When a risk manager loses their job in this brutal economy–whether because a company goes out of business or outsources the function to another firm–there are ways for those who are laid off to land on their feet more quickly than others in similar distress, according to Bill Perry, president of Logic Associates.

“Now more than ever, the salesmanship aspect of being a risk manager is extremely important,” he told National Underwriter in his annual exclusive interview about the state of the risk management profession.

“Your primary concern if you are still working today should be keeping the job you have by convincing senior management you are essential to the company's ongoing survival–that you are not superfluous, and that your function is not easily outsourced,” he advised.

“If you are in a safe port of call, where your work is recognized, respected and valued, by all means do everything you can to stay put until the economy and job market turns around–which might not be for a long while,” he added.

However, Mr. Perry noted, “for those risk managers who have lost their jobs, the competition for new jobs is fierce–worse than it's ever been.”

His first suggestion was that “if you do lose your job, consider going back to school for your MBA in finance or for a designation, like an ARM or CPCU. That will certainly help you land a new job more quickly when the economy does recover.”

He reported that “some risk managers who are out of work are becoming consultants, figuring it's easier to form their own firm and offer their services on a contract basis to companies already eager to outsource, rather than try to land another fulltime job in such a tough economy.”

He also suggested “lowering your sights,” describing this process as “the reality of necessity.”

“Risk managers can take a job with a broker or carrier,” he noted. “Some are downsizing their careers by taking lower positions as assistant directors of risk management, analysts or claims managers. These are normally career no-no's, but the bottom line is that you must support yourself and your family.”

However, he warned that “this trend can cut two ways, since there is a lot of talent on the loose.”

He noted that “chief financial officers–especially from intermediate-size firms–are also losing their jobs. They may set their own career sights lower and seek jobs as a director of risk management because they supervised the risk management department in their last gig, or earlier in their career were risk managers themselves. They may now pitch themselves as enterprise risk managers and chief risk officers.”

While “this just adds to the competition for risk management jobs and makes it that much harder to land a new post,” he also cautioned that “the downside employers have to consider is whether they want to hire someone who is obviously overqualified for a lower-level job. Will they lose them when the economy improves, or would they rather hire someone who can grow into the job?”

Another consideration is whether the person doing the hiring really wants to bring someone on board who is not only unhappy about taking a lower-level position, but who is likely to set their sights immediately on moving up the ladder.

“Does a CFO want to hire a former CFO under them to run risk management and risk having a rival for their own job?” Mr. Perry said. “Does a director of risk management want to hire a former director of risk management as their assistant director and have someone in the wings overqualified for their current assistant-level job but ready and eager to take over for their boss if something goes wrong–which is more likely to occur in an economy this volatile.”

He urged those hiring to do a thorough cost-versus-benefit analysis by taking such questions into account.

“Companies can definitely upgrade the level of performer running their risk management operations with the amount of talent out there today,” he said. “But they may not be doing themselves any favors by hiring people who are clearly overqualified for lower-level jobs, who won't be happy about taking a step back and will likely bolt at the first opportunity when the economy recovers.”

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Out-Of-Work Risk Managers Must Face Up To The &#039;Reality Of Necessity&#039;

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