Attracting new job in times of recession and unemployment?

[PeaceCat]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum, so forgive me if this has been covered elsewhere.

My situation at the moment is that I'm about to lose my job (due to company staff cuts). I wasn't unhappy when I heard the news, I actually felt excited that it could be an opportunity to move on and do something new, and hopefully more fulfilling.

So anyway, I have a little wishlist of what I really want in a new job (I won't bore you with the details, but if anyone wants to know feel free to ask ). I don't think my wishlist is unreasonable, it's not like I want to be a CEO or anyting The problem is, everyone around me & the media keep going on about ecomic crisis this, recession that, rising unemployment blah blah blah.

I now find that I have this nagging negative voice suggesting that it's unlikely I'll find my next dream job when the UK economy is totally sucky and more and more people are unemployed (and competition for the few jobs around is very high). I am trying to quell the negative voice though.

I have already lowered my requirements for salary, as money is not my primary motivation (and doing this has opened up more possibilities), but I don't want to lower my requirements in terms of the actual work and my wish to work for a growth oriented, positive organisation.

Another factor affecting my mindset is that I was a kid at the time of the previous recession (late 80s/early 90s) and saw my parents go through long term unemployment, poverty, worries about house repossession, unmanagable debts and depression etc. and I definitely don't want to attract such things into my life!

Does anyone have any advice about how to stay positive and have a good mindset? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for listening,

PeaceCat

[fellowtraveler]

I lost my job of 20 years this past Wednesday.

<<Does anyone have any advice about how to stay positive and have a good mindset?>>?

Yes. Stay positive and have a good mindset.

[PeaceCat]

"Yes. Stay positive and have a good mindset."

Thanks Fellowtraveller, after posting that I re-read it and had a "duh!" moment

I hope your job loss turns out to be a blessing in disguise, Here's to staying positive!

[fellowtraveler]

Originally Posted by PeaceCat

"Yes. Stay positive and have a good mindset."

Thanks Fellowtraveller, after posting that I re-read it and had a "duh!" moment

I hope your job loss turns out to be a blessing in disguise, Here's to staying positive!

I think I actually manifested the loss of the job because I disliked it so much (but it paid well enough that I'd have never left on my own). Unlike all the millionaires in here () I wasn't able to manifest a better job...just "no" job.

I can hold out for a month or so - I have things to do so I don't have to rush out and get another job I'll hate right away. We'll see what happens - you just gotta remain open and alert for whatever's sent your way.

[jtracy]

Maybe it comes down to really beleiving that the reality other people experience doesn't have to be your own. You have to have faith in the Law of Attraction. And it's true, you have to remain open and alert for whatever is sent your way.

I have read that some types of work actually are more needed in a recession, and that the fact that other people are panicing and/or trying to wait out the recession leads to business opportunities that otherwise wouldn't be there. Even in the Great Depression, some people made a lot of money.

Also, I am not sure the recession is actually as bad as the media makes it out to be. I think the media, in general, are very irresponsible. They seem to enjoy going out of their way to remind people how bad everything is, and as those people beleive it and panic, then that is the real reason why things keep getting worse.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by jtracy

I have read that some types of work actually are more needed in a recession, and that the fact that other people are panicing and/or trying to wait out the recession leads to business opportunities that otherwise wouldn't be there. Even in the Great Depression, some people made a lot of money.

"If It Rains In Brazil, Buy Starbucks". This is the title of a book on stock investing.

Heavy rain in Brazil ---> the coffee plants grow very well ---> oversupply of coffee beans ----> drop in the price of coffee beans ----> lower costs for Starbucks ----> more profits for Starbucks.

Therefore buy Starbucks stocks.

The deeper point of this book is that practically every major event in society creates some kind of opportunity, for some people in some places at least, to make big money. It doesn't matter whether the major event appears to be "positive" or "negative" - the fact that the event is major means that someone somewhere is making money out of it.

Earthquakes; wars; floods; AIDS; bird flu; election campaigns; terrorist attacks ..... It doesn't matter.

Earthquakes are great business opportunities for construction companies. They get paid to do all the rebuilding. If many people die during a disaster, the undertakers also get brisk business; and so do the florists.

Wars mean business opportunities for weapons manufacturers. Spin-off winners are companies involved in producing steel and other raw materials required for the weapons manufacturers. Also the businesses involved in producing military uniforms, food supplies etc.

Illnesses are business opportunities for pharmacetical companies and hospitals.

Election campaigns are media fodder.

Terrorist attacks .... Well, many years ago, my auntie ran a small, not-very-successful business selling security systems. After 911, she was flooded, for the next few years, with a huge number of orders for closed circuit TV systems; electronic security passes; electronic security-pass readers; and so on. She became a millionaire.

[MagicalRealist]

Originally Posted by PeaceCat

The problem is, everyone around me & the media keep going on about ecomic crisis this, recession that, rising unemployment blah blah blah.

The problem is that you're listening to that, and focusing on it, and letting it intimidate you.

Yes, we're in an economic recession, and people (including you) are getting laid off.

But that doesn't mean all employers have quit hiring. People are still retiring, or taking other jobs, or quitting for various personal and professional reasons. There are still employers out there with positions they need to fill. And one of them is out there waiting for you.

So rather than giving attention to the OMG Dire! State of the Economy, shift your focus to having a new job, and how it will feel to be back at work. Take inventory of all your skills, everything you have that you could bring to a new job, everything that makes you the person employers want to hire. Go ahead and tell people what working conditions you want--you never know who will be in a position to help you.

Stop watching the television news. In fact, feel free to ignore the news--they're making all their money selling gloom and doom right now. If an event is so important that you genuinely need to know about it, trust that you'll hear about it. But don't read stories about the economy, or unemployment figures. If people around you want to talk about that sort of thing, change the subject to something positive. Don't hang out with persistently negative people who drag your mood down.

I'm not advocating ignorance. I'm just saying that you're already aware of what is going on around you, so there is nothing to be gained by wallowing in all the gruesome details of it. Shift you focus onto what you can control and change and improve--which is yourself, and your responses to the world.

Another factor affecting my mindset is that I was a kid at the time of the previous recession (late 80s/early 90s) and saw my parents go through long term unemployment, poverty, worries about house repossession, unmanagable debts and depression etc. and I definitely don't want to attract such things into my life!

You need to release that fear; it will do nothing but hold you back. Mentally re-visiting their experience as an example of what you don't want will only attract those experiences to you.

It's like riding a bicycle; as long as you stay focused on where you want to go, you won't veer off course or plow into things or fall over. Keep your sights fixed on what you want and where you want to be--and that's where you'll go.

You are not your parents. You are not doomed to repeat their experience. When you find yourself falling back into fearful thoughts, confront them--write those fears down, then create arguments about why they are misguided and wrong. Even if it comes down to, "But that was their experience, based on what they knew. I know differently, so it doesn't have to be mine."

Does anyone have any advice about how to stay positive and have a good mindset? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

If there is a new skill you would like to learn, or something you would like to study and learn about, but have not felt as if you had the time to do it, use your period between paid jobs to do just that.

Stick to a workday schedule while you are between jobs. Get up, go through your usual morning routine, and leave the house for a while--take a walk, or go to a library to read or write, etc. Decide that you do have work to do in between paid employment, and whatever it may be--maybe it's self-improvement, and conquering limiting beliefs--get up and get ready to do it every day. Treat it like a job. You never know what might happen, or who you might encounter while you're at your "work," so don't let your physical self fall into a state of sloppy neglect.

Maybe you could find somewhere to volunteer your time and effort? You never know--that might be the key to finding your next job. Revise your CV, and carry copies with you lest an opportunity suddely present itself. Whatever you do, getting out in the world and interacting with people and being open to what opportunities might come along will help you far more than staying home, sitting in front of the television, and feeling like every CV you send out is a waste of time.

Best of luck to you...

[PeaceCat]

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice I re-read all the coments again too just to clarify the points made.

Deep down I know that I'm not doomed to repeat the experience my parents had, since I was a kid I've always been determined to have a more positive outlook on life.

I do plan to stick to a workday schedule if and when I find myself not working, I'm determined to get up & ready each morning as I would normally and put myself out there on the job market, I have no plans to lay around watching Oprah

I am focusing on finding a new job, but had a set-back today of being rejected for what I thought was my dream job, at an organisation I really want to work for. I was told "you're interview went brilliantly, your CV is very good, but we just found someone else who was a better match". I guess I just got beaten by the competition.

I was devastated, I've never been so excited about a job prospect before, and likewise never been so upset about not getting a job before. But I'm trying to be positive and focus on the idea that something that's a better match for me is around the corner.