In his weekly address to the nation today, President-elect Obama hints at what could yet come for U.S. workers - potentially millions of layoffs in 2009. But he also proposes a plan: "The economic recovery plan being developed by his staff aims to create 2.5 million jobs by January 2011."
The Big Question: Will you be ready to change jobs - even careers - if necessary? Now's the time to take stock of what you know, what you can do, and what you can learn. Don't let a layoff catch you off guard - be ready for it even if you can't imagine how YOUR job could possibly be in jeopardy.
While financial expert Suze Orman says now is the time to "hunker down," only pay for purchases with cash, and save 10% of your income -- now is NOT the time to "hunker down" job where your job is concerned. Instead, you have to become proactive - take charge - grab control of your career and your job. Whatever you do, don't trust your company to take care of you - you must take care of yourself.
[Sidebar: Last week I bid an outplacement project for a small company that was eliminating the positions of three employees - each person over 50 years of age and each with 13-20 years' experience at the company. THIS COULD ALSO HAPPEN TO YOU!]
Career change is never easy. It requires an open mind, flexibility, and acceptance that your current job situation is going in a different direction whether you want to go with the flow or not. Please, use this time while you're still employed to create your personal career plan. Take the time to do the research to know where you could fit in if the next layoff hits you.
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