Coutesy: Times of India
Are you part of a burgeoning crowd that has either been given a pink slip, or a warning signal by the employers, thanks to the economic crisis? Don't lose hope. There is sliver lining to every cloud. With most companies trying to cut costs by downsizing workforce, it is a difficult time for IT pros. The bad job market situation only makes the crisis worse. So how can one deal with the current turbulent economic phase? How not to get disheartened even after getting a pink slip, or depressed having to live under the constant fear of getting laid off anytime? Here are a few tips that can help you better cope with the current challenging economic environment. But before going over to the tips remember, one always learns more from the defeats than from the victories.
Brush up your CV
If your CV still wears that jaded look, please shred it and begin anew. High time you reinvent your resume and put in your best effort before contacting the prospective employers. Wondering how to do this? Just search online. There are numerous sites that guide you how to best frame the right covering letter and resume for that 'perfect' job. Also, you can take help from placement consultants. They can possibly guide you what an employer looks for in a resume, especially in the current times.
Acquire new qualifications
If you are among those who jumped onto the BPO bandwagon immediately after graduation, this is just the right time for you to add to your educational qualification. Another academic or professional qualification will further enrich your BPO experience and, of course, open doors to a better profile. If you are not among the BPO category, you can go for courses that will further strengthen your experience. Look for a specialised course related to your current field, or area of expertise. Remember, education is an investment which always pays.
Arm yourself with soft skills
With changing times, the requirements of workplaces are changing too. So why not leverage the current phase to augment those soft skills which you always thought you had, but needed a little brushing up. This way, you can well defy the commonly held view that techies only understand the language of computers. You can even hit a grooming class! Brush up skills like how to better your presentations, how to write that perfect mail and those other interpersonal nuances. Remember, recession will pass, but these skills will stay with you forever and boost your career as well as personality.
Try turning an entrepreneur
Recession is the best time for one to look beyond the obvious. How about cashing in on all the aggression that you showed at those customer interactions, sales meets, or in cracking the deals? Channelise the same energy to bring out the entrepreneur within you. Heard stories of how the foundation of many a big enterprises was laid during the toughest of times. Some of the biggest tech czars of today -- IBM, Microsoft and HP -- have risen from the rubble of the most difficult recessions that have ravaged global economy. History is full of tales of successful startups that were born out of deepest recessions. So start now: think out of the box, revise your ideas list, unleash your creative side, look for opportunities and tap all of them to see if you can embark on your own venture.
Time for networking
The economic crisis hitting the firms across the globe has further increased the usage of professional networking sites like Xing and LinkedIn as people try to discover job opportunities through networking. No prizes for guessing that being connected pays, especially in tough times. You never know which of your connection can help you land a job, or give a positive reference. Networking platforms primarily help people share their professional interests and build contacts. Unlike other social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut or MySpace, these sites have a focussed business approach. So this is perhaps the right time for you to market yourself online, and beyond.
Depressed? Go & party!
Those late working hours never gave you time to socialise. How about starting it now? Remember, you worked hard. Now is the time to let your hair down and party harder, instead of letting all that stress get to you. With recession hitting all major sectors across the globe, it is the time for you to market yourself rightly. Parties can be a good forum for that. Position yourself and build contacts among people from various spheres of life, and what better place than all those social dos that you otherwise skipped. You never know who, where may be your knight in the shining armour. So, it may not be such a bad idea to acquire that P3P (Page 3 parties for the uninitiated) persona after all!
Acquire secondary skills
Thought a tech job is all that you can do? If, for instance, coding is your core area of work, and you believe that is all you can ever do, you may be wrong. There may be other choices that you would otherwise have never explored. One option could be to look within the sector and identify other job profiles that are still in demand. Say project managers, operations managers and the like. Also, you may look at peripheral options like IT management, or IT training. For some, tech teaching may be a good future career option. So brush up skills for such profiles and streamline your approach. For all you know, the shift may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
Cut costs, increase savings
This can also be a good time to introspect. Think hard, and dwell upon your mistakes and the lessons learnt, if any. In future, be ready with a contingency plan as misfortune can come knocking at the door anytime. For now, you too can chalk out belt-tightening steps that cut any avoidable expenses. Keep liquidity. It will help you tide over any crunch situation. If investing in stocks or mutual funds doesn't jell with your idea of investment, consult a portfolio manager as he may give you a clearer investment picture. Investing in gold or real estate may be wise options, but again go by the market trends in a planned manner.
Destress yourself
Being laid off is often seen as a stigma many are not able to cope up with. Do not see this as a reflection upon your capabilities. Instead, see it as a silver lining that life has provided. Sit back, reflect, and think about alternatives in life that you may have wanted to pursue for a long time. Look at it from another perspective: work pressures never permitted you to gather enough courage to ask your boss to ask for that sabbatical. Yes, you got it. This is the time! Remember, sitting and brooding will take you nowhere, definitely not out of your self-formed well of unhappiness! It is time to recognise that you are stressed and take steps that distress you adequately. Take up things like Yoga, Reiki, Pranayam, wellness or meditation courses, or indulge in hobby pursuits such as dancing, reading, sports... Why, you can even start your own blog and express yourself in a manner like no other as blogging is a great stress buster in itself.
Nothing helps like help
What better time to do some social work! Why not join or assist organisations working for social causes like poverty, social upliftment or may be healthcare. Identify the causes you feel about the most and extend your time and support to those. You will utilise your time well and feel very worthy at the same time. You can also help your neighbourhood welfare association, or may be indulge in some long overdue community work. Old age homes, which also require a lot of volunteers, is another option. Volunteering for Polio or AIDS campaigns can also be quite morally fulfilling and uplifting. A heightened self-esteem can work wonders for you in many respects.
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