What Happened to Your Parachute?

Well, I've seen lots of changes over the past 30 years. For example, I'm astonished by how easy it is now for employees to get time off -- to pick up their kids or to deal with other personal matters. Today's employers are much more flexible about that than they used to be. That's not true everywhere -- not by a long shot. But it's true in many places where I never would have expected to see it. Another big change is instant accessibility. With cell-phones, email, and pagers, workers are now expected to be available at almost any hour. I get phone calls at home at 3 am, and people expect me to answer!

Despite all the things we've discussed so far, you're not totally sold on the idea that the world of work is awash in change, are you?

No, I'm not. There is a basic truth about what a human needs in order to survive; our culture seems unable to understand that. Human nature survives and has survived through the ages by being able to hold on tenaciously to two concepts: What is there about my life or world that has remained constant? and What is there about my life or world that has changed or is changing? I have always argued that change becomes stressful or overwhelming only when you've lost any sense of the constancy in your life. You need firm ground to stand on. From there, you can deal with that change. Observing the constants in your life gives you that firm ground. The thing about the great faiths is that they talk about what's constant in the world: God, grace, prayer. But our culture, in general -- and the profession of career counseling, in particular -- gets absorbed with a single question: What's changing? Nobody remembers to ask the other question, What's remained constant?

All right then, for the record, what has remained constant?

Human nature. It doesn't change. Rejection. People don't like rejection, never have, never will. And the job hunt is still basically done in the same way as it was done 30 years ago, despite all of the technological changes. For "Parachute", I created a diagram called "Our Neanderthal Job-Hunting System." It's a large pyramid, segmented by different job-hunting techniques. Employers start at the bottom of that pyramid. They try to fill vacancies by looking internally and hiring from within. Only after that do they go up the pyramid to other methods, such as contacts, employment agencies, unsolicited résumés, and ads. But the job hunter takes exactly the opposite direction -- exactly the opposite! The job hunter starts by mailing résumés and looking through ads, and only then moves down the pyramid to the strategies that employers prefer. The job hunt hasn't changed one whit in 30 years. It's just as Neanderthal today as it was then.

Hasn't the Internet and all its job sites made job hunting easier?

Outwardly, yes. Inwardly, no. It's the same old ineffective system in a new dress. Everyone is hypnotized by the job postings and résumés. But, in fact, they're the least effective ways for job hunters to use the Internet. If we step back a moment and look, we see that the Internet can help job hunters and career changers in five ways: They can search job postings for vacancies, post résumés, find career counseling, make contacts, and research companies and professions. Of those five, research is the Internet's primary value for job hunters. I can get on the Internet and find out almost everything I need to know about a company. On the other hand, the least valuable use of the Internet is searching for job postings. As I said: The job hunt is just human nature in action. That is, job hunters are afraid of rejection. So they typically dislike the face-to-face stuff. It's much easier to send a résumé and be rejected by an employer than to stand in front of that employer and be turned down in person. The Internet is just a new way to avoid rejection.

So the Web doesn't change the job hunt much. Well, are there any other cherished myths you'd like to explode? Aren't we all free agents? Should companies not be fast?

As I said previously, I have no problem with people noticing and talking about all the changes that have occurred. But I'd like them to talk about the constants, too. Yes, a lot more of us are free agents. And yes, a lot more companies are fast. But not everybody's become a free agent -- and not every company has become fast. We mustn't overdramatize our present time, as though everything is change, change, change. My wife, Carol, has a great saying about marriage: "You shouldn't have to work at your marriage. But you do have to pay attention." Many changes in the workplace aren't so dramatic that you have to work at them. But you do have to pay attention.

Why has "Parachute" endured? Why is it still going strong?