I played football at the University of Tennessee and had the privilege of getting a ‘whiff’ (no pun intended being a kicker) of what was cooking in the professional ranks until banging my silverware on the table begging for food only resulted in me receiving a main course of reality; I was not going to play professional football in the NFL so it was time to move on.

I tell you this to liken the similarities between football, the current career marketplace, and what job seekers are not getting quickly enough.

Example A:
Take football as an example. There was a time when Tennessee went 45-5 over a four season period (95,96,97,98), won 2 SEC titles, played for 2 national championships (won 1 of them in 1998), and had more players drafted to the NFL than any other college in that span, however instead of riding that wave of success to the next level there was a roller coaster ride of ups and downs eventually culminating in a 2008 season that will go down as the second worst in 20 years and resulting in the departure of my old coach, Phillip Fulmer, a great man, coach, and mentor to me.

What happened in between is of great significance…the departure of long-time offensive coordinator David Cutcliffein 1998 to become head coach at Ole Miss, and then his return to the same post in 2006 eventually spawning another 10 win season in 2007 led by a high octane offense and trip to the SEC championship game. After the 2007 season Cutcliffe was rewarded by being offered and accepting the head coaching job at DUKE taking with him all the offensive momentum created.

Fast forward to today, Tennessee finished the year starting a JV walk-on as their QB to lead a severely under-achieving offense that had a large hand in Fulmer being ousted at Tennessee after being on the sidelines for over 30 years. Coincidence? I think not.

What very few of you may have picked up within my rant on college football is what the lack of steady offense has done for Tennessee over the years, much as what a lack of offense out there by job seekers is doing for their own personal careers. Companies are no longer breaking down your doors to seek you out. The career marketplace is evolving right before our very eyes and those who are still running an offense based around 3 yards and a cloud of dust are going to get crushed by people who have adapted and are running creative new offenses. It’s not about smoke and mirrors, or Doug Flutie flea-flickers, it’s about spread offenses (see: University of Florida’s 2 National Championships in the last 3 years with no end in sight)

This is SO similar as to what job seekers MUST, MUST, I repeat MUST do in today’s economy.

Today, more than ever the competition has risen. There are more people out there willing to hitch their wagons to a more stable horse, companies are less likely to take risks, and there is an insane thing called the Internet that has made accessing people, companies, and information rocket science in itself. You must adapt or get lost behind. Change your philosophy, change your execution, work hard (to network), run a spread offense and put the ball in your play maker’s hands.

1) You should have several playmakers that know your skills on your field at all times (select headhunters, corporate recruiters at your target companies, friends, family, networking groups, professional organizations you are a member of, etc.)

2) You should set up email alerts at every single web site you would potentially visit so you never have to visit again and you have a system working in your favor (another playmaker).

3) You should get active with online professional networking sites like LinkedIn and get visible. 2009 will mark the digital shift in recruiting. You want to take advantage of knowing this today before everyone else does before you. Leverage the internet in your favor (big playmaker).

The game is 60 minutes. The goal is to drive your team down the field and get in position to put points on the board and win the game. You absolutely can’t get yourself in a position to score without a sound offensive game plan and proper execution. Putting your resume out on Monster.com and waiting by the telephone will not cut it. There is a war for talent going on out there and your offensive philosophy needs to change FAST, or you will be sitting on the sidelines looking for a team in ’09.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 9:15 am and is filed under Job Search, Networking, Online Career Space, Recruiting, Resumes, Social Media, Specialization. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.