Some food for thought on a rainy afternoon.
Pub Date: Dec 16, 2006 Pub: ST Page: S4
Dont knock us, our rice bowls are not
iron
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THE HIGH-FLIERS
Middle-aged & out of a
job
Military and civil service high-fliers nearing or past their
tenures struggle
to keep up in corporate world
BY HO AI LI
& SUSAN LONG
A WELL-KNOWN chief executive of a global company here tells how he
receives persistent calls from former scholars who have graduated
from Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College.
Some are military officers about to hit 45. Others are from the
Governments
elite administrative service, in their 50s and nearing the end of
10-year
tenures.
Some are so desperate to sell" themselves that they ask what time
he will be in the gym so they can run on the treadmill next to him
and make their pitch.
Its very sad," observed the CEO, who spoke to The Straits Times
on condition of anonymity. In Singapore, above 45, you cannot be
looking for a job. The job must be looking for you.
Things are getting tougher for military or civil service
high-fliers nearing or
past their shelf life. Previously, most were absorbed by
government-linked
companies (GLCs) or statutory boards when it was time to
leave.
But these days, GLCs -- which are becoming more bottom-line-driven
and moving from passive asset management to aggressive overseas
expansion -- prefer to hire those who can hit the ground running
from Day One. These would be people with experience in global
banking, financial services, mergers and acquisitions, leisure
entertainment and customer relations.
Unfortunately, those leaving the military and civil service lack
that global
perspective and struggle to keep up, say corporate observers and
recruiters.
According to human resources consultancy Hewitt Associates country
head Na Boon Chong: The challenge has moved from managing a large
organisation to helping guide the company through significant
industry changes. The latter requires depth of specific industry
experience, which retiring civil servants or
military officers often lack."
Finding them a job in the private sector is also a problem.
Singapores
contract manufacturing industry is shrinking and the growth of
home-grown
companies with pockets deep enough to hire such high-calibre
candidates is just not able to keep pace with the conveyor belt of
government scholars today. Each year, the public sector gives out
about 250 scholarships.
What aggravates matters, said executive headhunter Richard Hoon, is
that former military men can be too used to the regimented
life.
Maybe only one out of 100 can adapt to the corporate world. The
rest have to
work hard and undergo personal coaching to be demilitarised' he
said.
They have a certain bravado, talk in a certain way and have a
certain mindset
thats not attractive to employers. They used to be officers,
always managing
others. But stripped of their uniform, theyre just ordinary people
with a
difficult transition to make."
Many also lack the soft skills so necessary in the business
world.
Outplacement specialist Paul Heng said:Stories are plentiful about
ex-civil
servants and army officers who behave as if they are still sitting
in their
ivory towers, giving orders to the troops. Some are downright
patronising.
They need to inspire confidence in interviewers that, not only can
they do the
job, but they can also assimilate into the company culture and work
well with
others."
The cultural re-adaptation" process can take months, even years.
As such, this group now competes with the droves of other over-40,
out-of-work managers looking for work. Some complain that while the
Government exhorts industry to hire older workers, it is not quite
walking the talk itself.
In 1998, the career span of military officers was reduced from 27
to 23 years,
meaning that those who joined after 1998 would retire at about 42,
instead of
about 45 previously. Since 2000, the Administrative Service has
ruled that those appointed to Public Service Leadership jobs will
have only 10 years' tenure for each position, such as permanent
secretaries, deputy secretaries or chief executives of major
statutory boards.
The rationale is to maintain a steady turnover, help the
organisation avoid
becoming too settled in its ways, and encourage young and capable
officers to
remain in service and strive for top posts.
What that means, a fast-rising administrative officer said, is that
you have to
actively work towards your next tenure during your current
one.
If you get promoted to permanent secretary too early, or something
goes wrong, you miss a step and cant get to the next level. The
conveyor belt of scholars relentlessly moves on and pushes you out.
And there you are -- yet another out-of-job older worker,"said the
officer, who is in his 30s.
His own exit plan? He is banking on regional demand for senior
civil servants
with deep policy expertise and operational experience.
At 37, another government scholar who is now doing well sometimes
worries
whether he will be able to survive on the outside in his
mid-40s.
Honestly, a lot of us have no idea what we can do outside,"he
said. Our rice
bowl is not iron or as glamorous as people think it is. I know
people think we have it made and are so well-trained that we can
easily be absorbed into industry. But its a misperception that
needs to be corrected
because theres obviously a mismatch between what the public sees
and what our potential employers see."
With the clock ticking away, he has begun finding out how he can
get into
financial advisory work. He is also managing his expectations
downwards and
keeping his commitments spare, by not upgrading from his Housing
Board flat.
Also cautious is a former government scholarship holder and
Cambridge graduate now working as a researcher.
At 45, and having seen the corporate carnage that claimed some of
his
40-something peers, he is considering starting a cafe or getting
trained to be
a masseur. In your 40s and 50s, more than at any other time, you
need financial stability. Yet, its the age when youre the most
vulnerable,?he said. Theres a heartless bottom-line economic
calculation going on and companies are quite happy to cut you
loose.
The slippery slope to unemployment can start suddenly. It can be
one year, one bad move down the road. The tragedy for scholars is
that they have always been on an ascending path. The thought of
levelling off or falling down is scary."
But there are stories of courageous and successful transitions too,
like that
of lieutenant-colonel-turned-entrepreneur Nicholas Koh, 46.
The former deputy head of naval logistics (platform systems) and
navy scholar
had the option of staying on till 47, but chose to bite the bullet
early".
In 2002, at 42, he took a smaller gratuity package and left to join
ST
Engineering as vice-president of defence business. I wanted to get
out early and start gaining valuable corporate experience to build
my future while I still had energy," said the father of two
teenagers. I didnt want to get too used to a comfortable
life."
In 2003, he quit the job that paid around $150,000 a year, took a
painful pay
cut and set up Victory Knights Management Consultancy. It was my
baptism of fire. I decided to fight for it out there. No point
looking for short-term havens," he said.
His firm administers a marine technology masters programme offered
by the
University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Last year, it also ventured into
Oman, where it helps to incubate environmental technology and
property development companies.
Out there in the commercial world, its war. Generals and colonels
who are
able to fight a war should be able to fight for themselves. If they
cant, they
dont deserve their former rank and status," he declared.
Public funds have been used to groom them in the past, so they
should come out into society and create new ways to contribute back
to Singapores
economy."
[email protected]
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