Surviving and Thriving Through the Economic Downturn

By Lois Marsh, SIG Co-Manager

Well, it's official; the U.S. has been in recession since December 2007. And most other countries are sure to follow if they haven't already. Here in Canada, we're just starting to see the bad news coming, but we've all been reading the headlines, so the "R" word is familiar to us all.

Many of our colleagues in the mortgage industry have been hit hard by the financial crisis. Investment banking will be going through incredible changes as we return to a more highly regulated environment - and while this may bring opportunities for P&P, the reduction in business still leaves us vulnerable. Other P&P areas may be more resilient, such as government, pharmaceuticals and health care, but we'll all be affected some way.

This will be the third recession in my working life. I changed careers after each of the first two - and although the prospect of job loss scares me, I also know it can be a positive force for change in our lives. Will we survive the downturn? Certainly, and in many cases even thrive. How? The usual way - build your skills and shout out to the world that you are ready for change. Look over your job description and think about what you can add to bring greater value to your organization.

My small team of P&P specialists is ALWAYS on the lookout for new ways to "re-package" and promote our skills. We recently offered to lead an internal communications improvement initiative that established us as the go-to communications resource in our division - we now publish a highly rated newsletter, do annual surveys on communications progress, and even help out with executive presentations from time to time. These have raised our profile significantly, and are a nice creative change from the routine of policies & procedures development.

Here is a list of resources to consult if you are or may be among those looking for new opportunities in challenging times.

 

STC Resources

 

"Job Hunting in a Recession" by Jack Molisani , Associate Fellow, STC; Intercom, September/October 2008:

Resources for Members During Tough Times: a whole page on the STC site devoted helping you improve your value.

And my personal favorite:

"My Recession Strategy-Getting into the Top Third" by Michael Hughes

 

Other Resources

 

Great book: "What Color Is Your Parachute? 2009: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers" by Richard Nelson Bolles. You can find earlier editions in the public library.

Networking is a proven way of finding out about job opportunities. Here's a site with some great tips: jobsearch.about.com/cs/networking/a/networking.htm.

And don't forget to share your ideas with our SIG! Write to the P&P SIG listserv at stc_ppsig@mailman.stc.org.