Where do communicators turn for support when they've lost their job?

Listening to the radio this morning and hearing the headline results of The Recruitment and Employment Confederation/KPMG report (what we probably all suspected) that the demand for full-time staff in the UK plummeted at its fastest rate for ten years in January, while the numbers of people looking for work continue to rise daily, the outlook for job-seekers can seem fairly bleak.

But remembering a conversation with two out-of-work communicators at last week's networking evening for graduates of Melcrum's Internal Communication Black Belt Program, should give plenty of cause for hope.

You see I'd always remembered looking for work as a pretty lonely experience. But it seems that things have changed. Communicators, being communicators have formed informal networks to tell each other about job opportunities and share their stories. "We're not redundant communicators, we're just resting communicators," as they so eloquently put it.

And as these two communicators pointed out to me, what's missing is a place online for like-minded "resting" communicators to meet.  So why doesn't Melcrum do something to help and do what we do best: connect communicators? (this being our strapline).

So I'm delighted to announce that this week we're launching a new Linkedin group with exactly that in mind. To connect out-of-work communicators, and give them the opportunity to share their experiences and support each other through the tough times. Melcrum are already planning the first networking evening in London with an invited expert who can advise on interview techniques and recruitment advice.

So if you're interested in joining the group called, by popular vote, Resting Communicators, check it out and sign up. There are hundreds of people just like you waiting to talk.

Comments

[Robin Crumby]

STOP PRESS: plus to celebrate the launch of this new group we're giving away a free place at our Advanced Writing and Editing training course next week in London. Details available on the group discussion board at Linkedin at: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1028787

[Firas Sleem]

Who says you can chuck communications in times of financial crisis? Being a comms professional working in the Middle East, I was called a few years ago by a headhunter (whom I didn’t know from Adam) offering me a communications position with a private fund. The Aussie girl on the phone who identified herself as a senior recruitment consultant told me I would be on the client’s side, instead of directing accounts from an agency’s side. I am not sure what value "being on the client’s side" has in the world of communications today where comms men are the first to be hit in bearish times. This development underscores an important point. The comms guys on the client’s side were the first to be given the pink slip when actually they should have been the last to be asked to leave, because they can play a critical role in troubled times. They are the ones who are good at reputation management which was never more needed than it is today.
Watch out, businesses. Corporate reputation is the most important issue facing executives in bad times everywhere. What took years to build could be destroyed in a fraction of a second.
Reputation is not about how much a company is giving to the community or how well they treat their customers; it is simply how smartly they can get over a crisis with the least perceptual damage. It is a battle against negative perceptions that have been implanted in people's minds.
This creates the need to optimize marketing spend but, under no circumstances does this mean cutting down comms budgets, or firing comms professionals.
Communications professionals stay in constant contact with customers and shareholders in bad times and good times alike, and suggest solutions that can strengthen the marketing strategies. They are the only bunch that can speak a language that everyone appreciates and use terms that every one understands.
Working in the Middle Eastm and on the brighter side, Middle East companies have managed to build a reputation-conscious culture, an indication that we are doing well on the corporate communications level. They use reputation recovery techniques very effectively, starting with the crisis and going all the way until reputational health is restored.

Getting rid of comms persons in times of crises could have a serious effect on a company’s ability to attract comms talent in the future.
Take care and nurture your comms guys because only they produce results at times of crises. Comms is not just another "nice to have" resource that is welcome only when the going is good! It is most needed when the going is tough.

[Tamara Snyder]

Thanks for sharing - I'm going to join! Another informal group that I attend is an "internal communicators roundtable" held once a quarter in Chicago. Communicators from local businesses - everyone from hospital systems to McDonald's to Boeing - come and share best practices on a specific topic; last month, appropriately, it was communicating in a downturn. It's unstructured but is also a good way for communicators to network.