Jonathan Lansing, a 47-year-old retail store manager earning $75,000 a year, has worked for the same company during his entire 28-year career. A major economic recession has caused massive layoffs throughout the retail industry, and Jon is among the unlucky people who lost their jobs. He is still unemployed 10 months later, and his 10 months’ severance pay and 6 months’ unemployment compensation have run out. Fortunately, when he first became a store manager, Jon took a personal financial planning course offered by the local university. Because he then adopted careful financial planning practices, he now has sufficient savings and investments to carry him through several more months of unemployment. His greatest financial need is to find a job. Jon actively seeks work but finds that he is overqualified for available lower-paying jobs and underqualified for higher-paying, more desirable positions. There are no openings for positions equivalent to the manager’s job he lost. Although Jon attended college for 2 years after high school, he didn’t earn a degree. He lost his wife several years earlier and is very close to his two grown children, who live in the same city. Jon has these options: 

• Wait out the recession until another retail store manager position opens up. 

• Move to another area of the country where store manager positions are still available. 

• Accept a lower-paying job for 2 or 3 years and then go back to school evenings to finish his college degree and qualify for a better position. 

• Consider other types of jobs that could benefit from his managerial skills

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What important career factors should Jon consider when evaluating his options? 

2. What important personal factors should Jon consider when deciding among his career options? 

3. What recommendations would you give Jon in light of both the career and personal dimensions of his options noted in Questions 1 and 2? 

4. What career strategies should today’s workers employ in order to avoid Jon’s dilemma?