E-Mail This Article

Job search diary: Brian balks at advice to broaden search

Ex-manager reluctant to broaden job search

By Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff, 7/27/03

(Part four of a continuing series on a laid-off manager's search for employment.)

Laid off for nearly nine months, Brian McGrath saw enough activity in his job search in July to remain optimistic. He received one offer, which he declined, and had several other interviews, including two, back-to-back, on a single day that produced a return interview.

His career coach is the realist, pressing McGrath, 31, to do more to stay ahead in a terrible job market. Lou Gaglini of Keystone Associates has prodded his client to think about trying something new: Branch out and consider jobs outside his real estate specialty. One obvious area is corporate finance, a field where McGrath also has experience but has not explored job opportunities.

What Gaglini wants, Gaglini isn't getting.

''I don't want to do it because I'm getting a lot of [real estate] activity now,'' said McGrath, who analyzed properties and transactions at Meditrust Corp. for more than four years, and, prior to that, spent five years in corporate finance for the mutual fund firm, Putnam Investments.

Globe Staff Photo/ Janet Knott Brian McGrath is hesitant to shift his search focus to corporate finance from real estate. "That's what I enjoy doing," he said.

''I've worked to get the experience I have in real estate investment analysis, asset management. That's what I enjoy doing, and it would be difficult for me to go the corporate finance route,'' he said.

Reasonable men can differ over job search strategy. But, having a strategy is indispensable in a job market that recruiters and career coaches say is the worst in memory. Strategy is not about how nice the resume looks, how well the cover letter reads, how well-pressed the business suit is. It is about networking, learning how to approach contacts, digging for new employment prospects, targeting specific employers, working with headhunters, following up - and more networking.

''Most people think, 'I'll get on Monsterboard and apply for some jobs and see what happens.' I don't think they realize how deep they have to go,'' Gaglini said.

This also means extensive networking, which he said is the way to tap into what he calls the ''hidden job market'' - where the jobs are. These positions exist but are not advertised for various reasons: the employer may not have staff to handle incoming resumes; the jobs are still in the planning stage; are pending due to a reorganization or budget matter; will result from unpublicized retirements or staff resignations; are filled by the time an ad is published; or are not filled but disappeared from the ad listings two months ago.

Passive methods are very popular: According to a US Department of Labor report on computer use by American workers, 92 percent used Internet job searches in 2001 to look for employment listings. Other activities - researching companies, submitting a resume or application - were less common.

Networking is ''the toughest one for most people,'' Gaglini said.

McGrath is getting good at it. But, the anxiety of searching and networking do not go away. ''You try keeping your hopes up but nothing's guaranteed,'' McGrath said. ''Three or four years ago, it'd be a different story - there's a lot of competition out there.''

Every day is different. ''Some days, when there's nothing going on and you can't get anything going in terms of networking or you don't have anything lined up in the future, you feel down. But the next day you might get a call back or somebody might want to meet with you,'' he said. ''It's a rollercoaster, and you just hope when you get the interviews you do a good job.''

He recalled one painful experience when he was learning to network with people he did not know. A friend referred him to a high-level executive who McGrath hoped would provide some leads or ideas. When the man answered the telephone, McGrath said his first name and began introducing himself.

The conversation was a disaster. ''He [the executive] said, 'Wait a minute - you address me as Mr. So-and-So.' I said, 'OK, I didn't mean to offend you but that's how my friend told me to address you.' Then he said, 'Enough with being a father figure. What do you want?' ''

''That is something you fear happening, and it did happen. It kind of soured me on making these cold calls,'' he said. He never met with the man.

Since then, he has had many more good experiences than bad. ''You've got to remember people are generally good, and they try to help people out,'' McGrath said. He has learned that most of them do.

His coach, Gaglini, said he will continue to broach the subject of a broader job search with his client, especially if things drag on. His argument is that a move into corporate finance would vastly broaden McGrath's options, because that job description can be found in virtually every industry and would open the door to many more prospective employers.

While McGrath has advanced beyond rudimentary job-hunting techniques, he isn't convinced he needs to compromise when staying on course feels right. [Gaglini says he should do both.]

McGrath knows he is lucky: he has the luxury of being choosy. He does not feel the enormous financial pressure that most of the nation's unemployed do - not yet. He and his wife, Meredyth, currently a stay-at-home mom with newborn twins and a 15-month-old toddler, get by on his unemployment check and savings from bonuses earned in his final years at Meditrust, when he stayed on to help liquidate its healthcare real estate business. The couple also get a break by renting the downstairs apartment in a Medford two-family owned by Meredyth's grandparents.

Broadening the search will be a topic in an upcoming session at Keystone's Burlington office in which Gaglini will invite a colleague in to help review his advice to McGrath and the client's activity and progress. Gaglini's role as McGrath's career coach is to help him uncover any and all options available to him.

It is, of course, McGrath's decision. But, if he branches out, it would mean more work. ''It will affect all of his strategy,'' Gaglini said. ''It will be cause for additional research, more strategy, speaking to people he didn't have on his list a few months ago.''

Next installment Aug. 10: A progress report.

Kimberly Blanton can be reached at blanton@globe.com.

E-Mail This Article