Figmentations

Recently another couple of people I know unexpectedly lost their jobs and joined the ranks of the temporarily unemployed, not by choice, nor due to poor performance, but quite simply due to their company’s decision to re-organize its structure and strategy.

True, it really isn’t anything new that companies reorganize or merge or go out of business.  It really does happen all the time. Unfortunately, we just happen to be in a time when a lot of this is happening to a lot of people at the same time, thus making it that much more noticeable to everyone.

Losing a job (that you may or may not have loved) no longer seems to be something that only happens to other people.  The possibility of this happening to any one of us, or to someone we know, just seems to be that much more of a real possibility than ever before.

This makes me think of a favorite Mary Engelbreit artwork quote of mine:  
“Life is 10% what happens to you and
90% what you do with what happens to you.”

Yet, even to those not directly experiencing a job loss, seeing others go through this has an effect.  You may feel like you want to do something to help, but you may not know what to offer, or you may be too worried about your own situation to even really be much help to anyone else anyway.

Either way, I’ve found it invaluable to look at our current economic and political environment as a time to re-evaluate — a mid-life crisis of sorts, regardless of whether it is truly mid-life for me or not.

Another favorite Mary Engelbreit artwork quote to consider is:
“I don’t really care if my glass is ½ full or ½ empty –
I’m just happy to have a glass.”

For me, it’s become a good time to ask:  Do I want more of the same or do I want to take things in a completely different direction?  Is status quo going to cut it for me in the long run?  And, of course, the ultimate follow-up question is then figuring out a realistic and achievable route to then pursue.

To those currently employed, my best advice to you is to: keep yourself marketable, and always have a plan for the unexpected.

For those currently seeking new income opportunities, consider the following resources for ideas and inspiration:

• For top career news (including freelance, entrepreneurial, full- or part-time employment, etc) check out: career.alltop.com. (Note: Find your favorite blogs there & create your own customized My Alltop page.)
• In addition to the traditional job search engines of: CareerBuilder.com, Yahoo! HotJobs.com, and Monster.com, also try the job aggregation site: Indeed.com.
• For good books about non-traditional career paths, consider:
  • Career Renegade by Jonathan Fields, @jonathanfields
  • Fired to Hired by Tory Johnson, @toryjohnson
  • Escape from Cubicle Nation by Pamela Slim, @pamslim
  • Escape from Corporate America by Pamela Skillings
• Career planning goes hand-in-hand with good financial planning, my favorites for great free financial advice include: Liz Weston @lizweston (of MSN.com) and Suze Orman (of CNBC) @suzeormanshow. (Remember: As Suze Orman says, “Plan for the worst, but hope for the best.”)

I hope that you find this information helpful for yourself, and/or for sharing with those you care about. 

If you know of additional sources of reliable career or financial advice, please add them in a comment below.  Thanks in advance!