Summer economic recovery ends on sour note

A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (Spring 2010 / Washington, DC) we were told by the powers that ran the empire that summer would be a time of redemption, of recovery, of advancement from the doldrums.  But the new unemployment numbers do not speak of recovery; instead they lead me to think that the current economic climate is going to get worse before it gets better. We saw a slight uptick in the unemployment rate 9.5% to 9.6% with a small increase in private hiring (+67,000) offset by the last of the census workers wrapping up (-114,000). This missive is no hit on the current US administration, as this is not a political blog by any stretch - it is rather a short commentary on expectations and a chaotic, unpredictable global economy.

The reality is that no matter what we hear, what the new reports, what the government says, we all must hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. Here are three things you can do to be prepared if you are working and three to do if you are not.

If you are working:

1. Conduct a self-assessment - Is your industry stable? Is your company stable? How was your last review? Is there anything you can do today, this week, this month, to make yourself more valuable? Assess your value and make sure you are adding value in your current role.
2. Update your resume, just in case - sometimes we get surprised.  Add your last projects; update any new titles, projects and results. There is a lot going on. If you forget to write it down somewhere, you might have a hard time recalling the information when you really are ready to update.
3. Set-up or update your LinkedIN profile - if you don’t have one, get one; if you have one but don’t actively use it set aside some time (an hour a week is a good start) to fill out your profile, join groups, ask - or better yet - answer questions. LinkedIN is a very valuable networking tool, and one that is frequented by recruiters.
   

If you are NOT working:

1. Have an independent person review your resume for content, value, grammar, formatting - if you aren’t having any luck, maybe a change is in order. Maybe you need to evaluate the content and style.
2. Go to three local networking meetings and instead of asking for help - OFFER your assistance, talk to folks about what you can do for them. Have you considered volunteering? You never know whom you might meet.
3. Teach yourself something new; add a new technical skill, take a course or just use some of the tons of free resources on the interwebs continuing education to get you going.

At the end of the day, it will all come back and the current recession will be a thing of the past, but we may end up with the fall or winter of recovery.