How to Find Career Opportunities Even in Times of Recession

Whether you are unemployed or unhappy in your current position, don't despair. There are ways to find new opportunities even in tough times. With the news accentuating major layoffs and skyrocketing unemployment rates, it is easy to become discouraged or to not even try at all. Depending on where you live in the country, however, the recession might not even be having that much of an affect on your local economy. I know this is a much different message than the doom and gloom that you hear every day, but negative thinking will get you nowhere. Jump on the "glass half full" bandwagon and take a look at these tips that might give you the boost you need.

Professional Networking. Sometimes when you really hate your job, you lack the motivation to keep up with the latest developments and news in your profession. You might even develop an "I don't care" attitude that holds you back even more. Networking is a great way to get exposed to more people and ideas. It will freshen up your outlook and help you to renew interest in jump starting your career.

If you work in a larger organization, you might have opportunities to participate in professional meetings or volunteer for special project committees. Jump at these opportunities. It will give you a break from the usual and get you in front of new people.

If you work in a smaller company, see about going outside professional meetings or conventions. Even if you don't find job opportunities right away, you may be able to bring back great information to your organization that makes you a great information source to coworkers. When a new opportunity does come up, you will have a lot of people willing to give you a great job reference.

Upgrade your job. Lot of companies, universities and other institutions may have hiring freezes or are cutting jobs through attrition. This means that you might be taking on more job responsibilities. If your company bases pay on job grade or competencies, you may be able to visit human resources to ask that your job be re-evaluated for an upgrade. It is not uncommon for a position to go unevaluated for years making the pay scale way out of line for the new and expanded duties that have been added over the years. You could get a promotion without ever interviewing for a new job.

Network in community groups. Some of the best networking you will do is within community groups. If you belong to a special group or organization, it is likely that the other members who share the same interests are people that you "click" with. The next time you go to your stamp collecting meeting or pick-up soccer game, ask other members where they work and what they do. You might be surprised to find that there are individuals who may be able to give you some inside information about that company that you have been hoping to get an interview with.

Alternative job searching. Not all companies advertise on monster.com or careerbuilder.com. Try some alternative methods to find those truly unique opportunities. Check your local Chamber of Commerce website for lists of companies in the area. You might be surprised to see there are start-up companies or even established ones you've never heard of right under your nose. Go to their websites and look for more information about job opportunities. No career section on the website of a company you'd be perfect for? Write them a good old fashioned letter or email telling them why you would be interested in working for them. Even if they don't have an immediate opportunity, they might remember you later when they are hiring.

Back to school. In case you hadn't noticed, there is something out there called The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that keeps popping up. Check out http://www.recovery.gov/ for information on how the money in this program is being spent. One area where the government is spending big bucks is in funding research projects through agencies like the National Science Foundation and The National Institutes of Health. Large sums of money will be pumped into new and existing research projects that will require a heck of a lot of graduate students to assist in actually doing the research. That means that there are more opportunities than ever to get your graduate degree funded by research money. Especially if your undergraduate degree is in science or medicine, this might be the perfect time to go back and get your masters or even PhD.

Hopefully this information has given you some new tools to try. So instead of lamenting the lack of opportunities out there, get creative and go land yourself that dream job!

Sources & Resources:

www.recovery.gov

www.monster.com

www.careerbuilder.com

www.nsf.gov

www.nih.gov