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In this economic climate of layoff’s, buyouts, downsizing
and business closings how can people in our state of
Michigan be hopeful? The future of thousands of people
in this situation in our state seems grim. According
to an article in the Detroit Free Press in April our
February unemployment rate was 6.6 percent compared to 4.8
percent nationally. It said our total jobs lost in our
state were 297,000 in the last five years approximately.
We could debate heartily where our jobs have gone.
There is plenty of blame to go around but how would that
move us forward to gainful employment again. Instead
we can also explore what to do now that we know we are being
cut and take a more productive route to our future.
There may be many ways to become proactive rather than
reactive in facing job downsizing or disappearing
employment.
Some very basic first-things-first may be to take stock of
your present financial resources. Check your savings
and your different place and locations you may have started
a savings and tally up those resources to see where you
stand.
Suze Ormond, the money guru, suggested on her cable show
that a person could go around their house and pick p
the change that is lying in pockets, purses, on the floor,
in cans and dishes and many times put it all together.
They may find as much a $100.00-$200.00 there that they did
not realize they had. It may be enough to help with
gas or groceries at first. Belt tightening is always
something that will have to be tried to get thru the limited
income times.
When we are gainfully employed it is common to eat out and
grab fast food on the run. As a family starts to
explore there more limited finances, meals may have to be
prepared and the slow cooker dusted off and used more
frequently. Of course trying to coordinate trips to do
errands and shopping and things to save fuel cost can really
help.
The third, very important task at hand is to clean up or
re-write your resume. This job seeking tool will be
what most employers require and request. Employers
today want one page resumes, with a summary of job skills,
and a few sentences describing accomplishments at past jobs
held.
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When doing a
resume’ re-write:
- make it brief and
one page only
- list job skills
clearly
- list
accomplishments at past jobs
- dollars you saved
company
- sales you
generated
- costs you were
able to cut
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They are very interested in dollars saved, sales
generated, or costs that were cut because of your
contribution in ability, and your action taken. These
three areas can interest an employer in contacting you for
an interview.
It can also help that you design the resume to fit the
business and job your applying for. So you may have a
basic skeleton resume, and then many versions tweaked to
specific potential employers.
If you are an age 50 or over worker, when writing your
resume focus on skills and accomplishments not years of
experience or age. Attempt to minimize age related or
age dated information.
Lastly , one of the quickest ways to become employed again
is to revise your network and let any friends, relatives,
former acquaintances know you are looking for a job and tell
them your specific area of interest. In revising your
network do step out and broaden your circle of friends and
acquaintances. Go out and meet people, attend company
information meetings that inform interested potential
employees what the company is looking for as well as finding
out about the company itself.
If you match your interests up with a company that promotes
that interest: for example, they may be an environmentally
conscious business and you are a recycler yourself.
That may give you another reason why that company would be a
good match for you.
The biggest thing Michigan former workers can do for
themselves is action. Get out there and see what is
possible. New doors can open when others are closed.
Movement and action toward positive interactions can make
securing a job your next accomplishment.
Volunteering can be positive movement and lead to a paid
position as well. It still puts you out in the
community with meeting people and opening new doors.
Franklin D. Roosevelt said “The only thing we have to fear
is fear itself.” As Michigan workers have proved
through many tuff economic times “when the going gets tuff,
the tuff get going.” Yes, it can be a daunting task to
open those new doors but it can also open up a new work life
for you.
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