For the 1.6 million unemployed Americans between the ages of 55 and 64, this holiday season is one big Bah Humbug!
If you’re gainfully employed and focused on managing your career, don’t take your eye off the ball right now...And if you’re among the one in eight managers and execs who are currently unemployed, don’t shrug off the month of December because of a perceived lack of activity.
If you are one of the thousands of managers who is out of work right now – or an executive worried about your career taking hits in this awful economy – the impending holidays may seem especially foreboding...And for those execs who are actively employed, this is crunch time for numbers crunching and adds to an already anxious atmosphere.
It is abundantly clear that we are at the beginning of an economic recovery, with many positive signs from U.S. companies and from abroad. While the recession may have ended – officially – this is likely to be a jobless recovery.
Most great athletes sing the praises of Cross-Training. When a defensive lineman learns yoga poses, when a basketball star takes kick boxing instruction and when baseball sluggers get into the pool – they are all striving to get an edge on their competition, prevent injuries and take their conditioning to another level. This is also true for executives – and never more so than in these turbulent and dangerous times.
With national unemployment poised to burst through the 10% level for October, it’s not surprising that thousands of execs over the age of 50 are tumbling into the job market.
With unemployment still rising and the corporate caution light still flashing yellow, it is now clear to all of us that when it comes to recruiting this will be a buyer’s market for a good long time.
You’ve heard the clichés, but they exist for a reason. First off, you know you can’t do it all by yourself. You need a team. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link – and the same goes for a team. It might not work to have all MVPs, but it’s certainly worth trying to surround yourself with the best and brightest.
A year ago, Lehman Brothers, AIG and Merrill Lynch were going up in flames, while bankers and business school students gawked in horror...Now, in the fall of 2009, all seems quiet and calm and there are growing signs that greed is poised to make a comeback.
Due to the heavy drumbeat of reporting on The Great Recession – and the media’s constant need for eye-catching headlines – it’s easy to believe the perception that there are no jobs out there and nobody is hiring.
Data also provided by 
