The sky is NOT falling, people!
For fun: Disney’s 1948 Chicken Little “This is the voice of doom speaking…the sky is falling.”
There’s an article I cut out of the May 2008 HR Magazine which included a very interesting chart depicting “A Century of Recessions.” Whenever I’ve encountered someone despairing that this is the worst recession we’ve ever had – it’s the worse we’ve seen since the 1920’s, I whip this article out to help them get some perspective.
The average length of recessions since World War II has been 10 months. Experts are saying we’re in recovery now, and that certainly makes sense looking at this historical data.
A few things I want to point out…
- When the unemployment rate is 10% nationwide, this means that 90% of folks are still working. If you’re unemployed, your goal is to move over into the majority, right. Let that sink in for a moment – the majority of Americans are working. Also, realize that these numbers simply mean that fewer jobs are being created/filled than there were before the downturn. It doesn’t mean that there are NO jobs being created/filled.
- A wise friend said something a few months ago that really stuck with me. She said, “Everyday someone leaves a job that needs to be re-filled… they leave to have a baby, they retire, and, though it seems morbid to say it, it is true – they die.” If you’re unemployed, your goal is not to get every job available. It’s to get one job… just ONE job.
- What IS different about this recession is that more than ever before you have to get out there and learn about what’s going on in your community. This means you can’t sit at your computer all day and hit the submit button to online postings and expect results. You have to learn about how to get to the open jobs that aren’t being advertised. You have to find the person who has the power to hire you at the companies where you’d love to work… whether they have job postings or not. You have to be pretty self-aware of your value proposition – what many experts refer to as your “personal brand.” You have to realize that it’s up to you plan and run your own career because no one else is going to do it like they did in the “old days.”
And this is what Jay and I teach through our many free presentations, through our radio show, through our 2×1 coaching sessions with clients and through the on-demand classes we sell on our website. Speaking of the radio show, tune in to hear dynamic career expert, Kent Julian, on the Saturday Job Search Boot Camp Show at 10am (Central). We expect he’ll help you get your motor revved!
Stay the course and be heartened to know that…
The economy is recovering.
Yes, “they” are hiring out there.
There is ONE job out there with your name on it – it’s just a matter of when, where and how.
[...] all you need to do is find one job. You don’t need to find all the jobs. You just need to find one job. Remember, 87% of jobs are not even [...]