Career Displacement: What do I do?

• Clara Boles
• September 15, 2021
• Newsletter Article

“In your next interview ALWAYS quantify,” Shepard said. She explained that one of the most important things to do is say that you were eliminated by a reduction in force and quantify how many more were also let go at that time.

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Career displacement is unfortunately something we are seeing more of and it is hard to experience! I sat down with Meredith Shepard, a Recruitment Manager with De Lacy Executive Recruiting, to get her expertise on what she has seen firsthand with career/ job displacement in the recruiting field.

 

 

In Shepard’s words, a career displacement is essentially the loss of a job due to economic and business conditions; she explained this could be a restructuring of a company or even a reduction of force. Career displacement can also be caused by:  

• A company merging
• A company closing
• An economic shift
• A change in the business
• A natural disaster
• A combination of positions
• And the most prevalent one we are seeing and living through right now: a pandemic.  

 

Within the past year and a half living through the Covid-19 pandemic, many things changed in the work environment. We did see quite a bit of career displacement, but we also saw more careers in demand. I asked Shepard if she felt like displacement had increased in the past year and a half. She responded, “Yes and no; in the agriculture and food industry we saw a definite loss in the food service industry, but during that time we also saw a greater need in groceries, since everyone was cooking at home.”

 

With this last year though, we have also seen firsthand that the agriculture industry as a whole has been essential.

Shepard added, “Yes, agriculture is absolutely essential; there are always going to be certain areas of each industry that hurt more, but overall agriculture was probably one of the first to bounce back during and after the pandemic because people have to eat.”

Shepard explained we should have a sense of security being in the agriculture industry.

 

 

 What if your career is displaced though? What do you do now?

 

“In your next interview ALWAYS quantify,” Shepard said. She explained that one of the most important things to do is say that you were eliminated by a reduction in force and quantify how many more were also let go at that time.

Another tip Shepard gave is to make your resume as transparent and clear as you can, you should try not to leave room for question. She advices to keep this off your resume, but to always explain what happened in the interview.

Always tell the whole story, but never bash on the employer that let you go due to a job displacement. The bitterness you have will not get you hired for the next job!

 

 

Displaced and looking for a new career? Start at www.AgCareers.com