The pervasiveness of this recession makes the option of preparing for one a no-brainer.
But how?
You’ll be smarter about snagging work where it is, rather than where you might like it to be. You’ll also change expectations about serial bosses and the methods by which you assure personal productivity.
Eric Darr, executive vice president and provost at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Harrisburg, Pa., recommends preparing for a recession by looking for “high ground,” as you might in a flood. Watch for:
• industries that seem to weather recessions;
• jobs that remain afloat; and
• multiple skills, nurtured by training and education, to increase your options.
Darr also mentions that as you’d stock the shelves before a hurricane, you can develop an emergency plan, keep your network active, fine-tune your skills, obtain more education and save money. You’ll be investing in your career.
You’ll also be changing the way you work, according to Leon Singletary, who anticipates larger numbers of temporary, contingent, contract and part-time workers. He’s president of the Greater Valley Forge Human Resources Association (GVFHRA) in Villanova, Pa., and principal and founder of First Contact HR in nearby Fort Washington.
Singletary thinks that your biggest adjustment will revolve around “doing what you have to do to live,” which will fuel small-business growth. But he doesn’t think that young people will live to work. For this reason, he anticipates their spending about two years at most in each organization of their employment to get the information and contacts they need to launch a start-up.
He also expects them to work for multiple employers simultaneously. “Look for individuals with strong, specific skill sets, such as accountants, graphic designers, marketing and advertising professionals and others,” he says, “to spread their work among several companies at once.” Flexibility and multiple revenue streams will become hallmarks of these careers.
To eliminate the burden of chronic self-marketing for employment, Singletary says to get up to speed with social media. He believes that it jump-starts hiring by referral from employees, which, he says, accounts for 60 percent or more of hires. “Utilize online tools better than others similarly situated and you’ll increase your chances by far,” he states.
Changing your manner on the job is also essential. San Francisco’s Leila Towne, executive coach and OD consultant, endorses results-oriented thinking over short-term thinking on the basis of “day to day or project to project.” Analyze your current practices in light of reduced budgets. Intensify your customer focus, both internally and externally. As part of this preparation, “meet with your boss and clearly state how you affect revenue, product or service creation or delivery, or customer retention,” she says. “Consider ‘back office’ functions as necessary and value-added so that the contribution is clear.”
Towne maintains that you’ll enhance your awareness of the need to do more with less. In the past, people who didn’t meet or exceed expectations could hide a little more easily, she observes. Increased leanness is putting you under greater scrutiny.
Being aware of your fiscal contribution -- and self-promoting -- will help ease the situation. If your boss is “asking how you feel you’re adding value to the company, how you’re contributing to the big goals and the company’s values,” don’t hold back. Increased accountability will communicate to others your critical contributions.
Finally, expect to work longer. Opinion Research Corp., on behalf of Work+Life Fit Inc., of Madison, N.J., recently conducted a telephone survey of 757 fully-employed adults. An enormous 90 percent testify to the recession’s impact on their careers. Almost half (47 percent) won’t stop out, which provides ramifications for childcare and eldercare. Take note that this figure represents women (56 percent) and men (40 percent).
Dr. Mildred L. Culp welcomes your questions at culp@workwise.net. Copyright 2010 Passage Media.
RSS
E-Mail
Print
reprint or license
