Some Ideas In View Of The Recession

[bobkee]

I posted the following in a new forum community that a few of us have set up rather than my blog:

How To Be Keep Your Job In 2009/2010
http://forum.adajalan.com/index.php?tid=8&tpg=1#p14

Whether we like it or not (and irregardless of whether we admit it or not), Malaysia's economy will be affected by the global recession. Already we are seeing retrenchment occurring, sometimes in the less painful guise of Voluntary Separation Schemes, share prices plummeting, and commodity prices softening across the board. While the global recession will probably get worse before it gets better, we can either sit tight and hope it passes us by or take some pro-active steps to prepare ourselves.

The first and easiest thing you can do is update your resume so you'll be prepared when retrenchments hit your company.

Start by adding all of the accomplishments you've achieved in your current role. Do this to show you've continued to learn through your professional experience and certifications.

Next, revise your previous history and highlight your skills and abilities that are relevant in 2009. You want to limit your resume to a single page, so lose the experience and credentials that are out of date and no longer useful. Plus, outdated credentials will do you more harm than good.

Fill in any holes or weaknesses in your resume. Re-certify and get additional certifications. If you're under-certified, start earning the certifications you need now. This recession is going to last for the next 12-16 months. Now it the time to make sure your credentials are solid and can stand up to scrutiny. Retrenchments come without warning, so you have to start today.

Keeping your resume up-to-date is always a smart thing to do, even if you don't lose your job. And it's a prudent move to make if you do. You should also become active on career networking sites and update your memberships in professional organisations. (Incidentally, this was why we started this forum in the first place)

Whatever happens, remember this; don't get caught with your pants down. This recession has claimed some pretty powerful victims already. Take action today, while you're still in a position of power.

Many companies participate in the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF). If you can, take advantage of it and get your training funded. Even if your company isn't part of the HRDF, getting yourself prepared for the worst through appropriate training may be a more viable investment than hoping to strike it rich in Toto

Viable?

[tupai]

i have personally come across 2 cases in last 1month.

A senior manager/acting GM level got the boot due to mnc downsizing. while he got paid for the bootprint on his butt..he had been outta job since April 08. The past months had demoralized him like kraziii and put his marriage on a rocky course...his job application to many co never even got an acknowledgment, let alone an interview.

Head hunters called but it always fizzled out to nought. He then took a drastic action: He rewrote his cv, demoted himself and cut his last pay by a massive 60%....then he also found out that he is competing against faster, younger and 'know-all' young turks, all willing to work for less! Last last, he got a job as an exec and accepted a outstation posting in a small town...living like a start-up working bachelor in a rented room.

case2: Bank manager drives a spanky bmw...got vss last year august. Until today, his bmw is under canopy (donnno why), he is demoralised, disillusioned, walking in circles and ovals, marriage hit duh rocks, and he still can't find a job...but he picked himself up recently and is now a maths & english tutor ..yes, conducting tuitions in his house. And he is happier than walking in circles & ovals... he now earns up to 7k per month BUT he is worried sick that the coming recessionary time gonna impact the parents and consequently his tuition income!

Yes...prepare thyself, for the economic doomsday gonna wash up shore sooner than later...hang on to your job, do & die fro your co (at elast be seen to do that lah ) and dont be lsly with your boss! He might just give u duh boot too!

Oh, maybe it also bcos they are both in the early 40s.

Yang Bootied latotupai

[bobkee]

Sorry for the typo in the title

[bobkee]

I recently had the opportunity to chat with a nurse. She's in her mid 50's. Her story is interesting. She had spent most of her career as a professional secretary but was laid off in the 1999 economic crisis. After spending almost a year trying to find a job, she did something radical .. getting herself re-skilled.

With medical tourism becoming a major money spinner in Singapore, she got hired almost immediately after she passed her nursing registration exam. Her administrative skills due to her many years in corporate service gave her an edge over many of the younglings that were just coming in brand new from an academic track.

In my own case, I've spent many years working in the non profit industry and when I finally rotated out due to various reasons, I found myself with extensive experience in an industry very few people outside the industry understood. With only minimal academic qualifications, I found out that I was generally unemployable as well. That was 12 months ago.

I have since gotten my skill sets certified (in IT, web development and project management) which has helped pad my CV a bit and actually been helpful in gaining not employment, but opportunities in bidding for web development projects which were closed to me previously. It cost me much less than I originally feared.

[fabregas]

I think we all know the whole world economy goes thru a cycle. One day it will be good, hot and then bad. We should build up the reserves (cash, savings, diverse investment portfolio) during the good times. If you earn RM10K a month, try to live on RM5K a month - it means you save more, and also when you do lose your job, you can afford to accept a job with less pay. Can you imagine, I use a RM150 mobile phone, whereas my workers who earn much less, own expensive RM1K - 2K phones? I am probably stating the obvious ......

[Sentinel]

The scary thing is that the entire downturn has not really started to hit with its full force yet.

Here in Penang, the various meetings that was organized with the operators (big MNCs) in the Bayan Lepas FTZ have given indications that the job cuts will probably start March 2009 after the current high inventory levels in their clients' warehouses fail to move and they have built up their own inventory levels here... then the avalanche will come....

What is happening today / now is still only a fraction of what is to come. Fasten your seatbelt and get ready for a rough ride for at least 12 to 18 motnhs MINIMUM....

Yesterday, the US senate failed to pass the bailout for the "big three" auto-makers in Detroit namely Ford, Chrysler and GM. Job cuts will happen as early as Monday....

[kuma]

I recently had the opportunity to chat with a nurse. She's in her mid 50's. Her story is interesting. She had spent most of her career as a professional secretary but was laid off in the 1999 economic crisis. After spending almost a year trying to find a job, she did something radical .. getting herself re-skilled.

With medical tourism becoming a major money spinner in Singapore, she got hired almost immediately after she passed her nursing registration exam. Her administrative skills due to her many years in corporate service gave her an edge over many of the younglings that were just coming in brand new from an academic track.

In my own case, I've spent many years working in the non profit industry and when I finally rotated out due to various reasons, I found myself with extensive experience in an industry very few people outside the industry understood. With only minimal academic qualifications, I found out that I was generally unemployable as well. That was 12 months ago.

I have since gotten my skill sets certified (in IT, web development and project management) which has helped pad my CV a bit and actually been helpful in gaining not employment, but opportunities in bidding for web development projects which were closed to me previously. It cost me much less than I originally feared.

This is a great post!

I hope this gets read by lots of people, esp. those who feel that they may be in a situation where their job is at stake, or those who are currently jobless.

The ideas shared here are superb.