Double Dip Recession – Are Your Prepared?

Many top economists, and world leaders are fearing and preparing for a double dip recession. Are you taking the necessary measures to prepare for it?

 

Even if it may never come to pass, it would be useful and helpful to consider what could happen in the event of a double dip recession, and how you might prepare your family if it does happen. At EverymanUnemployed.com we’ve prepared a short list of some things you might consider:

• Have a savings cushion: If you have not already done so, this is the first and most important step you can begin to do right now. At a minimum, everyone should always have at least 6 months of living expenses saved up, and during these times, we would recommend at least a year.
• Consider a fall back plan: If the economy does tank, and unemployed does increase (some predict it could hit has high as 15-20%), do you have a fall back plan on how you might earn income? Consider starting a home business, relocate to a place where jobs might be more plentiful, etc.
• Keep your resume up to date: One simple task is to begin now to polish up your resume with your most recent accomplishments. It is far less stressful to update your resume, when you don’t have the immediate pressure of finding a position, and you are not recovering from the effects of a recent layoff.
• Begin to keep track of which companies in your area are hiring now. Many job sites allow you to receive emails when new jobs are posted for your area. This allows you to easily see which companies have the money and resources now to consider hiring people. By tracking these, you will see where the opportunities are happening, and you may even want to consider preparing for an interview if the job or company seems appealing.
• Begin to update your professional network: Are you using LinkedIn? Or another professional network? If not, you might consider creating an account today. Look up old associates, see who they are connected to. Join groups in your area, or where you might want to relocate to, or consider creating your own group.

Key things to watch out for and avoid:

 

There are several things which you want to make sure you avoid doing that might jeopardize your current position:

 

• - Slacking off at work: If you current company is considering laying people off, they may want to save on costs by firing you, rather than laying you off. Be sure not to give them a reason to fire you. Stay on top of your current work, meet project goals, etc.
• Post resumes out in the open: Many free sites, such as craigslist, have become popular, to find things and post resumes. But many of these free sites do not have a private resume database, where only employers can search, and worst, they do not have a way to make your resume “invisible” to your current employer. You don’t want your current employer to do a resume search, only to find their star employees looking to work for someone else. Many sites, such as CareerBuilder.com, HotJobs and the Dragon Exchange (http://www.longdage.com/ ) allow you to post your resume, and block certain employers, from finding your resume. In addition, since these sites require paid access to search the resume database, it is not possible for your resume to be found by simply doing a google search on the internet.
• Do not post your private information with your resume. Most of the paid job sites, allow you to keep your contact information private. Sites such as craigslist are often used by spammers to gain your email address, phone number and begin sending unsolicited email and text messages to your phone. One recent test found that within 1 hrs of posting information on craigslist, the email address and phone number included with the information began to be bombarded with messages. If you value your privacy, do not post on craigslist.
• Setup multiple accounts on job sites: Most job sites allow you to have only 1 active resume per account. This severely limits your ability to tailor different resumes for different job functions. In these cases, we recommend that you setup multiple accounts and post different resumes based on the type of position you are applying for or seeking. As a side note: The Dragon Exchange (http://www.longdage.com/ ) does not have such a restriction, so you can save time by simply creating a single account and creating as many resumes as you would like.

In the end, a double dip recession does not have to create fear and uncertainty, if you have already begun to prepare for it. You may even find that your small business idea leads to a more successful future than your current one!

 

Everyman Unemployed

http://www.everymanunemployed.com/