Laid-off HR specialists offer mutual support

Recruiter ranks are stripped - no one's hiring. No need for as many benefit specialists when fewer employees are receiving benefits. Training and talent management? Those "priorities" somehow become less so in tough times.

No wonder that more than 125 unemployed human-resource professionals gathered in Newtown Square for a seminar titled "Job Search in a Recession for the HR Professional," sponsored by the Philadelphia Human Resource Planning Society.

Among the organizers was Paul Jeffers of Collegeville, a board member of the group, which is offering free memberships to colleagues "in transition."

Until April, Jeffers was vice president for human resources at Advanta Corp. in Horsham. He didn't need to read the news reports to know his financial-services company was struggling. In fact, like many of his colleagues in the room, he helped manage layoffs as part of his responsibilities.

He knew that it was possible that he, too, would lose his job. "But still," he said, "you are surprised when you hear it."

Three of the five panelists - all top human-resources professionals at their current companies - had been laid off during the last decade.

"Being in transition is much more common today, and there's no shame of it," said panelist Glenn Sward, head of recruiting for the Americas at SAP America Inc., which hosted the session last Tuesday at its headquarters.

"In 2001," he recalled, "I was an unemployed recruiter in New York City - not where you want to be." The audience laughed sympathetically.

"I've gained a lot of experience looking for jobs," panelist David Desch said wryly. "All my companies seem to have been bought up."

Desch, vice president for human resources at IMS Health's Americas headquarters in Plymouth Meeting, provided a telling example to the group:

As of that afternoon, he had a human-resources opening in his department. He had received 313 resumes.

"Out of those 313 resumes, only 15 people networked into me," Desch said, meaning that 15 found some connection to him, either via a friend or a colleague. "I interviewed half of the people who networked in to me, and five people from the rest of the group."

Preparation and research count, Desch said. A standard cover letter with pleasantries will be passed over.

"I look for anything that calls out to my attention that you know the company or you can solve my problems," he said.

Prompt thank-you letters also matter, he said, although whether they come by e-mail or post is not as important as it once was.

"In your thank-you letters, address priorities specifically," Desch said. Of the letters he received, he said, "98 percent were not personalized at all."

Don't be ashamed to tap into personal networks, such as the other parents on your children's softball teams, said panelist Doug Fearon, managing director of the Rosen Group, a staffing company in Voorhees that specializes in human-resources staffing.

"Sometimes, it's an ego element. They don't want to let their friends, their relatives or their church members" know they've lost their jobs, he said. "I'll tell you now, you are shooting yourself in the foot."

Networking can be especially effective in Philadelphia, said panelist Judy Boreham, managing director of life sciences and human resources for Diversified Search Odgers Berndtson, a recruiting company in Center City.

Boreham said she had found that "Philadelphia is a very friendly region. It's really very 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.' "

Though desperate job seekers may be willing to drop down a few rungs in pay and responsibility to find work, they may find it tough to get by skeptical recruiters.

Chet Zoltak, vice president of talent acquisition at AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp. in Chesterbrook, said it was tempting to hire top talent at bargain prices.

"When the economy improves, boom, they are out," he said. "What was a short-term solution for us becomes a long-term problem" when you have to recruit again.

Zoltak said he was out of work for a year in 2003.

Moderating the panel was Shelly Potente, vice president of client-services consulting at Right Management, a Philadelphia-based company that offers outplacement services to the unemployed.

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