Maintaining Career Confidence in Uncertain Economic Times By Christina Katz In uncertain economic times, when layoffs become the norm, staying informed without overwhelming yourself with the fear of what might happen is important. So is empowering yourself with good solid awareness of where you are on your career path, where you would like to go next, and what skills are going to get you there. We've got four steps you can take to increase your confidence in today's uncertain marketplace. Know and Communicate Your Value "Do the people who would potentially make layoff decisions know how valuable you are?" asks Judith Briles, author of "The Confidence Factor." "Too many men and women assume that their position is sacred, nothing will eliminate it, or them. Too many assume that 'the management' knows what a killer job they deliver everyday. My question always is, do they? How do you know that 'they' know what an incredible member of the organization you are?" During these days of mergers, acquisitions and downsizing, being able to communicate your value clearly and accurately to your employer is critical if you are called upon to do so. This skill is also crucial in responding to executive recruiters who usually target the currently employed by phone. "Don't wait until you get the pink slip to call us back," says Director Virginia Clarke of Spencer Stuart, an executive search firm. "Have a three to five minute spiel ready where you can quickly tell us about yourself. Make it punchy, so it doesn't turn into a thirty-minute soliloquy. And remember that recruiters are working for their clients, so while we're sometimes appreciative of getting resumes, typically we're doing targeted research to find somebody performing a specific function. Executives always need to be in the market for opportunities and be responsive to recruiter's calls." Address Lingering Feelings of Insecurity Dr. Valerie Young conducts workshops on "Overcoming the Imposter Syndrome" where she has encountered more than 20,000 bright, capable women who secretly fear that they've been "fooling" others throughout their careers. Jennifer Tate* was a successful consulting engineer who worked her way up from Junior Engineer to Associate Partner at her firm. And yet, she always harbored an uncomfortable fear of being fired at any moment. Tate never established career confidence because she felt like an intellectual fraud. Young says women who feel like impostors routinely dismiss the good grades, positive performance reviews, promotions and other evidence of their abilities, instead attributing success to luck, timing, perseverance, or the ever popular "it's just because they like me." Create a Stellar Resume Your most important career tool is a professional and updated resume. Deborah Taber, a managing partner for CEO Consultants in Chicago offers the following suggestions: "Make sure you can fit it into two pages. Have an absolutely stunning opener; in terms of 'this is what I'm all about' that will immediately grab attention. Then have bullet points to show what you have accomplished as a result of the things you've done. What are the outcomes in a quantifiable way? Go to lunch with friends and ask for input about your resume. Say, 'I want to pay for lunch, and could you please give me feedback and suggestions for who I might send this to?' " Recruiter Clarke adds, " I prefer an email instead of paper because I can attach an email document to my database. I'm looking for the person's title, a brief description of the company -- if it's a small obscure company, help me understand what they do before you start talking about what you do. Be specific about where the company is headquartered as opposed to where you work. I would like to see a short, tight paragraph of narrative that talks about your responsibilities and then the accomplishments: What did you do? How did you make a difference? Who did you report to? Help me get oriented as to where you sit in the organization." "Sometimes women are afraid to account for time we've taken off to have a family. My vote is account for all of the time since college and talk about the fact that you might have stayed home to care for children. It's okay. I don't think that there is a negative stigma about that anymore. If pertinent, talk about the fact that you have done job-sharing and supply dates because we check. You don't need to highlight time off, but don't be ashamed of the fact that you took it." Rekindle Networks and Start Searching According to Taber, "You need to develop 'the good old girl network' and keep it going, just the way men keep 'the good old boy network' going. Very often we get so busy as executive women that we won't attend the association meetings. We don't take time to have lunch with an old work colleague in town on business for a day or two. We don't have time to play racquetball with a friend. Because we have kids at home and a full-time job, we tend to throw these things off, but by not doing them, we're not tapping into the resource until it's too late. I always call people at least every two or three months just to say, 'How are you? What's happening?' and to let them know where I'm at." Clarke suggests, "Take a deep breath and don't immediately just start this willy-nilly-I'm-sending-my-resume-to-everyone thing. Be strategic about it. And if you're not working, make this your full-time job. Have a separate phone line so that you can accept calls and have a professional conversation without getting interrupted." Briles suggests, "As you progress with your search, you need to do some homework on the final candidates that could hire you. Start by asking a few questions about financials. If it's a publicly traded company, the web is at your fingertips. Information and articles about the company are only a few clicks away. The company may also have a Web site. You want to know if accounts and investments have dwindled. If the company is one that is acquisitions oriented, has activity declined in this area? Make sure that updates are within a three-month period, the more recent the better." And remember, you cannot completely control whether your job will still be yours tomorrow, but you can re-establish faith in yourself and your abilities, which is the best possible insurance during uncertain economic times. * Not her real name Recommended Books: • The Confidence Factor • The Confident Woman: Learn the Rules of the Game Also see: • Use layoffs to move forward • Career Planning: 10 Practical Steps for Those Too Busy to Plan • Surviving a merger • Negotiating a salary package Christina Katz is a speaker, author, and writing coach from Wilsonville, Oregon. Christina offers presentations on the topics of making time for yourself and writing and publishing nonfiction articles. She coaches writers, artists, and professionals to compose authentic, compelling communications and offers manuscript and copy evaluations. To subscribe to her free newsletter "Writers on the Rise," email christinakatz@earthlink.net. Christina's next book is "The Art of Making Time for Yourself," based on her article of the same name. For more information, please visit http://www.christinakatz.com.