Recession Survival Tips

In an economic climate where most individuals are worried about future employment and job security it makes sense to upgrade your skills and make yourself more valuable within your industry and work force.

It is also a good time to evaluate your long term future and to map out a strategy to enhance your employment security and competitiveness in the job market.

Make it a point to effectively update your resume especially in such an economy using these 5 tweaking tips to land a recession proof job.

1. Focus – Job seekers without a specific focus rarely get call backs from employers. If you submit a resume that reveals a smorgasbord of skills rather than one zoned in specialty, not only does it look as if you’re a jack of all trades, it also makes you look desperate for the anything that pays.

Remember, less is usually always more.  A master of one specific trade has a better chance of landing a particular job than someone that seeks to do it all.

2. Be Creative – I’m a big fan of thinking outside the box. Sometimes, we are just too lazy to actually step outside of that box. In a time like this, there is no better time to step out of your comfort zone and be different.

A company that takes the time to appreciate something extraordinary and creative is probably where you want to work, as opposed to a bland environment that sticks to conventional standards and ways of hiring employees. Try delivering your resume in a different presentational medium What about a video resume?

Michael Spafferty’s Video Resume from Unemploymentality on Vimeo.

3.Use Associations to Your Advantage – If you’ve worked with someone that is well known in your industry, you should probably mention it on your resume. The same thing applies to presidents and CEOs. If you reported to or worked directly with highly ranked executives, add it to the resume.

Having an association with a highly ranked individual in your specialty stands out to those reviewing your resume. Not to mention, It makes for a great reference as well.

4. Remove Irrelevant and Dated Information – Make it a point to always scan your resume and remove anything that doesn’t fit into the realm of the targeted job that you’re shooting for. Any odd job you worked recently may seem relevant to you, but do you honestly believe it’s relevant to the skill-set required for the job you desire?

If you’re applying to be a Product Analyst, the HR team at the company you want to work for could probably care less if you sang 3rd string soprano for your glee club. That irrelevant info will probably get disclosed at the company’s promotional gala after a few drinks.

5. Ask For Help – In conclusion, while these tips are great ways to tweak a resume for a recession proof job, sometimes it’s still helpful to speak with someone specifically about ways to improve your resume.

Don’t feel that you’re too proud to ask for help from a professional. Have friends and family review your resume as well to make sure it’s solid and that they would hire you from reading your resume.

More frequently, companies are looking for someone they feel will fit into the team as a productive member. And how do they determine that? Exude some confidence in your resume with strong significant points that stand out. Ask for help to make sure your resume does what it needs to do to land you that recession proof job.