Many chemists told C&EN that employment counseling services and networking with chemists and friends helped get them back on track after a downsizing. Networking is often cited as the key to prevent - or quickly recover from - unemployment.
"Networking is far better than a cold call or a letter," says A. Wayne Tamarelli, chief executive officer of Dock Resins, Linden, N.J. "A referral gets a certain amount of screening," he explains, because the person making the introduction may see a fit between the potential employee and job. "Most jobs are filled that way."
One of the downsized chemists C&EN spoke with said colleagues within the same company remembered him and helped him into an opening in their area. "As long as I've been working, I've kept people's business cards," says another. "When I need to talk to somebody, I pull out my card file."
Indeed, the chemists who quickly land new jobs are usually well connected, says Valerie J. Kuck, a councilor for the ACS North Jersey Section. "They've always maintained contacts, given talks, written for journals. They know who's out there."
Once you make the contact, warns Nancy Blum, career management consultant at Right Associates, a career management consulting company located in Philadelphia, landing a job is not a matter of how smart you are. "It's learning to present yourself."
Chemists, chemical engineers, and other scientists "tend to rely on technical capabilities to get them through," says Blum. After an interview, they are" totally shocked when there's not one question on their technical abilities. They're absolutely floored!"
Many came to their jobs directly from campus. "If they've interviewed at all since then, it was internally for promotion, where they have a reputation," she says. "People know you; it's informal. It's a very different world with strangers. You have to build rapport with the hiring manager in a very short time."
She says outplacement services help technical people understand the ways of the job market. After training, the moves seem obvious, says Blum. They say, "I can't believe I didn't know this." In outplacement services, videotaped mock interviews may show people that their voices are flat, that they seem unenergized, bored, or blasé. "Where chemists need help is in recognizing that the interviewer is looking at the whole person. Jargon doesn't do it."
As the job market changes, outplacement firms can help candidates uncover and present transferable skills, says Blum. Those skills can move a chemist into another area, another function, or another industry. "Some have the capability to lead groups, or they know how to put a new product together. You can use your chemical engineering background, your good analytical mind to handle details." And self-appraisals are important, she says. "Realize the strengths that differentiate you from all the other chemists applying for a position. Some people should never go near a client, others have consulting skills."
Many chemists, particularly those in the water treatment business or those in midlife, says Blum, can parlay their experience into a consulting practice. "In many cases, former colleagues have done that very successfully and developed a consortium of experts."
Job-seeking chemists should be flexible, she says. "Some shift in careers, many go the environmental route." And 85% of jobs are in small companies, says Blum. "A vast majority of people downsized out of big companies end up in companies that are not household words."
Another chemist advises: "Always keep your options open. Most people think 'I'm an organic chemist and that's all I can do and know.' Don't just stay in the lab."
After getting back into work, people who have been through downsizing are often "more sober," Blum says. They realize they have to depend on themselves, keep up professional contacts, and stay abreast of their field. "They'll always be smarter and in more control and more realistic."
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