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CM Journal Articles The New Employment Economy
CM Journal Articles The New Employment Economy
The New Employment Economy |
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| Friday, 03 December 2004 16:00 | ||||
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The good news is, there are in fact tens of thousands of positions available this very moment. And I’m not talking about farm jobs or minimum wage labor. The positions open are professional positions in senior management, engineering, healthcare, life sciences, sales and accounting. These are the growth “hot-spots” throughout the US. The bad news is, those jobs are for very specific professions and not open to the millions seeking work Unfortunately, there is a “multi-group” who are going by the wayside and with no relief in sight. This group is the middle and mid-upper class working person and the senior worker/manager/executive. (Senior today is defined as 50 years old.) This multi-group is generally comprised of people from the service industry, manufacturing, the trades, banking, secretarial and office staffing, the arts, and education. Jobs are going overseas by the hundreds of thousands. So who’s to blame and what can be done to bring back our jobs? Unfortunately, not much can be done in the immediate future. Reality can be an awful thing when it’s hitting you right in the pocket book. And it’s worse when it just might be your own fault. But reality doesn’t have to remain reality forever. The blame game won’t bring back the jobs. First of all, it’s not the government that is to blame. It’s not one political side or the other. For what it’s worth, it’s all of America that is to blame for the loss of our jobs. We have voted with our pocket books for decades and now it’s time to “pay the piper.” Our buying habits are the sole reason for our lack of jobs and the trend towards more of the same. We’re hooked on “cheap stuff.” Cheap clothes, electronics, food, COMPUTERS, games, cars, OIL. And I’m as guilty as you are! I’m writing this article on my brand new name brand computer, assembled in the USA but manufactured who knows where. I paid less than $1,900 for a machine that IBM would have sold for $8,000, if they were still in the PC business. The Connecticut manufacturer closed its plants long ago due to overseas buying habits of the American Consumer. I just bought $500 worth of sports clothes last weekend. All of which, though NAME BRAND, were made in China. And all the $1,000’s I have spent this year at “Walyworld”, and “Homes-R-Us?” Even my two dogs drove the local pet store out of business this year because they preferred the prices at “PetsPlace.” The Holidays are upon us and it’s time to shop-til-we-drop. Lights from China, fruit from Mexico and Brazil, clothes from China and Korea, electronics from Japan. I just bought 7 brand new phones for my office, from France, of all places! How about my new car from Germany? It’s not the government sending jobs overseas. It’s ME and it’s YOU! And there is nothing that is going to stop the trend. So now what do we do, move to China or Russia or India? No not yet. Not until we stop the blame game and start doing something about it. For the long term, work on buying local and try to keep jobs in your own country. But that’s going to take as many decades to work as it took to get started in the first place. SHORT TERM EMPLOYMENT SOLUTION: Start your own business!! First of all, let me share with you my experiences in teaching Career Search Workshops over the last years. Over a two year period of time, less than 30% of the people seeking employment, in the age brackets of 45 years and older, found employment comparable to their previous positions or pay scales. The rest took low paying jobs, are still looking, retired, lost everything they had worked for and are on welfare, started their own businesses. Anybody can start a business and make money. Why work for someone else when you can be your own boss and pay yourself what you’re really worth? It doesn’t take money to make money. There are more self made millionaires today in the USA than ever. It’s not who you know, it’s what you do. It takes desire, effort and belief in yourself. Here’s how!
I have had my own businesses for most of my life. It’s been good and it’s been bad. Sort of like life itself. Good days, bad days. Good years, bad years. But it’s MY business and no one can fire me except me myself. I like that. Think about this when you think you might not have the “brain power” to start your own business. 1. The Pet Rock. One rock, straw, box, operating instructions. It was a hit!!! 2. The Pet Block. Today, sold at your favorite Walgreen’s Drug Store. A 1” pine wood cube, silly imprint, bow, note. Another hit. Not rocket science, but profitable when sold in volume. I keep hearing people say they are waiting for the right thing. Fine, good. Wait until the money runs out or the faith in yourself runs out, or both. But in the mean time, be proactive and at least make some money on the side with your own business. You might surprise yourself and create the next HP. Happy Hunting. Don Reid is President of DMReid & Associates, a national retained services executive search firm headquartered in Brentwood TN. Mr. Reid is a 20-year veteran of the career search profession and has worked with thousands of clients to help match the right people with the right career. Mr. Reid’s firm currently specializes in executive placement for the Healthcare, Financial Services, Technology and Entertainment industries. You can reach Mr. Reid by email at dmr@dmrnet.com
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... thanks for writing such an inspirational article. Now, I plan to take the actions suggestioned to start my business, Beasley Consulting Services |
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