Followed by some cheerleading:

"Those who work in these growing companies will not have "jobs" as we have traditionally understood this term. They will be proactive, resourceful and creative problem-solvers. Because these companies are being built entirely around their customers, all their employees will be trained to think like sales consultants who have either external or internal customers to satisfy and they'll be compensated according to how well they do this.

"Because of the ferocity of global competition, companies large and small are learning (or relearning) that the primary purpose of an enterprise is to create and keep a satisfied customer. As the workplace revolution proceeds, the leading edge companies will be organized (or reorganized) so that their entire focus is outward toward their customers. The best firms will be composed of small, well-coordinated teams of highly-motivated individuals all of whom will concentrate on their overall mission of satisfying and hopefully delighting their customers."

Another site that suffers from shameless self-promotion is http://www.mindtools.com/pggoalef.html, it covers goal setting, and details a series of positive steps you can take to achieve your goals in a realistic manner, and helps in figuring out what your goals really are to start with. Just remember to read between the lines on all these so-called 'help' sites. Few of them are on the Net for fun without an eye toward profit. Consider whether they guarantee their service, offer free trials, and what organizations are giving them a positive reference.

The best response I've seen so far to this type of hype came from the cartoon strip Dilbert. Dilbert's manager asks for input from his underlings on how to improve customers' perceptions of their Company, and they suggest practical tips like 'improving the product, and lowering the price.' "No, No, No!" the manager howls, "I need advice about the Customers!" After his manager drones on about 'delighting the customers', Dilbert notes "I hardly have enough empathy to pity our customers, let alone delight them." That sounds a lot more like the workplaces I've seen.

-Mark Poppen

Transformers

December 09, 1998

My contemporaries rarely turn down work offers. We were raised on the idea that Jobs are so scarce that you never know how long it might be before the next opportunity arises. Now several forces are conspiring to change the way we approach Jobhunting. The demographic shift in the Industrialized Economies (fewer bodies will be available to fill Job vacancies over the next two decades) bodes well for workers, but there are pitfalls as well.

Into this brave new world employees must go armed with this thought in mind: 'I may not be working here for very long.' Job security rests with those that don't sit on their laurels, but adapt to their company's evolving situation in the marketplace, and adopt new skills appropriate to their industry. Projectization is in, and Loyalty is out. First it was Just in Time Inventory, allowing businesses to eliminate the need for vast allocations of company resources in warehouses filled with unsold product.

Depending on your profession, you are more and more likely to work for dozens of Employers in the next century. In the midst of Corporate workforce slashing, new Jobs are being created and annihilated at a frenetic pace. The titles of these new Jobs may sound vaguely familiar, but their content is often based on technologies unheard of just ten years ago.

So, in effect, these newly employed Jobfinders have not been simply 'asking' if there is any work available. They have been aggressively defining what they are capable of doing for an organization and describing what solutions they have for the Employer's problems. This is a radically different approach to Jobhunting than what was used only twenty years ago. This mentality puts you more in the business of Jobcreation.

Your future career success depends more on reinventing yourself as a problem-solver, rather than presenting yourself, via Resume, as an Employment cog in the Industry wheel. Being a Jobhunter today requires the abilities of that popular children's toy, Transformers.

-Mark Poppen

Odds & Ends

December 08, 1998

The outlook for 1999 hiring trends fall somewhere between partly cloudy and a light drizzle.

Three out of four Employers indicate that they will either maintain staffing at the present level, or reduce staff. This is a steady increase from the last two years, during which this percentage of Employers was at sixty-two percent followed by sixty-six percent. I suspect that you've read, with growing apprehension, recent business headlines trumpeting huge Corporate Layoffs. Boeing is just one among a huge wave of Corporate Downsizing.

And no one heralds the benefits of an Economic Slowdown, or a sluggish economy.

But, take heart. Millions of new Jobs are created every year, many of which require skills that were little known the year before. You may have to recast your abilities, shedding new light on what you are capable of accomplishing. Perhaps you have been a project manager, but never really it though of it that way. Another option you should be considering is learning new skills, whether you are studying Online or at a local school. Virtual University has a list of six week courses that may suit your skills upgrade.

If you already have some IT skills, then Manpower (in conjunction with CBT) offers classes at http://www.cbtsys.com/. This is for Jobhunters willing to sign up with Manpower as a Temporary Employee, which can be a useful entryway into a new Job. For more basic web training as a warmup, try http://training.3-cities.com/. This Online University charges $4/month, and is similar to the Online school run by Ziff-Davis.

Most of the new Jobs created each month involve computer use, whether it is writing simple MSWord documents, attaching files, mastering Access, or some form of programming. If you're out of work and not much is turning up on the Jobfront, then reassess how you are presenting your current abilities, and learn some new skills.

-Mark Poppen

Object Lessons

December 07, 1998

About a month ago, my elderly Aunt came to California to see her family once more before she passed away. She is 82, has emphysema, and is in severely failing health. One of her loves is playing bridge, so I was co-opted into being a fourth player so she could enjoy her favorite game a few more times. Unfortunately, I had only watched my parents play a few times several decades ago, and sat in (if you'll overlook the expression) as a 'dummy' to see how the game was played.

In the course of learning bridge, the arcane rules of bidding caught the bulk of my attention. The first few nights I didn't play well because I was over-concentrating on how to bid correctly. I've played Hearts, Spades, Euchre, and other games involving a trump suit before, so having a trump suit in bridge didn't bother me. The mistake I kept making was forgetting what the goal was: Take as many tricks as you can. Telling your partner through accurate and clever bidding is important to playing well, but if you overlook the basic fact that this is just a card game, and the object is taking their ten with your jack, then you'll never be a decent bridge player.

The same is true when searching on the Net.

Remember what your goal is, whether you are researching a company, posting your resume, looking for Job listings, or whatever. It's easy to get distracted by extraneous information, games, fun sites, Pamela and Tommy Lee video offers, and assorted stuff. You will be assaulted by offers (ok, ads) to sidetrack you from your Internet research. And these are on the good days when your results streams have something to do with your queries.

Jobhunting is just that, a Job. Pretend someone is paying you to do research, and will periodically (say every two hours) ask you for a two minute report on what you've found so far. Could you convince them that paying you is worthwhile? Some estimates indicate that Jobhunters spend an average of 5-6 hours each week during their Jobhunt actually looking for work. This obviously extends the time it takes to find your next Job. Try to work at least twenty hours/week doing dedicated Jobhunting, and the results will be apparent to your next prospective Employer.

Have you tried http://www.zdnet.com/products/internetuser/search.html? Sites like this are invaluable for learning what to do on the Net without spinning out of control. If you get more disciplined with your Internet researching, then consider spending another portion of your 'work-week' upgrading your computer skills and utilities. You can download tons of free programs (don't!), or choose the best ones http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/features/utilities98/tour/index.html and familiarize yourself with how they work, and when they are most applicable.

-Mark Poppen