“Timing is everything” – that is if you know what you are waiting for…

 “In the landscape of time, there are few locations less comfortable than that of one who waits for some person or event to arrive at some unknown moment in the future.” Robert Grudin

They say timing is everything but for many of us we then get caught in a rut waiting for that one great sign that says now is the time.  Worst still few really know what said sign would be and as such opportunities are lost while we wait.  Movement is always good, even if at a minimum it is a lateral transfer, for it allows for growth through exposure.

In relationships we let an abusive situation fester; allowing it to consume us until we cannot even recognize ourselves.  We keep watering long after a plant is dead.  Work situation is no different.  Many of us stay in jobs too long, stuck in yesteryear, when staying in one job for a lifetime was viewed as a sign of stability.   Alas no more.

Today we are constantly reminded that it is an employer’s market.  That as long as the pool of "possible employees" is as big as it is that you are well served to stay where you are.   Where the Great Depression created a population of great savers who were frugal almost to a fault, the Great Recession created people who are fearful but unfortunately our generation did not get the memo on frugality either.  There is a downside to our kind of fear.  Our fear stifles growth. 

The economy itself has all but recovered but the jobs market missed the gravy train.  The employees who were not retrenched during 2008 and 2009 recession years have held onto their jobs as if their very lives depended on it.  Having been woven into the web of lies that says you need your job more than you employer needs your skill-set.  If you are buying into the story that there aren't enough jobs to go round then you support the insignificant pay increase, which each year falls well short of the cost of living adjustment. 

I would like to cry foul to that train of thought.  There is absolutely no way anyone who has been out of work for a stretch of time can come in and step into my shoes without there being significant decrease in productivity for a period.  Yes, I do concede that everyone is replaceable in the long run but, fundamentally the longer someone works on something the more proficient they are.  Whatever happened to a "bird in hand is worth two in the bush".  

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report there were over 4.0 million job openings at the last business day of March. This speaks volumes of the opportunities that are available.  If you feel you are currently not qualified for the jobs on that are available maybe a career change and/or training would not be a bad idea.  Whatever the action you might end up taking, any has to be better than none.  It is important to acknowledge that there are times when value increases with transfer, meaning it is easier to get a significant pay increase by taking your knowledge elsewhere than it is by trying to prove to your current boss that you are “worth your weight in gold”.