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Tips for Finding Employment in Hard Times
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Tips for Finding Employment in Hard Times
To beat the job-hunting pack, you’ll need to take risks, be realistic, and understand your potential employer’s needs
We can all agree that times are tough. Everywhere I turn, it seems that more companies are cutting jobs across the board. It’s not just General Motors and Ford anymore; everyone from Starbucks to Sun Microsystems to Citigroup is announcing massive layoffs at all levels.
If you’re gainfully employed, you’re probably relieved it’s not you. But if your company isn’t among those that have had to slash jobs, I’m sure you at least know someone who has been affected.
As a professional résumé writer, I’m particularly interested in career development and the job search in general. I come in contact with all types of people, from Gen Yers just starting out to baby boomers looking for a job to carry them through to retirement. Of course, it can be especially tough to find a job in economic times like these. But there are some methods that can help you navigate through the madness, and I’d like to share some outside-the-box tips for finding a job today.
Take Chances
I started my full-time, one-year MBA program in July 2001, so you can imagine what my class’ job prospects looked like after September 11 (really bad). Companies that were supposed to interview on-campus canceled and those that did interview had few, if any, jobs available. We were encouraged to network, but calling contacts only gets you so far in distressed economic times.
What can work, though, is getting in at the ground level. No, I don’t mean through the mail room. Temporary work (“temping”) can be a great way to introduce yourself to potential employers. It may not feel good to be making $10 per hour doing data entry for 8 hours a day, especially after you’ve worked hard to gain an advanced degree. But if you make a good impression with your new client, you could gain full-time employment in a few months. Some companies only hire staff starting in these entry positions, and once you’ve gotten in the door as a temp, you can look at open in-house positions to which others won’t have access. Even if it doesn’t work out for long-term employment, at least you’ll be paying the rent instead of racking up the credit card bills while looking for a job.
Source:
http://www.hrguru.com/news/articles/1809-tips-for-finding-employment-in-hard-tim
