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Take Charge, Take Control
Throughout my 20 years in career coaching, if I
could point to the single most important piece of
advice I've given to clients during recessionary times it
would be this—opportunities are always
present no matter how bleak the economic picture
may seem. As companies are laying off, they are often
continuing to hire or others are hiring. Top talent is
always in demand, and new businesses appear even
as others disappear.
It's so easy to get caught up in the daily drumbeat
of negativity and lose sight of all the opportunities that
surround us.
We've heard so much about how our current
situation is the worst since the Great Depression.
Well, I don't know about that because I remember well
how horrible things were in 1980-82. We had interest
rates at nearly 30%, long gas lines because of the oil
embargo, and unemployment was worse than we
have now. I recall shopping in a retail store in
Charleston, South Carolina, and overhearing an
exasperated hiring manager who said she'd gotten
1200 applications in just two days for the only open
position they had—a cashier.
Learn to manage problems positively. For
example, I read a story recently about a salesman in
the 1930s who was barely making it. He happened to
overhear a fellow salesman in the company talking
about the person who'd invented a way to bottle Coca-
Cola and had successfully sold the idea to the
company in exchange for receiving a fraction of 1% on
Coca-Cola's increased sales. As a result, that person
became a multimillionaire during the Great
Depression.
Primed with a great story of success, the
struggling salesman went by a gas station after
leaving work because he needed oil. Unlike today,
motor oil was only available in huge drums at gas
stations where an attendant had to pump it into your
car's motor.
Later that night, the salesman began to wonder
whether he could bottle motor oil like the guy did Coca-
Cola. Deciding that was not practical, he had the idea
of putting oil in cans. He visited a local can company
and asked them to sell him some cans. Then, he
went to a grocery store and told the owner that he had
a way to vastly increase the store's sales. The
salesman told the owner he'd tell him the idea if
the store owner would pay him just $75 for every
freight car of oil the store sold.
The owner agreed, and the salesman told him
that motor oil could be sold in cans. In the midst of the
Great Depression, this salesman built a vast financial
fortune by receiving just $75 per freight car filled with
cans of motor oil.
Research to uncover future trends, and learn to
listen, observe, and ask. Then dare to take risks.
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Greetings!
Do-It-Write, Inc., is the career marketing company
that empowers you to be your best and unleash the
power of choice by creating a personal brand,
providing you a deeper understanding of your value in
the marketplace, ramping up your job search, and
enabling you to negotiate prime compensation.
"Do better today than you did yesterday. Do
better tomorrow than you did today. You always want
to beat yourself. To compete is to win. The most
formidable enemy lies within oneself."
—Jet Li
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| Hot Careers for 2009 |
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With all the turmoil in the banking and financial
services industries over the past year or longer, one
might think there are no opportunities in these
industries. But a recent article from Bank Info Security
says jobs are plentiful for those with information
security and regulatory compliance experience.
Big growth areas are:
- risk management and regulatory compliance
- the business side of security, merging both
business and technology skills
- application and network security
- regulatory agency jobs, like the FDIC, OCC, OTS,
NCUA, FRB, or SEC
- critical information infrastructure, with both federal
agencies and consulting firms
Robert Half International (RHI) predicts fairly
robust growth in 2009 for certain finance, accounting,
IT, and administrative positions. In the accounting
sector, staff and senior accountants, public
accountants, and credit and collections specialists
are in demand. In the IT sector, RHI expects high
demand in three areas: (1) web developers,
particularly Web 2.0; (2) programmer analysts
with .NET, SharePoint, Java, and PHP skills; and help
desk professionals. Finally, the high-demand
administrative jobs are customer service reps, data
entry specialists, and administrative healthcare
positions, such as patient registration and
admissions clerks, medical secretaries, credentialing
specialists, and medical file clerks. (Sources:
www.bankinfosecurity.com and www.rhi.com)
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| Fast Facts |
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FBI Hiring Frenzy: Before the end of 2009, the
FBI is looking to hire about 2,100 professionals and
850 agents for mission-critical roles. The people most
in demand are those with computer science
experience and language fluency, particularly Middle
Eastern and Asian languages. Professionals in
finance and accounting, nursing, counseling,
electrical engineering, automotive mechanics,
compliance and QA, intelligence analysis, records
management, and others are being sought.
(www.fbijobs.gov/)
Nonprofit Job Growth: According to
IndependentSector.org, nonprofit employment has
doubled over the past 25 years. By 2010, the nonprofit
sector is expected to employ 15 million. An advantage
of working in a small nonprofit is that one often gains
broader experience much quicker than would be
possible in most large, private-sector organizations,
experience that can be highly transferable. Nonprofit
jobs often provide the opportunity to develop
leadership, strategic decision-making, interpersonal,
and project management skills. Also, more nonprofits
than ever before offer benefits that are nearly
comparable to those in the private sector. (Source:
www.jobjournal.com, 11/30/08)
Social Workers in Demand: The U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics predicts a 22% increase in the
number of social work jobs by 2016. The aging
population is one driver of this growth as families deal
with the demands of caring for elderly family members
while often caring for young children. Another area of
demand is helping members of the military who are
returning home after experiencing the trauma of war
and extreme environments. A joint degree in social
work and law is also in high demand to work in Family
Court programs. (Source: Syracuse University blog,
2/09)
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| Becoming Strategic & Proactive |
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Need an objective sounding board for ideas?
Strategies to become unstuck?
Whether you're an executive, entrepreneur,
unemployed job seeker, or just want a change, our
coaching services can provide the push you need to
move forward. Find out how we can help.
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