I had a nice Starbucks today with a new friend today with a great smile. She came to me through a great connector. She was looking for her new gig.

She used to have a job that she loved but she had reached the career ceiling at her former company. Not sure what that means in the New Normal. It was a Fortune 500 company. We have all heard of it. There is one right down my street. She had been there for years. But she wanted to try working in a different industry.

Smart career plan in the past but career plans are harder to follow in the New Normal.

Something fresh she said with a spark. I am sure that her new company snapped her up right away. It was a publicly traded company. A nice brand but one with some difficulty. It was an easier commute. Employee discounts. The hiring was a rah rah rah. A celebration night out.

Twenty one days later she was out of a job. Three weeks. The Board came in and removed the CEO and fired lots of people at the head office including her. Hey I just got here. A victim caught up in the maelstrom. Can I review my offer letter again please?  Do I qualify for any vacation pay?

I have met similar people who have fallen through rabbit holes, stepped on the wrong tiles in the hopscotch of the New Normal or sent resumes to online black holes never to hear anything again.

People often ask me what are the best companies to work for?They all start with the same questions no matter the industry they worked in or what Starbucks or what networking event I am at. “I don’t really care about the money they say. I just want to work at a company that appreciates me, where I can grow, where the culture is great and they just value me.” I want to hand them my rosary.

That is quite a challenge I think. I am a Marketing Guy. I have promoted many companies to appear in a wonderful light. Sung their praises, and sent our electronically optimized press releases for them. Nominated them for best companies to work for in newspapers and magazines and trade publications that wanted their ads. Posted the reprints of my success in their lobbies for candidates to read while they were waiting to meet with the hiring manager.

But now I am at a loss most of the time. What are the best companies to work for in the New Normal? That requires a new definition. If they are publicly traded, the chances of you controlling your future are precarious. Private equity firms can sell the company or change the company after a quarterly report. Family owned companies can be a reality TV Show.

It’s not all bad once you realize that in the New Normal the only truth that matters is not where you work but your character and your personal brand, because that can’t be fired, that can’t be reduced. That can only grow.

You can control how you market yourself and your word of mouth. Your reputation will define you and lead to companies finding you that are like minded.

Your standing can only grow with a power that is unique and that power is you. To achieve that, you have to be known both online and most importantly offline.

As I have said in the past, Face time not Facebook leads to relationships!

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Watch: Are You Ready to Get Fired?

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