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Home > Dr. Greg > Segment Summaries >
First Steps in Building
Career Security
Dr. Greg Ketchum, 2/7/04
Review of Economy
We continue to have a very mixed picture
on the jobs/economy front. The economy continues
to grow, yet added only 1000 jobs in December.
- Kraft Foods will eliminate 6,000 jobs,
and close 20 plants worldwide, with1,300
of those being in North America
- Consumer confidence (short term) hit an
18 year high in Jan, but confidence in improvements
in the jobs picture remains weak & volatile.
- Alan Greenspan said in a recent speech
that he’s confident new jobs will replace
those lost as they always have, but “not
without a high degree of pain for those
caught in the job-losing segment of America’s
massive job-turnover process.” He also indicated
that many laid-off workers will need to
be retrained for new skills.
- The nation's unemployment rate dropped
to 5.6 percent in January to the lowest
level in more than two years as companies
added just 112,000 new jobs - fewer than
expected but enough to keep alive hope for
a turnaround in the struggling job market.
But economists were disappointed, saying
they had expected a larger increase of 150,000
new jobs or more
Brings Home
the End of Job Security
All of this news brings home
the fact that job security as we knew it
is over and highlights the need for our
viewers to begin creating “career security”
for themselves.
Where Do I Start?
Our viewers may be thinking, “gee that’s
a great idea, but where do I start?” Well,
we’ve got three action steps to get you
started, but first let’s talk about a couple
of fundamentals.
3 Fundamental
Skills
Regardless of your current situation, whether
employed, consulting, starting or running
your own business, unemployed or temping,
these are 3 of the basic skills that you
need to know to get you started on creating
career security for yourself. They are also
skills you can do at your own pace.
Action
Steps
-
Know What You’re
Selling
Being a business “owner” (your
career) one of your main jobs is selling
yourself, and the value you can bring.
You’ve got to know what you’re selling,
what is valuable in the market. Identify
3 key selling points that differentiate
your from everyone else.
-
Know How to
Sell
Learn the basics of selling.
You’ve got to know how to sell yourself
and your ideas, whether in a company,
consulting, running your own business
or temping.
-
Know Something
About Business & Buyers
Finally, you’ve got to understand
your “buyers” and how business works,
which includes knowing how companies make
money.
Taking these 3 steps will begin to lay
the foundation of creating career security
for yourself, regardless of your current
situation. Next time we’ll talk about the
next 3 steps you can take to move you further
towards your goal of creating career security.
References
Know what You’re Selling
- UC Santa Cruz Extension: http://www.ucsc-extension.edu/main
For example, Career Success: Assessing Your
Strengths and Building Them into an Effective
Job Search
- The Brand You 50: Or
: Fifty Ways to Transform Yourself from an 'Employee'
into a Brand That Shouts Distinction, Commitment,
and Passion! by Tom Peters
Know Business &
Your Buyers
Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers might have said
he was optimistic about the economy continuing
to improve, but that optimism didn't extend to
Wall Street. Though Chambers expressed optimism,
a disappointing outlook for tech spending from
Cisco put investors in a selling mode Wednesday,
with tech stocks taking the brunt of the punishment.
Both the InformationWeek 100 and the Nasdaq
Composite index took big hits as investors grew
cautious and turned toward blue chips and away
from tech issues and small-cap stocks.
Successful Money
Management City College SF, Continuing Ed.
Determine your personal financial goals
and develop the financial plans to meet them.
Topics covered include stocks, bonds, mutual funds,
IRA, ROTH IRA, SEP IRA, 401k, & 403b. Learn
about investment basics; think like a financial
winner; earn more dollars on your savings; and
avoid paying more taxes than necessary
How to Succeed in Your Own
Small Business City College SF, Continuing Education
There is more to creating a successful business
than having a great idea. In addition to marketing a product
and making sure there is enough cash, business owners need
to avoid common mistakes and take advantage of good advice.
Learn concrete steps necessary to take to market, promote,
and manage businesses more effectively.
If you’ve got work or career topics you’d like to see us
address, just send me an email at drgreg@talentplanet.com.
®2004 All rights reserved. Gregory
A. Ketchum, Ph.D.
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Greg is the “KRON 4 (San Francisco) Workplace and Career Expert”
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