Phil Goldsmith: High one day, low the next

WITH the Nutter administration up and running, those of us who work in Philadelphia's version of inside the D.C. Beltway are focused on who the new players are.

Who occupies the coveted spots on the mayor's staff? Who are the new Cabinet officials and department heads? Who's likely to be appointed next?

But there's another side to the story of those joining the Nutter team. Less publicized are those from the last administration who got their walking papers. I have a particular interest in who's leaving because I know many of them from my days as managing director. And I have a good idea of what they may be going through, the challenges and opportunities of a job transition.

I've gone through so many transitions myself that I've stopped counting. I've changed not only jobs but careers. I've been a lawyer, journalist, government official, banker, executive recruiter, non-profit executive - and even a career consultant.

Though I've never been fired (I leave before anyone has the pleasure) I still know the feeling of holding a powerful job one day and doing nothing the next. When I left my position as a senior bank executive in 1994 after 12 years, I wrote in my journal:

"Last Friday, I was on a payroll. Today - I haven't used this word before - I'm unemployed . . .

"Now . . . 25 years after joining the grown-up work force . . . I have no extrinsic power, title or status to rely on . . .

"I am sad but excited. Anxious yet confident. Concerned and curious. I arrived at work in a company car, but had to bum a ride home. I am now more vulnerable, more exposed, more at risk than ever before."

To the chagrin of my wife, I have pulled that stunt several times. So it seemed only appropriate when I eventually took a job helping people who were "between jobs." These were individuals who were "downsized" by firms dueto earning pressures or the company's being bought or new management had taken over.

New management has now taken over the city. And Mayor Nutter, as is his right, his responsibility, is making some personnel changes. But unlike in the corporate world, there is no hefty severance package for people in government. Yes, some who are a certain age and have served several decades in government may receive a deferred lump-pension payment. They are generally longtime civil-service employees, not shorter-term mayoral appointees who can be fired at will with no legal protections or financial parachute.

In the private sector, terminated employees often get a set sum for each month of service. Of course, top-level execs are treated differently. Take the chief executive of Countrywide Credit, the mortgage company whose subprime lending practices have helped put the country in an economic tailspin. He's getting $60 million as a goodbye present. Far better than a gold watch, wouldn't you say?

But for some of those now being ushered out of city government, there isn't even a gold watch. Some came to work on Friday, Jan. 4, to learn that their services wouldn't be required on Monday. That's the way it works in government. It's one of the risks of public service.

BUT CHANGE can be good, not only for institutions that need the rejuvenation that new faces can bring but also for the departing individuals, though they might not know it at first.

It can be tough sledding in the beginning. Aside from the worries of a paycheck, there can be a feeling of rejection, a loss of self-esteem. Questions like "Why me, why not him?"

My first client as a career consultant was a man in his early 50s who'd been fired after 25 years with the same company, not because of performance but because of corporate consolidation. When I met him he was angry, his ego crushed. But several months later, he was a different person. He'd just received a job offer, and I'll always remember what he said:

"My identity has always been tied to my employer, but now for the first time I have my own identity and it feels great."

That's a good lesson for all of us, in whatever field. And for those who are arriving, as well as for those leaving. *

Phil Goldsmith has served as the city's managing director. He blogs at philgoldsmith.blog

spot.com. E-mail him at pgold4110@aol.com.