How to Recession-Proof Your Career

Since the experts seldom agree, there is little point in trying to explain the many factors that tend to create a recession. However, you should understand that there is usually a “trigger,” often interest rates, housing, or an “over heated” economy, that starts the process in motion. When a recession occurs, combinations of unpleasant situations are the result.

Among the typical conditions are increased bankruptcies, fewer loans from banks, stock market problems and crashes, more home foreclosures, and high unemployment. From a personal perspective, becoming unemployed in a normal or good economy is unpleasant, but often not disastrous. Good economies typically mean prosperity and job growth. You can often locate a new – sometimes better – job fairly quickly.

During a recession, however, you might find yourself in the job market through no fault of your own or through company mismanagement. Frustration number one. The larger problem: Other competent employees are also being laid off or downsized, creating a large pool of candidates for a diminishing number of jobs. Frustration number two.

Your formerly promising career – which was progressing quite well, thank you – may now face the potential of coming to an abrupt and screaming halt. The psychological effects may be just as important as the recession reality of job shrinkage.

Actions That Help You Minimize Recession Effects on Your Career

Here are some action plans you should consider to help recession-proof your career. Ideally, you should take one or all of these actions before a recession actually strikes. However, you must live in the moment – it’s really all you have – and take action even if you’ve already experienced some of the unpleasantness of a recession.

Take a serious, objective inventory of your strengths, weaknesses, and perception in your industry. Don’t worry if this feels like the most difficult action plan noted here. It is a challenge. The degree of difficulty is increased during a recession as it appears everyone is a job seeker. The good news: You will typically learn that you have more strengths than you first believed. Even listing your weaknesses can be a positive. You learn what areas need some improvement so you can address them. Although challenging, this action plan usually helps restore your professional confidence and improve your psychological outlook.

Objectively analyze your professional and personal network. Everyone has a network. The big questions, during a recession, are “How good is your network?” and “Will your network help or hurt your career?” Similar to the truth of the phrase, “you are what you eat,” a helpful or useless network could affect your career progression during a recession.

Enthusiastically use successful employment search firms. A recession – with more job candidates than there are jobs – is a perfect time to use one of the top employment firms, like Kelly Services. These established, successful firms are never more important and effective in helping your career than during a recession. Experts often advise people to treat their employment search just like a job. While that is good advice, the truth is that your search is really an activity. But it is the full-time job of successful employment firm personnel. They know about many otherwise unpublished openings that may be perfect for your career development.