Plenty of people with full-time jobs don’t like the message Ron McGowan is delivering these days.

Simply put, he suggests that anyone who feels secure in their jobs should head down to the nearest mountain-fed river, dip their head under and give it a good shake.

Ron McGowan

“I’m telling people that there’s been a huge transformation in the workplace and many of them are going to become contract workers,” says McGowan, author of the new book How to Find Work in the 21st Century.

“And, frankly, it’s got most people scared as hell.”

In recent months, the Vancouver-based McGowan has been delivering one-day seminars in Edmonton and Calgary, helping spread the gospel of contract work – suggesting that people must get used to the idea of looking for work, as opposed to looking for jobs.

“People want jobs like mom and dad had, all the benefits and security that go with it,” says McGowan. “But, for more and more of us, it’s not going to happen.”

He points to recent figures on the U.S. workforce showing that, depending on the industry sector, 25 to 40 per cent of workers are employed in non-traditional roles with their employers, as temps, part-timers, contract workers or self-employed consultants. And the numbers are growing.

“I understand why people are frightened – they are being moved out of their comfort zones,” says McGowan, who operates Executives for Rent, a contract placement firm. He has previously taught in the post-secondary industry, worked in the telecommunications business, and wears his own badge of honour – he’s been downsized twice.

Although the concept of contract work is nothing new, McGowan says many people are psychologically challenged.

In his seminars McGowan offers practical, hands-on information on how to write resumes and make connections. Equally, he tries to convince people that they can no longer be passive in their job search, can’t rest on their laurels if they are currently employed, must define what their skills are, and then sell themselves.

It’s the last point that leaves people uneasy. It’s also the key to success. “We come from generations where you could get by with a passive approach to finding work,” he says. “The unwritten process up until now is: ‘I’m an engineer, I’ve done this, therefore hire me. My track record and qualifications speak for themselves.’ ”

The approach doesn’t cut it anymore, says McGowan. Employers must be sold on the benefits of you helping them, solving their problems, making their lives better and more productive. A passive resume, he suggests, forces the employer to make assumptions how you can help or can’t help.

He also tells people that they must flush out jobs, network “like crazy” and forget about finding work through the daily newspaper’s want-ad section, or Internet job sites.

The bulk of jobs are created by small business, and they don’t have the finances to advertise, says McGowan. He adds that major studies show between four and six per cent of people find jobs on the major job websites.

“People don’t like the idea that they have to sell themselves, and have false assumptions they don’t know how to do it,” says McGowan. “But they just need a bit of help, they can do it.”

His seminars – he has one scheduled for Calgary on March 20 – are aimed at professionals who have a skill set to sell.

When he started the seminar series two years ago, he thought his market would comprise people who had been downsized. He gets those people, but half are workers currently in full-time jobs.

Of that group, some say they’re not waiting for the company to decide their fate; others want to contract in the foreseeable future; and one group feels they’re buying insurance, to be prepared in case they are blindsided by the company.

“Probably the people having the toughest time are the ones with good qualifications and track records who did everything right, and even so have been downsized, had the rug pulled out from under them,” says McGowan.

“They have a real tough time, and they hide it well. But, behind the mask, they’re wearing so many emotions.”

McGowan tells people they can adapt, gives them starting points and firmly tells them to be diligent.

More companies will approach the job market like the film or construction industry does, he says. They’ll hire people for a project, then move on. In some cases, contract work will lead to a more traditional full-time job. Or smaller companies and businesses will provide contract workers with an opportunity to spread their wings and try a number of different jobs.

Regardless, McGowan says we have to be prepared for more contract work in the future – whether we like it or not.