Most Americans long for the days of the Clinton Administration. The economy was booming, there was a budget surplus, and all we had to worry about were there BJ’s our President was getting under the desk in the oval office. Then some pretend cowboy took office and it was all downhill from there. He deregulated the financial markets thinking the “trickle down” effect would work. Unfortunately, nobody told him that the economy doesn’t flow like water, but more like glue. If you pour money in at the top it will slide down ever so slightly then dry out and stay where it is. There was never a chance it would make it to the bottom, let alone the middle.
All of that aside, today we are where we are and that is many, many people’s fault not just George W. Bush’s. For those people that have lost their jobs or watched their businesses suffer you must find a way to be prosperous, or at minimum break even with your bills. Granted that is extremely tough these days. Very few jobs are available and the ones that are don’t pay a living wage. Fortunately there is an upside to an upside down economy. The job you do, especially if you do it well, is worth truckloads more than during an economic boom. When things are going good everyone is working. Nobody needs to be specialized or at the top of their field. If you have two hands, a calculator, and took one accounting class at a community college you can get a job as an accountant. If you’re really good at yelling at your kids, congrats you’re a manager. Skid through college, partying like crazy, and embarrassing your family: President of the United States. During a downturn on the other hand you must be masterful at what you do. A degree these days means far more than it did a few years ago, as does a long history at a company.
While most of us do not realize it we have something we do really well. No, I’m not talking about touching your tongue to your nose while standing on one food and rubbing your head and stomach in opposite directions at the same time. Maybe you have worked in food processing all your life and you know it like the back of your hand. Now you are out of a job and think there is no hope but in fact there are endless possibilities. Maybe start your own contracting business. Manufacturers know that servicing their machines is extremely costly. Fortunately for you you’ve been doing this all your life and know you could fix them for a much cheaper price. Contact all the plants within a 50 mile radius and offer them your services. Have them pay you directly (not on payroll) and file a 1099 at the end of the year. Another more extreme option would be to find another food processing plant in another town or state that needs experienced workers or managers, as unexperienced ones are often costly to train. Either way, my point is take advantage of the unique skills you have. Find a new and creative way to offer a company what you can do and what they need for a lower cost to them, at least until you can find more stable work. Even though the economy is slow there are still jobs that need to be done. Now, more than ever, is the time to market yourself. Go around, whore yourself out to companies that need that one thing you do best, even if it’s for a short period of time. Although, if you’re really good at being a whore, I don’t recommend prostitution.
Originally posted to Blogger: January 13, 2009
