : Unemployment Rate (%), April Series
11.2% (1991)
2.7% (2007)
5.6% (2016)

5. Turbulent, White Water Workplaces
 Organisational Change, Restructuring and
Reengineering “Normal”
 Retrenchment / Role Redundancy Event(s) High
Probability Across Employee’s Career
Anticipating, Preparing for, and Dealing with Role
Redundancy are Critical Career Management Skills.
Horne (2016)

6. Horne (2016)

7. Horne (2016)
Level of Role
Redundancy
Anticipation
Proactivity Context Career Management
Actions
High High Engaged in Restructuring Emotionally Adjusted; Range
Taken
Moderate All Spotted Trends with Potential to Affect Job Security
… High Risk Assessed as
Significant
“State of Emergency”; Range
of Pre-emptive Actions
Taken
… Moderate Risk Considered Real Couple of Actions Taken (e.g.
Update Resume, Pre-
Positioning with Recruiters)
… Low/None Risk Assessed as
Negligible (e.g. ”Felt
Safe”)
Maintain a Watching Brief. No
Actions Taken.

8. Horne (2016)
Anticipation Proactivity Context Career Management
Actions
Low Noticed Events/Communications, Momentary Unease re Job Security
Low/None Denied Risk, Did Not Trust
Instincts, or Returned to
“Busyness”
No Actions Taken
No Low/None Totally Blind-sided No Actions Taken
Levels of Anticipation/Career Management Proactivity
Important:
 Notification Day Support Reactions;
 Pace of Emotional Adjustment;
 Demands on Program Support; and
 Length of Time to Secure Next Position.

9. Sandgroper
A resident of Western Australia, named after a sand
burrowing desert insect. [Australian Dictionary]
Source: WA Museum Source: thewhirlingwind.com
Horne (2016)

10. McCulloch (2015)

11. Inkson (2006)
1 Inheritance
2 Cycles
3 Action
4 Fit
5 Journey
6 Roles
7 Relationships
8 Resource
9 Story

12. Horne (2016)
de Bono (1990)
Nervous Employment
• Performing in Current Role
• Busyness Momentum
• Short-term Focus
• Defensive Posture
• Survival Mentality
• Scarcity/Deficit Perspective
Strategic Career
Management
• Eye to Future
• Helicopter, Creative View
• Medium to Long-Term
Focus
• Proactive Stance
• “Thrival” Mentality
• Abundance/Capability
Perspective

13. BlessingWhite (2011)

14. Trends Impacting Job Security
 Government Policy
 Major International Events / Crises
 Pressures Faced by Industry
 Industry Merger and Acquisition Activity
 Financial Pressures on Organisation
 Work Methods Applied
Make NO Assumptions About
Professional Indispensability
Horne (2016)

15. At Home
 Share Feelings with Trusted Family and Friends
 Audit Financial Situation*
 Formulate Strategies to Reduce
Impact of Potential Job Loss*
At Work
 Know How to Contact People
Known Through Employment
 Document Workplace
Achievements
 Observe Office Politics
Horne (2016)

16. Develop Self-Marketing Resources
 Create a High Quality, Up-To-Date Resume*
 Join LinkedIn, Develop or Improve Profile*
 Frame a Contact Card (for Networking Purposes)*
Increase Professional Visibility
 Industry/Professional Events
 Develop Networks (e.g. Recruiters,
LinkedIn Connections)
Be Alert to All Opportunities/Explore/Inquire
Horne (2016)

17. If Attending a Role Redundancy Notification Meeting,
TRY to:
 Pay Attention to Proceedings
 Maintain Composure
 Refrain from Directing Personal Comments Towards
Organisational Representatives*
 Remember You May Interact Professionally in Future (e.g.
Consultant, Supplier)
 Recognise the Value of Positive Referee Reports
Note (*): Organisation may Narrow Options Offered, if
Behaviour Considered Totally Unreasonable
Horne (2016)

18.  Redundancy is “Normal” - No Wonder We’re Nervous!
 Don’t be a Caricature Sandgroper - Head Up!
 Meet the Challenges of
- Performing at Work
- Achieving at Work
- Being Alert to (Internal and External) Opportunities
 If You Are Nervous, Plan for Contingencies (Be Alert, Be
Prepared and Be Dignified)
Horne (2016)

19. Actually I never really thought of it as a career,
since a career suggests evolution and progress,
whereas my professional life has been a series of
advances and retreats: stagnation and renewals,
lulls and surges, doldrums and typhoons. A career
could be planned, my life was the result of chance
and improvisation. It was plotless.
Humphries (2002)

20.  Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016). Labour Force,
Australia. Catalogue 6202.0
 BlessingWhite Inc (2011). Employee Engagement
Report 2011 – Beyond the numbers: A practical
approach for individuals, managers and executives.
 de Bono (1990). The Happiness Purpose. Penguin
 Horne (2016). Strategies for Supporting the Nervously
Employed.
 Humphries, B (2002). My Life as Me. Viking
 Inkson, K (2006). Understanding Careers: The
Metaphors of Working Lives. Sage Publications
 McCulloch, A (2015). The BIG Picture & Honest Career
Advice. LinkedIn Pulse