Job Seekers Change Course

New economic realities have forced some job seekers to pursue a field or career other than the one they are trained for, according to new research. How can HR best harness these cross-over candidates to benefit their organization?

By David Shadovitz

Unemployed workers can't afford to be too picky these days. And in many cases, they clearly aren't.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that only 103,000 jobs were added in December, far fewer than the forecasted 150,000 jobs. But it also appears many of those who were fortunate enough to find work may be settling for lesser jobs -- or, at the very least, ones that are distinctly different.

A recent study released by Rutgers University's John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, The Shattered American Dream: Unemployed Workers Lose Ground, Hope and Faith in Their Futures, found about one-quarter (26 percent) of those looking for work in August 2009 successfully found full-time positions by November 2010. But among those who did, roughly four in 10 (41 percent) ended up either in a different field or a different career.

The center's latest study queried 764 respondents, 43 percent of whom were unemployed and looking for work.

For the most part, the re-employed were fairly satisfied with their new jobs. Fifty-six percent report being at least somewhat satisfied and 47 percent have little or no concern regarding the security of their new positions. But many also said they paid a financial price for the move, with nearly 53 percent reporting they were making less than they did in their previous job.

Their outlook on the future appears to be not much brighter. Only about one-third (35 percent) of those queried believe they will recover financially.

Experts admit changing fields and careers is extremely difficult and is frequently

accompanied by some financial hardship. But for many unemployed workers today, doing so turns out to be one of the few options available to them.

"Because this recession is so long, and people have been unemployed so long, one can easily see why they would be driven to change fields and careers," says Carl Van Horn, director of the Heldrich Center and a professor at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.

"It's not a decision most people take lightly," adds Van Horn, one of the study's authors.

To be sure, experts say, changing fields and careers is very much on the minds of job seekers.

"There's definitely been an increased interest in career shifting by clients who came in for support service over the past 18 months," says Greg Simpson, vice president of career-transition services in the Dallas office of outplacement consultancy DBM North America.

About 60 percent of those participating in outplacement programs request support in finding new fields and careers, Simpson says.

Of course, that assumes those who lost their jobs work for companies offering such support. Because of the severity of the recession, many companies have trimmed back on the level of outplacement and career-transition support being offered to displaced workers, according to an earlier study by the Heldrich Center.

When outplacement support is an option, however, more and more displaced workers are seeking career-transition support.

Many realize early on in the event that it is time to move on to another industry or career, outplacement consultants say.

As the economy picks up, some believe there could be a boomerang effect, with some who have changed fields returning to their former lines of work, especially if they can improve their paychecks.

For example, some of those who left financial services might return, as that industry begins to get back on its feet.

Still, most experts believe those who have taken the dramatic step of changing careers and fields are going to stay put.

"If a person has gone through this kind of wrenching change and learned significantly different skills," Van Horn says, "[he or she is] not going to be as likely to say 'This was just to get by and I'll go back to what I did before.' "

Sure, Van Horn says, it will happen in some cases. "But I don't see someone who left construction management to go into healthcare returning to construction management, where they got burnt before," he says.

Employers should view today's environment as an opportunity, experts say.

"Often there's an assumption that you want someone with a lot of years of experience in your industry," says Rob Saam, senior vice president and career transition leader for Lee Hecht Harrison in Woodcliff Lake, N.J. "But I think people overemphasize that.

"If I were an HR person, I'd be on the lookout for some extremely talented people outside their industry who could bring a whole new look at how you're doing things," Saam says. "I think there's a tremendous opportunity to pick up some extraordinary talent . . . because there so many good people out there looking for work."

Of course, it's also going to present HR leaders with the added pressure of supporting and training these new hires, who might know little about their new industries or jobs.

"HR needs to make sure those being brought in are supported, properly onboarded, mentored and successfully integrated into their organizations," says Simpson, adding that, together, these things are going to further improve the odds that these workers will stick around.