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Once
you've found a job, your first
instinct might be to simply call it a day. You've found work, now you
can
simply kick back and enjoy the luxury of having financial security.
But is financial security all you really want? Is an entry level
position
enough to make a satisfying career for the rest of your life, or even
the next
few years?
Just because you're working through a recession doesn't mean that you
need to
settle for just whatever you can get. If you're truly passionate about
your
work, then it shouldn't be enough to have simply gotten your foot in
the door,
to have simply found work.
To put it simply, you're likely not looking for just a job, but for a
career.
Here are three simple tips to climbing the ol' corporate ladder in a
tough
economy.
Versatility is the number one qualification to finding a job during a
recession, but if you want to know how to impress your boss and go
after that
promotion or raise, save them some money.
This counts for a lot during a recession on every single rung of the
ladder,
from the general manager of a restaurant to the guy making the salads.
Whether
you're arranging hours to keep your employees happy without having to
pay too
much overtime, or you're just making sure not to spill a three dollar
bag of
croutons all over the floor, an employee who can keep save the company
some
money is always a valuable one.
If you know for a fact that you're worth more than you're getting paid,
then
don't be too timid to ask for a raise or promotion.
The typical fear in asking for a raise is simply that of rejection. You
could
compare it to the first time you decided to talk to the girl or guy you
had a
crush on in school, but you know, you're not in school anymore. Most
likely,
you've been shot down at work or in love some time before in your life,
and you
know what? You survived.
The worst your boss can do is say no. Nobody ever gets fired or demoted
solely
on the grounds that they asked for a raise.
Quite the opposite, in fact. An employee who shows no outward passion,
no
desire to move up in the company, and who mainly keeps quiet is
actually less
likely to move up than the more confident, assertive employee.
Essentially what we're driving at here is that, if you want to get
ahead, in
any company, then the main thing is to simply be an active,
contributing member
of that company. Don't just sit at your desk, do the job, collect the
check and
go home. Rather, as we've said time and again above, be passionate
about your
job, be a part of the company, and not just another
employee.
Employees who are competent but who don't really go above and beyond
the call
of duty are a dime a dozen. Sure, they're necessary to keep a company
running,
but they're not the first people the supervisor looks at when
considering a
replacement following his or her transfer.Money Saving Tips
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What
to do now that you have a
job
Having a job isn't the ultimate end goal. The ultimate end goal is to
improve
your standing in life, and finding gainful employment is only the first
step
towards that goal. Once you have a good job, you'll want to set a few
new tasks
for yourself.
If you live check to check, relying solely on your primary income to
make ends
meet, then a recession can easily derail your finances. If you have
other
income in the form of investments, then you have a backup plan.
We won't lie to you, investing can be tricky during a recession. The
stock
market always takes a beating in the media during hard times, but even
the
stock market holds some opportunity in any weather. And regardless,
there are
other options.
The housing market isn't doing so great right now, true, but that
doesn't mean
there's no money in it. It only means that making money in real estate
is
different than it was, say, ten years ago.
Where an investor used to buy a home, maybe repaint it, and watch the
value go
up as the property value in the general area rose, today's successful
property
investor is a much different breed from those real estate moguls of the
nineties.
If you want to make money in real estate, here's the secret: Buy a beat
up, run
down old house that nobody wants. Fix it up, and resell it at a
significant
profit to what you invested into it.
If you want to go this route, it's really not difficult to find a home
loan for
such an endeavor. You can save money on your own expenses by living in
the home
while fixing it, and if you have any general construction knowledge in
drywalling,
electricity, or plumbing, you can likewise save money on having to hire
a crew.
It's a much more hands on way of investing, but there are more than a
few
individuals who've become independently wealthy through this form of
real
estate investing. To name one, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was a
multi-millionaire through real estate development and bricklaying long,
long
before he was ever a famous Hollywood
actor.
Okay, we're not going to be able to get around this one, so let's face
the music:
The stock market isn't as easy as it used to be, but, again, you can
still make
money in the market.
If you want to become one of those stock junkies, somebody who's always
carrying a copy of the Wall Street Journal, someone who checks their
stocks ten
times a day, then that's a great way to either get rich... or lose
every cent
you put in.
If you want to just make a modest return on your investment without too
much
risk on your part, the process is pretty simple.
The first step is to list a few companies you support as a customer,
companies
you like and trust. If you love your Macbook, put Apple Computers on
the list.
If you're a big video game buff, put Nintendo on the list. The second
step is
to invest in those companies.
It sounds too simple to work, right? Well consider for a moment that
those
companies have earned a strong place in the market by simply delivering
great
products to their customers and earning brand loyalty amongst
supporters like
yourself.
Forget, for a moment, all that stuff about analyzing the market, about
looking
at slumps and inclines and bear and bull markets, and just focus on the
bare
essentials of what stock trading is all about; putting your money into
a
prediction that this brand name will grow, and along with it, so will
your
investment. When you put it that way, you can see that it makes perfect
sense
to simply invest in companies you would support as a consumer. If you
were
financing a small business, for example, you wouldn't support an
entrepreneur
trying to push a product you would never buy in a million years,
rather, you'd
support the entrepreneur pushing a product you'd love to own yourself.
The same
applies to stock trading.
Maybe you've dodged this bullet, but an interesting statistic to
mention is
that more and more young adults, between the ages of twenty and thirty,
have
chosen to move back in with their parents over the last ten years.
With so many unemployed and underemployed young men and women out
there, it's
not surprising. In a bad economy, it's easier for everyone, financially
speaking, to stay in your old bedroom and help out with bills than it
is to try
and rent out your own apartment or pay the mortgage on your own house.
As we said, it's easier on everybody... financially speaking. The truth
is that
most young adults don't really move back into mom and dad's house
because they
want to, but because they have to. A young man or woman needs his or
her
independence, and you know what? So do mom and dad. Having an extra
working
adult in the house is nice, but not quite as nice as having your own
place.
So, once you've established job stability, once you've saved up a
little money,
the next step is seeing whether or not it's time to move on.
Whether you're staying in a studio apartment, in your parents'
basement, or
renting a two room with a roommate, as soon as you've attained
financial
stability once more, there's no need to keep slumming it. If you have
the
means, don't be afraid to take a step forward.
We're not just talking about deciding where you're going to live.
Reassess all
of your options. Have you been wanting to trade your beat up old
clunker in for
a newer, more reliable set of wheels? Have you and your partner been
considering marriage, but it just wasn't the right time? Whatever the
case may
be, you have more options open to you with a steady income than you do
without,
and now may be the perfect time to reassess what those options are.
Okay, you've found a great job, put a little bit of money into an
investment
account, and moved out of your studio apartment, and caught up on all
your old
bills. What should you do now?
Whatever you want.
The funny thing is that looking for a job can sometimes require more
work than
any actual job would demand of you. When you're on the hunt, you're
looking for
work every single day and night. You wake up and check the classified
ads, you
go out and pick up some applications, come home for lunch and browse
some job
websites, then you step out again for a few interviews. At night, you
send a
few emails and lose sleep wondering how you're going to find work. The
weekends
aren't weekends anymore, since you're too busy looking for work to
relax.
What you need to do is get back into the habit of taking two days to
yourself
every week. Learn to paint, go fishing, cruise around in your car,
whatever it
is you want to do. When you punch the clock at the end of the last day
of the
working week, just forget about work entirely. Go out, have some fun,
and
relax. The toughest part is over.
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