'Recession-proofing' your career, Part 1
'Recession-proofing' your career, Part 1
Whenever the economy takes a dive you begin to hear from a lot of experts about where the marketplace is headed and how to survive shaky financial times. From protecting your home from foreclosure to saving some dough at the grocery store, you can't escape the onslaught of advice from all kinds of economic brainiacs. Career experts come out in droves as well, and recently they've been all over the media landscape talking about how you can "recession-proof" your career.While experts debate definitions of what technically constitutes a recession, most Americans believe we are already in one. Those who don't say we are close enough to feel the sting at home. After all, gas is hovering near $4 a gallon and milk is about the same; meanwhile, wages are climbing about as quickly as a clawless cat up a tree.Add to that low consumer confidence and a weak dollar and it's no wonder so many are tightening their belts by clipping coupons, cutting out summer camp for the kids and resorting to "staycations" instead of vacations at the beach. Companies are feeling the pressure, too. Job growth has been slow and layoffs continue in many industries, making a lot of people understandably nervous about stability. Only 20 percent of Americans believe now is a good time to find a quality job, according to a Gallup poll released in April. That's compared to 46 percent in April 2007.As a result of all these gray clouds, recession-proofing a career has been a hot topic. In fact, it's been talked to death. Randall Hansen, founder of Quintessential Careers, concedes that recession-proofing has already become a cliché in today's conversation about the job market, but he says that it indicates a shift in how we react to tough financial times."In previous economic downturns … we were more forthright: 'Hey, we're in a recession, we have to deal with it,'" instead of having a semantic debate about what to call our money woes and when to really start worrying. For those already with jobs, "dealing with it" starts with avoiding the knee-jerk pessimism about the future of your employer and your job. For job seekers, it means avoiding that same pessimism about achieving a successful job search in a competitive buyer's market.Instead, Hansen advises, workers should stay positive and focus on ways to insulate themselves as much as possible from being axed, as well as become prepared in case they do catch a pink slip. First they should be "updating their resume and keeping a list of accomplishments," Hansen says, adding that it's also a good idea to have various versions of your resume tailored to specific industries, jobs or employers. Fred Henry, a career counselor with the JobLink Career Center in Greensboro, agrees that having more than one resume is smart, especially when the industry you work in or the company you work for is facing layoffs."It's always good to have more than one," Henry says. "Tailor the resume to certain jobs and take time to identify your transferable skills."Although you may have spent several years working in manufacturing as a supervisor, for example, those management skills may translate to a position in food distribution."A really simple thing you can do to change your resume ... modify your resume to target those specific companies," Hansen says.Each day at work, however, the focus should be on the job and contributing to the company by volunteering for new tasks and demonstrating enthusiasm. Hansen says workers should strive to become "a company man or woman" by showing loyalty to decision makers.But how does one find genuine inspiration to do that when a company is facing economic hardship? Henry says to adopt the rookie mentality; hark back to the early days of your job when you were fresh and eager to demonstrate your worth. Then adopt that as your new everyday maxim.Tactics for new job seekersAn economic downturn may or may not affect what career a new graduate pursues, but it may influence how that person gets there. According to the Gallup poll, underemployment may be a factor in why, despite layoffs and hiring freezes, the unemployment rate has stayed at a relatively impressive 5.1 percent, a rate inconsistent with what has been seen historically during periods of recession. In other words, many Americans may be taking "jobs that do not fully make use of their talents, skills and experience," Dennis Jacobe, chief economist with Gallup, writes in the poll's summary.However, that doesn't mean that new graduates should take any job they can find just because pickings may be slim in their desired career field. Hansen says he knows a new graduate who majored in communications but took a job as a summer camp counselor after graduating because it was the first and only job he was offered. "Unless his folks were throwing him out on the street, that's not the way he should have gone," says Hansen, who says that while the job market isn't strong, it also isn't bad enough to take anything.Just as job seekers may not want to take the first job they are offered, workers should think twice before making snap decisions when their company or industry faces potential cutbacks. When rumors start swirling at the water cooler about layoffs at a company, "people get a little antsy and they want to jump ship before they sink," Henry says. But buying into the idea to get out of Dodge as soon as possible may be myopic. An employee who leaves a company often reflexively jumps to a similar job with a new company, but in the same industry, theoretically where layoffs are just as likely to take place. Ironically, that person may become a sitting duck since new hires tend to be more susceptible to initial rounds of layoffs. "First hired, first fired," Henry says. Next week: Part 2: Looking at the glass half full.Contact Patrick Collins at 412-5934 or by e-mail at patrick.collins@news-record.com.
