Executives hard-hit by recession
By Kevin Smith, Staff Writer© Pasadena Star-News, July 26, 2009
PASADENA - Gary Kaplan used to spend nearly all of his time recruiting and placing high-level, executive candidates for job openings. As president of Gary Kaplan & Associates, a Pasadena-based executive search firm, that was pretty much the drill. "We were disproportionately focused on filling assignments," Kaplan said. "We were extremely busy, coming off of five of the best years we'd ever experienced." That was then. But now - in the midst of a sobering economic downturn that has forced scores of companies to trim employee hours, impose unpaid furloughs or lay off workers - Kaplan's role has changed. "There has been a substantial fall-off in business activity, not just for us but for all recruiting firms," Kaplan said. "We're off 62 percent from a year ago in terms of search activity. But what has picked up dramatically is the influx of unsolicited resumes, largely coming in my e-mail." Out-of-work employees are also reaching out to Kaplan via social networking sites, such as Linkedin.com, Facebook.com and by phone. "We're not just talking about junior-level people and c-level players who have been let go," he said. "We're talking about high-level individuals with academic pedigrees who, for the most part, have had stellar careers. They have never had this happen before and they are in a state of shock. To some degree ... there is an element of panic." Dennis Marchand was never in panic mode. But he wasn't exactly happy when he was laid off on March 6 from his job with Capital Group Cos., an investment firm headquartered in downtown Los Angeles. "It's like a death in the family," the 57-year-old Los Alamitos resident said. "You lose a position that was kind of the central structure of your day. I would get up, go to work and do things there and then come home. Now that social network is gone." Marchand had been hoping to land another position. But the current job market is brutal. "I started looking but I didn't like what I saw," he said. "The jobs that were out there didn't interest me, and the ones that looked promising ... you don't hear anything back. They don't even have the decency to say `Go to hell."' Marchand's frustration is understandable, and he's certainly not alone. California's unemployment rate in June was 11.6 percent, well above the year-ago rate of 7.1 percent, according to the state Employment Development Department. And a federal survey of households shows a drastic annual decrease in the number of people employed in California. The survey estimates that the number of Californians holding jobs in June was 16.3 million, down 40,000 from May and down 737,000 from a year earlier. Kaplan said he spends much of his time these days taking displaced executives to lunch to offer both practical advice and moral support. He doesn't receive compensation for such meetings, but Kaplan says it's in his nature to want to help. He does hope, however, that his efforts ultimately may help generate some future business down the road. "I feel as if I've gone through a transformation from spending most of my days as an executive recruiter to spending a substantial portion of the day as a career counselor, therapist, and clergyman," he said. "At times I feel like I should be wearing a Roman collar." Pete Tzavalas, vice president of sales for the Southern California region of outplacement and consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said he's seeing lots of executives out of work. And some of them are corporate heavy hitters. "I was talking to someone yesterday about these three people who are just total rock stars," he said. "They are just amazing at what they do ... and yet they are unemployed." In today's economy, there's no sure-fire way to avoid being laid off. But Kaplan does offer some useful advice. "It's an unfortunate problem but many executives network at the wrong time - when they have to," he said. "The really smart thing to do is to network throughout your career." By laying that foundation, people have more job-hunting resources and referrals at their fingertips when they really need them, Kaplan said. "Everyone is trying to network," he said. "There is a level of networking going on now the likes of which I've never seen before." Kaplan advocates heavy networking, but also warns that jobseekers can't afford to be picky in today's economic climate. And that, he said, may involve a cut in pay. "If you want to stay in this market and feel relatively good about the company and position - even if there is a pay cut involved - you should take the job and get off the street," he said. "The odds are great that there will be no offers beyond that ... this is not a time to shop job offers."
