Be Happy –Recession Should Not Disappoint You.

It appears that recession is still hunting the global economy at large and a number of my friends feel pinch of the same. That is why again we need to concentrate upon this.
We understand during recession, production, employment, investment spending, capacity utilization, household incomes and business profits fall drastically. The badly affected industries try to make a balance of their financial viability by cutting off the salary and wages, shutting down their production units or putting a short break to avoid pile-up of stocks etc. In this process, many jobs are put to an end suddenly putting the concerned families to the brink of hunger.

To save the economy, governments usually respond to recessions by adopting expansionary policies, such as increasing money supply through increased government spending/subsidies, special assistance, as bail-out packages, to those industries that may help to regain the economic health and decreasing interests/duties and taxation. But many times, the government aid comes too late and perhaps in the meanwhile, the affects of bad economy cost a lot to thousand of families.

In case we re-orient ourselves by making our career recession-proof, I hope that it won’t disappoint us longer. For recession proofing we need to gain a variety of experiences which may enable us to be relevant in turbulent times. We must identify the key requirement of our engagement in the present venture and/or the next potent one. We can do it by leveraging our strengths and focusing on excelling in areas in which we find ourselves better. This way, we can exert best performance and that can help us out to fight out if there is any danger to our job or business prospects and we may remain relevant.

Actually, the recession is giving us an opportunity to tune up our resumes and ask us to acquire those skills also which would always be in demand – whether that is technical or non-technical, even in business like switching over from production to marketing or becoming consultant in the relevant field. Every person who aspires to be successful must demonstrate that their skills will help the company through good and bad times. This recession is only a temporary tide. If we do recession proofing, it will help the companies focus on nurturing and growing talent, resource optimization and enhancing quality and productivity. Employees would benefit by focusing on producing good work and multi disciplinary skills, so as to make him/her stand above the rest during such times.

During such times, we must care for the following:
1. We should not be fearful about losing our job – the fear will reduce our productivity.
2. We should not spread uncertainty or fuel up rumors.
3. We should try not to be a job hopper,
4. We must not downplay/pull down our colleagues,
5. We must be realistic if there is any opportunity to renegotiate the terms of engagement. Accepting lesser rewards is still better than getting off.
6. We may try to learn new skills where there are still shortages and vacancies.
7. We may identify and equip ourselves with those skills which can demonstrate our adaptability more efficiently and excel in our existing jobs. In acquiring the skills, we can use all available resources (formal and informal training).
8. We should redraft our resumes and highlight those skills which target the requirements.
9. We must be proactive to delve into other areas of our business.
10. If we are employees, we may try to upgrade ourselves by initiating discussions with our line manager for shouldering newer responsibilities or addition to the present one.
11. We must use our network to explore new opportunities.

You know! A person can be called recession proof when the value of his/her current contribution does not dwindle and he/she is also seen as a potential contributor even under tough circumstances. We must not get disappointed or afford to have pessimism. If we are able to stay out, we can get rid of our mental stress and many other diseases affecting our health, education and other facilities. We must not avoid communication. We should continue to gather relevant information to our trade, business and job, process them objectively and act positively. Some acts towards spirituality or your optimistic vision about the future will provide you the solace you need or I say, you deserve more.

I hope that if we concentrate, the recession may not disappoint us any longer.
Be Happy –Recession Should Not Disappoint You.