Get A Job!

It's inevitable in this economy.

The weekly layoffs, the constant uncertainty, the building pressures everyone now feels in this recessive economy. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment this year has reached a staggering 9.7%. In relation, unemployment in 2009 has surpassed the 9.0% rate in 1975 and is now only eclipsed by the 10.8% rate in 1982. What's worse is that the trend continues to climb and economic analysts state that we may not see consistent employing anytime in the near future.

It hits close to home too. We all have friends, family and colleagues who have discussed their employment woes with you. Some have lost their job, others have survived layoffs only to be subjected to "layoff survivor sickness" characterized by depression, fear, anxiety and loss of motivation. Whether you've been in these situations or not, we've all been within earshot of the next unemployment story. This day and age, it's more of a norm than an exception.

But there's still hope. What can we do to combat the tireless business battle between the labor market and self preservation? Here's a few ways.

Target Industry Growth Opportunities
While many businesses are cutting costs and shedding employees, there are still industries that are looking for labor in a market chock-full of supply. Jack Welch said "The team with the best players wins" and in a market saturated with labor, businesses have a great opportunity to select prime players who can give their companies greater competitive advantages. So where are these industrial growth areas? Take a look at the Ameriprise financial article Where the jobs are: Opportunities for everyone to get some perspective on where you may land your next opportunity.

21st Century Marketing
The cold call interview or résumé in the mail is so 20th century. In this day, the Internet is king, providing many new avenues of promoting yourself to the world. One new avenue on the web is VisualCV.com, a service that provides résumé building tools with a rich splash of 21st century on your traditional résumé. The site is full of media options like pictures and video to complement your work experiences which give prospective employers a fuller perspective of who they are investing in. Want to see some examples? Why not check out the Presidents VisualCV to get some ideas of the service in action.

Band Together
Online social networking is nothing new to today's technophiles. Yet traditional workplace norms and cultural stigmas have held pre-Gen Y'ers back from socializing on the web. To get into the mainstream, LinkedIn.com provides a services that allow you to stay networked with your colleagues regardless of your working status. Once you've started using the service, you can stay connected with them while searching for career opportunities that are targeted to your work experience.

Banding together on LinkedIn isn't just about networking with people, but increasingly about referring and recommending them as well. Take some time to recommend your colleagues by posting a short blurb about your involved experiences. Also, ask them to return the favor by writing a recommendation for you on your profile. These short statements about you can go a long way when interested employers find and read through your profile.

One Last Measurement
An economic trend that I've always found interesting is the negative correlation between civilian unemployment and military recruiting rates. The basic trend shows that as civilian unemployment rises (or people lose their job) that the military recruiting rate increases. For example, in the 80's when the US unemployment was high (yikes! almost 11%), military manpower remained at constant, high levels. Then in the 90's during the dot com boom, military enlistments dramatically decreased (with exception to the Marine Corps) and civilian employment increased (or unemployment decreased) as people instead went to into the civilian workforce.



It's not too surprising to understand why. In the military, servicemen and servicewomen enjoy high levels of job security, and earn free family healthcare and housing. In fact, there are relatively no other jobs this day and age that provide that type of economic stability. Today, what makes the trend more interesting is that while the US is busy fighting two wars, the recruiting levels continues to increase which, is instead, a positive correlation between the two factors.

What this means is that although there is potential and inherit dangers by enlisting in the military, the current recession motivates people to a greater extent to enlist than in a normalized economy. In fact, military recruiting today continues to thrive in the weak economy and as a result fosters a civilian/military business employment cycle that can be forecasted with relative certainty.

An interesting trend indeed.

Until next time.