Great Occupations

Last weekend I was in Las Vegas, NV for Super Bowl weekend. 
It was a great time, and congratulations to the NFL champs, the New Orleans Saints.  I was fortunate enough to see the Saints play live on opening weekend in September at the Super Dome.  What a closure to a great NFL season!

The recession has affected Las Vegas.  
I’ve been to Las Vegas many times.  But what struck me is how light the crowds were.  Even Sunday we were able to find a place to watch the game without having to arrive 4-6 hours early.  Like many places, Vegas is feeling the pinch of the recession.  Arriving at the hotel, it was noticeable the 20 or so lanes to check-in no longer had workers to handle the crowds.  They had only a few lines open, and a longer wait check-in at the hotel.  Overhearing someone waiting in line, the hotel chain had laid off 1,200 employees recently.  Just strolling through the casino seeing many of the tables closed on a Saturday night confirmed that times were tough all over.  Hotels and casinos have also been laying off.  This emphasizes that you need a good strategy for finding a new job when job loss occurs.

Brian Massey was our guest on the The Job Search Boot Camp Show last Saturday.   The opening premise to his book The Market For Me:  Surviving Job Loss and Building Your Lifetime Network  is that “Corporations hire without joy and fire without remorse”.    Statistically, employees will have between 14-16 different jobs in their career.  Job loss is inevitable and survivable.  A strategy to find a new job – which includes having a network of quality contacts  – will guarantee lower downtime during positions.  Building your network  is imperative, and you should begin expanding your network while you are employed. 

Make a contact this week.
Send an email or pickup the phone to someone you may not have contacted in 3, 6, or 12 months.  Inquire what types of projects they are working on.  Tell them what you are working on, then you can sign-off.   You’ll do years worth of good for your network in just the  5 minutes that you spend to contact the person. 

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Jay Markunas is a Career Coach and Fortune 500 HR Professional.  Along with his partner, Angela Loëb, he helps job seekers and career shifters by offering The Job Search Boot Camp webinar, Find a Career You Love tele-class, career & job coaching services, and career-related products through their company Great Occupations.

Each 1st & 3rd Saturday, he & Angela host The Job Search Boot Camp Show – which also available on iTunes.

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• DAILY JOB TIP: Doesn't a Good Resume Get Me a Job?
• DAILY JOB TIP: 3 Things To Do When Your Job Ends

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