Job tips and survival ideas to get you through the Global Financial Crisis!

Meet : The Guru

The Global Financial Crisis is making The Guru feel a little frazzled.
How are you coping?

The global situation is hitting everyone hard. Here are some job tips sourced from the Graduate Opportunities website:

• Even though times are tough, there are still plenty of organisations out there recruiting graduates.
  The same principles apply now as they do in a boom: Keep your resume up-to-date, and identify industries that are of interest/relevance to you, and potential employers.
  
  


• All work experience and volunteer work is valuable, particularly if you record what skills and abilites you have obtained from that work experience.
  
  
  
• Networking is also significant in job searching. Develop a list of people in your industry/discipline are you could contact, and reach out to them. These could even be friends, family and university acquaintances.
  
  
  
• Most university employment and career development services will have contacts for some places for volunteer work. Your faculty may have some suggestions for Work Integrated Learning options as well.
  



• You should certainly get your résumé and cover letters checked. Your career service will be happy to help. It is always a good idea to have careers education consultants and people whose opinion you trust/respect looking at your application.
  



• In difficult times, it is often advisable to obtain a new job before resigning from your previous employment. This way, you aren't left without a job for any period of time.
  



• It is also important to gain some experience in your area of study to make you more marketable for the industry or a graduate role.
  
  
  
• You might not get your ‘ideal’ job straight away, but you want to be ready with some good work experience for when your 'ideal' job comes up as the economy improves.

(Source: http://www.graduateopportunities.com/)

Generation Y: The toughest

According to Mr. Bernard Salt young people today were better equipped to handle a recession than previous generations - and might even turn out to be more resilient for the experience.
"Generation Y is the most educated in history. They're articulate, they're confident, they're well-travelled, they are knowledgeable," he said.
"They are incredibly plugged in, good with relationships and identifying opportunities.
"I suppose the real question will be, will they want to adapt to [jobs that] they don't really enjoy. Will they just grin and bear it, or will they maintain their flighty ways?"

(Source: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/11/15/1226319000858.html)

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A bit of food for thought, but what a pleasure it is to know that those experiencing their first financial crisis may be a step ahead!
Not to discount those of post-grad age and mature-age students, but then if you're experiencing your second bout of financial crisis, you may have a few survivial tips of your own from the first time around!

Got some tips of your own about surviving the Global Financial Crisis? Please don't hesitate to comment/add tips/start a discussion of your own, we always want to hear how you are dealing with it! The comments section is, however, designed to either just comment or engage in peer discussion.
For any questions directed at the Careers Service staff, e-mail student.employment (which is the careers service) or book an appointment with a careers officer at CareerHub.

Please note there is also a free Career Development Workshop and Job Search Strategy Workshop held this month (May). Log in to http://careerhub.newcastle.edu.au for event details. Not a member of CareerHub? It's also free! Sign up on the same site above.