6 Surefire Ways to Recession Proof Your Career

Whether we are living in bad economic times or not it is always a good idea to be thinking of our own professional development and personal career options. With significant layoffs already in several business sectors, recession fears continue to shake some workers' confidence about their current jobs and careers. If you are concerned about what might be in store for your career, here are some tips to help you “recession proof” your career.

1. Take a class at a local college or university and get serious about some additional training. Experts widely believe we are living in a "knowledge economy". The more committed you are to lifelong learning and training, the more recession proof your career will be. Education is very accessible today via online programs, onsite training and flexible weekend programs.

2. Keep meeting targets and objectives at work. Find ways to do more with less, work as efficiently as possible and look for ways to help your company save money and increase productivity. Keep your "Kudos File" current. This is where you keep all the compliments you have received on your work. It will help you quickly update and disseminate your resume if needed.

3. Join a professional association and become involved with other people in the same career. Maintain your contacts or connect with people you may not have talked with in a little while. Keep in mind that you are not connecting to ask for information or help, but to bring support and value if you can.

4. Volunteer for tasks outside your job description but don’t neglect your responsibilities. Become the "go to" person on the job without taking on everyone’s projects. If your company has already had job cuts, you may pick up additional assignments outside of your regular duties. These extra assignments could be a way to gain new skills. However, you do not want to take on more than your bandwidth can handle. Although you do want to be a key player on the team, you don’t want your own projects and assignments to suffer.

5. Do environmental scans both inside and outside of your organization. Pay attention to the marketplace. Don’t just watch the stock market. Stay abreast of what is happening with your company's key customers and suppliers. If your company’s suppliers and customers are having a hard time, your company may very well be facing the same issues.

6. Consider other ways to use your skills and make money part time. Do you have skills that are in demand? You might be able to earn some additional income? Imagine for example you work in a medical billing capacity for a large hospital, could you possibly take on additional medical billing work for smaller independent medical offices? Not only does this help you build a network of other potential employers who have sampled your work, it could actually lead to starting your own business.