Caution Flag Is Being Waved

As a recruiter and career coach, it is obviously to my advantage for people to want to make career changes, whether it is just moving to another company for more money or a complete professional overhaul with a new direction. Since the beginning of our ominous downturn in 2008, I have been politely waving the caution flag about making non-essential career moves. Today, I am aggressively waving it in your faces and am close to recommending everyone get off the track for a little while.

While employers still prefer to hire those who are currently working, a few have actually told me they understand the risk involved in leaving one job for another right now as no one can really promise you longevity. The mainstream media is has definitely jumped on the 'disaster is near' bandwagon and this sadly impacts how companies operate.

Many years ago, I was told that I looked at things through very negative glasses. To remedy this, I retrained myself to look at half full glasses rather than half empty ones and I am trying extremely hard to do this today. It is extremely hard to maintain this philosophy right about now but I am doing my best to remain positive and urge all of you to do so too. If we do not, things will only get worse. At the same time, however, I reiterate that the caution flag is still on the track and it would be best to make the most of opportunities at your current job site rather than stepping into very choppy waters until the storm subsides a bit more down the road. One thing you could safely do is posture yourself for when things improve by polishing up your resume, doing some preliminary research on companies you wish to target, and making sure your reference list is current. Hang in there folks, it has to get better out there!