Attacking the Job Market Part 2
written by Credit-HQ Expert• Bone up on your skills.
The one gift you get when you are laid off is time. If you have a few months on severance pay or with unemployment money coming in, that is the perfect time to take some classes and build your skills up. You might add some new computer skills like how to use PowerPoint of Excel or even how to build a web page. These skills may be helpful to your next employer. There are also all kinds of adult education opportunities floating around where you might learn an entirely new skill. The small business agency in your community will often help you learn what it would take to start your own business including how to write a business plan and how to get funding for that dream career that you may have had in your heart for decades. So look at the time you have as a gift and start exploring new avenues to your next level of success.
• Do some new kinds of networking.
If you are thinking about changing careers, don’t be afraid to call up someone who is in that line of work and buy him or her cup of coffee to “pick his brains”. People love to talk about their work and if you might enter that career field, you might get more than just a free education in what it means to have that job. You might get a mentor in how to land a job in that new career you want to try out. This is the kind of networking that can point you toward success.
• Don’t overlook headhunters.
People who make their living finding jobs for people need talent like yours to fill the jobs they have. By making a few phone calls, you can touch base with the headhunters in your community who may specialize in your skill set. Even if they don’t have a job that day for you, they will probably have you come in and fill out some paperwork so when a job does come in, they have your information on file to get you into that job. They make their money off of the employer so you lose nothing buy letting these professionals know you are available.
• Work for free.
Many career areas also have slots for volunteers. If you work in a medical field, there are always openings for people to do volunteer work helping out in clinics and hospitals. You can usher at a theater if you are in the arts or help out at a dog park if you love animals and want a career working with pets. This is a great way to network with people who know where the jobs in that field are. It is also a way for you to learn what it would be like to do that job for a living. And it gets you out of the house doing something productive and not feeling sorry for yourself which is a dead end for anyone who is unemployed.
Another risk free way to “try out” a new job is to sign on with a temp agency to work in the kind of business you are interested in part time. You can work for minimum wage and get a little income while you “try out:” a new job you have always wondered about it. Temps often learn the inside scoop of what really goes on behind the scenes in a career field. Plus you make connections with decision makers who will be the ones who know about a job when it becomes available. If they know you well from your temp work, you will be the one they call when full time work becomes available.
• Hire yourself.
Sometimes when a company has to cut back, they will “outsource” your job to a consultant. They do that to trim the rolls of employees. Consultants don’t cost the company any benefits funds and they are represented as an expense instead of as part of staff. Who better to become the consultant they outsource your job to than you? Offer to come back as a contractor and work by the hour. You can charge a lot more per hour as a consultant so you can afford to pay for your own benefits.
Even if you don’t become a consultant to your old boss, your skills have value in the work world. By putting together your own small business of one person, you can use the internet and you’re networking contacts to line up “clients” to work for instead of employers. The client/consultant relationship is often healthier than employer/employee. It might be that once you work for yourself, you may never go back to working for someone else again.
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