Transition firms take off during downturn

Transition firms take off during downturn
By Elizabeth Howell,
Ottawa Business Journal StaffWed, Feb 11, 2009 1:00 PM EST
Hamid Rahbar. (Darren Brown, OBJ)

Demand for career coaching, advice picks up as economy pitches downward
With many of the big American banks merged or fallen and the auto industry tanking as it waits for government support, the ripple effects of the fall of these titans are starting to batter the Ottawa employment market.
Venture capital is extremely hard to come by. With cash flow drying up, companies are making hard choices between layoffs or survival – and thus far, the choice has been clear. As reported on OttawaBusinessJournal.com last week, Ottawa-Gatineau shed 5,800 jobs last month alone.

And that's where career transition firms are stepping in, stepping up their business in the process.
"Organizations such as ours get a higher number of calls (during economic downturns), both from an information perspective and for inquiring just in case," says Craig Dowden, who manages the Ottawa branch of Andre Filion and Associates.
"As well, as we have individuals who are affected and they need our support and primarily the concern is, from the organization, to ensure that their (ex-) employees (have) somewhere to assist them."

A recent article in the New York Times indicated career transition firms there experienced a 75-per-cent jump in business in 2008.

The approach at Andre Filion remains the same whether it's hard economic times or not, says Mr. Dowden. The company evaluates a client's next potential job as one that must jive with the firm's lifestyle, rather than grabbing the first opportunity that comes along.

But organizational expert Ann Max of Productive to the Max says there's one thing she'd never advise a client to do right now: start a new business cold, without a job as backup should it fail.

"You need to look at recession-proof businesses," she says."I don't think people understand this recession.

"I just spoke with a client this morning (who was) saying it's affecting their inventory, their supply chain. It's affecting things they don't even realize."
That being said, the approach of career transition firms goes beyond simply revamping resumes. Coaches sit down with clients and evaluate their lifestyle, goals, and how to modify their lifestyle to reach those goals.
The process can be so complicated – and requires such a discerning eye – that Ms. Max says almost anyone can benefit from seeking professional help in this regard.

This is especially true of the battered high-tech industry, struggling in the region since last spring when Dell laid off most of its employees at its Ottawa call centre.

With the technical demands of high tech, representatives of Vitesse Re-Skilling says most clients going through job transitions need to take formal training of some sort before switching.

Vitesse's business has also been booming lately, says Hamid Rahbar, the organization's president and chairman.
"Clients should realize that they need to be reskilled," says Mr. Rahbar. "They can achieve it through different ways; one of them is to go back to university or do self study, or go somewhere and have a chance to have hands-on experience"

Asher Ullah
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