Making Lemondate Out of Lemons:
Re-Focusing your passion during a recession |
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This article is not about recession proofing your job or even how to find the silver lining in a recession. Recession rhymes with depression for a reason. It's a bleak time, and I won't try to convince you otherwise. Consumer confidence is low, the stock market volatility is ulcer inducing, banks are getting bailed out, people are getting laid off, and I don't know about you, but I can't even look at my 401k without cringing. Times are tough. However, having brought you here, what if I were to take you in another direction? What if I were to tell you a recession could actually help you emerge refreshed and focused on say… your dream job? Whether you are sitting at work hating your job (believe me I've been there), or sitting at home unemployed (I've been there too), fear not, a great job could be around the corner. Ok, calm down cynics of the cyber world. Yes, this is a silver lining article, but the silver lining lies with in you, in good economies and in bad. The power to engender the energy, focus, and aptitude to begin anew can happen for you. To break it down, a new you, a new career, and possibly a new outlook can be achieved even in a recession, this according to the experts.
 Meet CJ Arabia, a former producer who has been laid off three times in the last year. Before you start feeling sorry for her, Arabia has turned her misfortune into a career of sorts. Arabia's occupation title: "Career-less".
Arabia is a featured blogger for AOL's witty little sister website, Lemondrop.com. And guess what she writes about? Being "career-less" of course! This isn't exactly "paying the bills," Arabia's quick to point out, but she isn't opposed to making her career-less status into a marketable brand. In fact, she owns this "career-less" title with gusto. Arabia has plans to produce videos about being laid-off and has several other such projects pending.
What sets her apart? "My personality. I have a cool resume. I have logos for all the companies I've worked for. You can see I'm not F-ing around, ABC, Fox, Disney, Warner Brothers, NBC, Fox Family." Expletives and hilarious banter aside, Arabia's new career-less branding is getting her noticed. Though Arabia is quick to caution: don't leave your day job if you don't have another opportunity lined up.
 So how do you go about figuring out your passion if you're jobless or in a job but unsure of what the next steps should be? Carrie Hemenway is part of the trifecta behind "womenspowercoaching.com" and her own coaching business;Hemmenway insists powercoaching can get you back on track. "I coach people of all backgrounds, genders, and stages of life to help them find what is in the way of getting what they want", says Hemenway. "Ok, now that I've figured out what I want, how do I get my bills paid while pursuing the job of my dreams", I asked. "Some of them (clients) find temporary work, 4 month temp job, that can range from dog walking, if you walk several dogs a day you could get 30 an hour, you can cat sit or drive a taxi", says Hemenway. If they already have a job, I ask them how long they can stay there? When they know they are looking for something new, often they can say they think they can do it until June (from December)", says Hemenway. She also advises, not to quit your day job. Hemenway believes you need to figure out what you want to do first. So if possible, sit down with a career coach and a financial advisor. They can help you map out what you can afford to do and how you can go about achieving your career and financial goals.
Ok, so now that you've uncovered your passion and mapped out your financial future, you need to get back to the basics.
Networking and de-cleansing your resume is must, according to Deborah Manning, a recruiting manager at Steward Prescott, a national executive search firm. How does one de-cleanse the resume? "By that I mean, drill down to the skill set that is applicable to the industry", says Manning. Create a thirty-second announcement, it's a pithy explanation of who you are, what you've done, and what you want, according to Manning. So start practicing that announcement in front of the mirror, it could help you land that dream job.
Another Manning tip: use your network. Manning says people often complain about not having a network, her reply: expand your horizons. It could be "your next door neighbor, moms you know, an acquaintance from your daughter's girl scout troop, anybody and everybody." Manning suggests inviting people you know to be a part of your network by asking if you can email them one time a week, sending them a job description of something you've applied for and asking them to look at the description and see if they know of anyone that could help you get the job. Manning says most people won't mind one email a week.
And finally, there are things that you can do to set you apart from other job candidates. "One of the things I did, I asked, could I work for free for half a day? I thought the man was going to fall out of his chair", says Manning. These are just some of the little things you can do to set yourself apart and land that dream job or start your dream career.
CJ ARABIA : http://www.lemondrop.com/category/cj-arabia/
CARRIE HEMENWAY : Carrie Hemenway Coaching
Career & Life Transitions Coach
http://newhorizonsforboomers.com/
hemenwaycoach@comcast.net
http://www.womenspowercoaching.com/career.htm
carrie@womenspowercoaching.com
Alison Beals is a freelance writer and producer. She has written and produced corporate videos, online content, and television news segments for Fortune 500 companies including NBC and Fidelity. Her background consists of news you can use, consumer related subject matter, and investigative reports that have appeared in Boston, Philadelphia, and nationwide.
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