If you’re feeling like your future is uncertain and your job could disappear at any moment, then you’re probably feeling pretty gloomy. If you watch the constant flood of media alerts on businesses closing and layoffs happening left, right and center, then it’s easy to fall into a trap of the self-fulfilling prophecy: folks who believe they’ll lose your job vastly increase the chance that they will. Wait – I’m not talking about an effect of ‘The Law of Attraction ‘ or anything like that – but if we accept a future where we’re out on our ear, it will change our behavior and we’ll actively look for the signs of this happening, and respond to them.
To change this situation, what we have to do is actively change our beliefs. Sure, we can say to ourselves it won’t be that way , because we say so (and it may even work) but I am suggesting that to overcome the trappings of the recession that we pursue different activities that are much more positive and constructive. And they’re really simple too.
This is where I want to hand over to fellow blogger and new ‘friend’, Dave Crain . He wrote a post back in November that is even more relevant now in 2009. What Dave shares with us are 10 highly effective and powerful activities we can undertake, at our convenience, to turn things around.
For example, Dave recommends that we redo our resume (something I have written a lot about on this site) and sure enough, this does have a very positive effect on us as we’re reminded of what we have achieved in our careers. There is also something psychologically rewarding about applying creativity and progress into your resume. Don’t believe me – try it. You could also look it like this – if you still believe you’ll be laid off then you’ll need to get your resume into shape anyway. If you don’t have much time, then try this resume builder I experimented with which does most of the boring work for you!
Dave also recommends that we invest in a career coach to work with us through tough times and develop long-term career plans. Using the services of a coach, I believe, will pay the most dividends during difficult times like this as a coach will skilfully hold you to account for your development and help you avoid slipping further into doldrums and a victim mentality. If you’re looking for a coach, then try me! I offer career coaching services at very reasonable prices – get in touch with me for more details. I don’t bite!
‘Bolster your brand ‘ is another key piece of advice from Dave, and I totally agree with it. Building your external profile and brand is such a powerful way of getting noticed by top organizations. This is something I’ve written about a lot also, so check out my other articles (see below) on how to do this.
So I’ll finish this post by thanking Dave for his article back in November. Check out Dave’s post here and see how to make your career more recession-resistant!
