Calculating the Personal Financial Cost of Unemployment

2.7 million older job seekers last year who on average took 36 weeks or a greater than 8 months to secure their next role. Can you afford to take that time? If not, read on…

In a fast changing marketplace, unprecedented in many respects, the need to recognise and counter this uncertainty and inevitability couldn’t be more real.

Many professionals who have grown up under the ideals of;-

1. A job is for life
2. My Boss will look out for me
3. A job will come; it has before
4. Recruiters favour me over all others
5. I am unique and talented and available

……. are finding themselves unseated.

Whilst job searching can for many be an opportunity to progress in terms of role engagement and reward and satisfaction, the harsh reality for many is they end up carving out a latter quartile career of lessening returns. The number falling into this category is also increasing at an alarming rate as job types become obsolete in favour of automation or cheaper labour alternatives.

Moreover, individuals not used to such situations are finding themselves floundering as evidenced by the statistic of ever growing timelines between employment, and whilst some of this can be attributed to redundancy pay-offs, non-compete periods and similar, in reality, the greater majority are simply spending more time eroding their hard earned savings needlessly because the job market has changed and they are relying on ‘outdated’ methods.

1. Gone are the days where companies solely utilise recruiters as a source of finding people
2. Gone are the days where trade journals and professional press are the  ‘go to’ resource when looking for executive roles
3. Gone are the days where applicants typically viewed a job search with a ‘local’ mindset
4. Gone are the days where talent was perceived to be in short supply in many professional areas
5. Gone are the days where employers needed or chose to hire those with ‘potential’ when availability exists for those who tick ’10 of 10? boxes

One reality of this timeline widening is the financial (not just emotional) impact and whilst ‘rainy day funds’ exist, for many professionals who are experiencing lessening tenures of employ, this buffer is not as ‘rich’ as it could or should be. 

So, a 36 week average job search for an executive on a £120,000 gross base salary …………….. that is an opportunity loss of income of £80,000 gross PLUS savings erosion at a rate in keeping with your current outgoings. So, with average household expenditure for such household incomes being of the order 70% of income per month from net income that is a total estimated loss of income of £56,000 plus the opportunity loss by a poor job search method = £136,000!

So, candidly, you are paying to get your next opportunity so why not cut that expenditure down substantially by reducing the time to secure the right next opportunity by adopting ‘sniper-like’ rather than ‘herd-like’ behaviours! 

Should professionals therefore be eroding this precious fund simply because they do not know how to conduct an effective onward job search believing recruiters & outplacement provision to be the sole answer?

Have you calculated that cost of unemployment attributed to relying on old methods of job search, rather than the financial benefit to be gained by having greater control during this period on your career search and getting the next role sooner by utilising the right resources and methods.

As an analogy: If you wanted/needed to get better at a sport or hobby or professional technical discipline what would you do?

…………. The answer is simple and one you would not have needed to mull over for long.

Why therefore, if the need is to get back into work more quickly or into a more appropriate and engaging opportunity would you not apply the same logic sooner rather than later in order to protect your professional and career welfare?

…..After all, is it not through your professional and career success that everything else in LIFE becomes available to you as choices such as where you live, the car you drive, where you go on holiday, where you educate your children and so on?

The answer for the reticence is three fold;-

1. Not had to do so before so why now
2. I may get the job I have just applied for and so may have wasted my money if I land it (spot the intentional words…… ‘may and if’ and of course the very short term view)
3. Providers exist, many of whom imply they are expert in the field, referred to as Career Coaches, Career Managers and similar where you may have invested and got little return…………..not all providers are the same just as you are not the same as your peers.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Have you reflected on job searches and thought; –I really wanted that job/that opportunity and then consoled yourself in deniability with the likes of……..

• I never wanted that job anyway
• It was always going to go to the internal candidate
• With so many applicants it is just a numbers game
• I’ll do better next time by changing NOTHING or trying to fit every opportunity I see with a scatter gun approach.

Are these the behaviours, attitudes & excuses you would adopt in role?

The point to appreciate here is; – the world is simply changing and to maintain currency, survive and or thrive then you need to adapt. The World Economic Forum estimates some 30% of jobs existing today will be obsolete due to automation by 2040! Or to put in more clearly that is 9 million people in jobs today in the UK who will need to re-invent themselves or retire to be replaced by graduates and apprentices with these ‘new’ skills!

How are you planning to protect against this inevitability? Leave it to someone else or will you take pro-active ownership?

Sometimes being the best you can be is just as much about how you behave and react in situations such as this between opportunities as it is how you behave when in role.

A snapshot of the time and therefore financial saving to be gained by investing in a Morphosis Partners ‘Career Education & Job Search Control’ course to ensure you do not fall foul like 2.7 million older job seekers last year who on average took 36 weeks or a greater than 8 months to secure their next role.

Our clients as the table shows are, by comparison, back in role much quicker. The example clients chosen were also ones who had utilised current established thinking of recruiters, job boards, career managers, career management firms and career coaches further highlighting the competitive advantage to be gained by using current future proof thinking and perhaps, more importantly, resources and actions that work.

How do we save you time and therefore money?

Because we understand the underlying issue and focus on providing the resources necessary in a timely and supported or directional manner. This is our area of expertise just as you have yours.

We lay claim to be, and have proved we are, the ‘change agents’ in the job market, implementing new processes, methodologies and techniques that harness the job market landscape capitalising on success for the professional in a timely, robust, precise manner.  If you can’t change and learn, as with a business with the same ethos, you will flounder in your brand and revenues. Your customer base will fall away to competitors; your message will fall on ‘deaf ears’ – and ultimately you either; ‘close your doors’ or get an outside resource in to sort the problems out. That’s the job market of today….

Morphosis Partners is uniquely and appropriately different providing competitive edges that differentiate you from your peers rather than resources that only get you to blend in as one of hundreds.

Bolster and boost that ‘rainy day fund’ by getting back into employ sooner increasing engagement, well being and of course onward continued professional success.

Knowledge: Resources: Empowerment: Control: Opportunity