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- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned of potentially tragic economic consequences if Congress and the White House don’t provide additional support to households and businesses disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
- The US economy has replaced only about half the 22 million jobs lost during the economic slowdown. The Wall Street Journal
Where We Stand
Health systems, hospitals, and other providers must achieve a state of constant readiness to survive the nation’s current economic downturn. The message is clear: continuing to employ workers who are not adding value to the enterprise is an approach businesses, particularly those in healthcare, cannot afford.
Delaying the hard choices regarding the right-sizing of an organization’s headcount until the economy worsens, which could happen without dynamic action to control the Convid-19 virus the Fed chairman warned, could require more dramatic steps, including deeper cuts by businesses and additional layoffs.
What Can Employees Do?
Employees who add value to an organization must think more like an entrepreneur in terms of results. Close the gap between good intentions and good results.
John G. Self
- Be optimistic. It begins with being honest with yourself and the environment in which you find yourself. As a former newspaper reporter, I frequently wrote stories about events — often bad news events. I was a storyteller. I am still a storyteller, but my venue, thankfully, has changed. Occasionally people criticize me for being too negative, especially when writing about the challenges facing managers and executives entering the job market. I can’t entirely agree. I feel I am realistically optimistic. ! You must understand the challenges and prepare yourself. If you are well prepared, have a good plan, and work hard, you WILL find a job. That is the truth. That is something about which you can be optimistic!
- Change your mindset regarding success. Easier said than done, but it is vital to defining your value to the enterprise. Executives down to supervisors must focus on their daily results. Entrepreneurs have a saying: “We eat what we kill.” Employees who add value to an organization must think more like an entrepreneur in terms of results. Close the gap between good intentions and good results.
- Build your strategic network. The irony of layoffs is that some good, productive employees almost always get caught up in the cuts through no fault of their own. Just as CEOs cannot afford to wait until it is too late to make the hard choices on controlling expenses, employees who put off building a productive professional network, a critical element of a successful job search, will pay the price for that neglect. That cost is usually in the form of a prolonged search or being forced to accept a lower-paying step-back position just to stop the bleeding of your savings or retirement accounts.
- Create a career preparedness plan. Many executives and workers do not have such a plan. When the layoff notice appears, panic usually ensues. A career preparedness plan is comprehensive, incorporating strategies for controlling household spending down to a job search’s details. In today’s job market where the majority of workers are social media savvy, you cannot afford:
- Not to have a well-crafted Value Brand Statement. You must understand your value proposition
- Not to have a value-based resume up to date and ready to go
- Not to have an established social media presence with a well thought out branding strategy in place
- Not to be prepared for interviews. Jobs are won or lost in the interview process
JohnGSelf + Partners specializes in getting you prepared. To learn more about our new affordable subscription plan options, contact us: YourCareerSuccess@JohnGSelf.Com