Could the recession be the best thing to happen to your career?
26 May 2009
“Could the recession be the best thing to happen to your career?” That was the topical and tantalising question debated at a fun yet informative R-Net event, held at MRS HQ on 26th May. Despite taking place at the start of a notoriously busy ‘four-day-due-to-the-Bank-Holiday’ week and facing stiff competition from sun-bathed pub gardens and a Britain’s Got Talent semi-final, we attracted a varied and vocal audience of mainly new and / or young researchers.
The attraction, beyond the post-show wine, nibbles and networking, was undoubtedly the panel: a low-risk, high-gain quintet, who I knew could be banked upon to deliver a more than credit-worthy account of themselves. This they did, sharing their individual perspectives and points of view, experience and expertise, with wit, wisdom, clarity and candour.
Dave Skelsey (co-founder of qual agency Strictly Financial) presented an opening summary of his latest BIG Conference paper on the wide-ranging impact of the recession upon the research industry, followed by Marianne Cantwell (ex-researcher and now career coach), who gave her views on the specific implications for young researchers and their careers, both short- and longer-term. Clive Warren, of CSA Recruitment, focused upon the impact on talent acquisition and retention, whilst Roger Banks (MD of Incite) provided the agency, or buyer’s, perspective. Finally, John McGurk, from the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD), closed with his insights into the effect of the recession upon ‘talent issues’ beyond the world of research. It fell to me, Daniel Wain, as Chair, to summarise the free and frank exchange, a challenge which I will attempt to repeat here.
Not so long ago, we were in the midst of the War for Talent, experiencing a significant shift in the psychological contract between employer and employee, a change from ‘cradle to grave’ jobs-for-life to self-managed ‘portfolio’ careers, the age of the freelancer and interim, etc., etc. As late as last year, the CIPD found 80% of UK organisations experiencing retention difficulties and 86% recruitment ones. Over half of all leavers had been with their employer for less than two years. In short, it was a seller’s market, with the balance of power having swung heavily in favour of the employee.
Then came that now over-worked euphemism ‘the current economic climate’: not so much a spanner in our working lives as a recessionary Robocop. As the CIPD predicts UK unemployment will top three million by 2010, few are pro-actively jumping ship, preferring any relatively safe berth in the storm.
However, the consensus of our panel was that now is the very time for creative, entrepreneurial people to thrive and prosper. If the game of musical chairs has temporarily stopped, seize the opportunity of the hiatus to skill-up, acquire added responsibility and strengthen expertise. A leaner company should mean more room for young researchers to develop, grow and shine. If employers aren’t recruiting, they need to leverage their existing talent. And if yours isn’t nurturing yours, remember that good people will always be capable of seeking out a better deal. New researchers should also consider both the value they may bring at relatively low cost and that the current lack of industry intake will position them very nicely indeed when the inevitable upturn brings those inevitable skills shortages.
When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ comprises two characters: one represents ‘danger’, the other ‘opportunity’. So be pro-active, keep learning and developing, show passion, energy and commercial nous, and constantly recognise, enhance and market the value that you bring. Now more than ever, young researchers need to be cool-headed, far-sighted and quick-footed. The world is your oyster, but it’s unlikely that the meek, or indeed the geek, shall inherit it.
Daniel Wain can be contacted at dw@danielwain.com |
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