Now is the Time to Focus on Your “Career Currency”

In BusinessWeek.com, I’ve been talking to career professionals about “Increasing Your Career Currency” during a time of hopeful impending economic turnaround. No matter where you sit on the organizational chart, you have a career currency. It’s easy to get caught up in recession-related headlines, but the fact is that, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Friday’s announcement that layoffs have slowed supports a new positive mindset and a focus on your career currency. The available workforce is surging albeit with increased jobless claims that are expected to peak next year. This signifies that there is an expected lag time – and build up in – those filing claims. Companies like yours may not be actively hiring yet, but are not laying off staff as before, either. Orders are gradually reappearing – and while you may be managing this work through existing staff and other resources – your needs will ultimately exceed current labor supplies. All of these trends bode well for a future economic rebound.

Increasing your career currency is part of my passion to help employees and managers become empowered in their careers. And that includes the ability to humanize your workplace™ and mitigate Terrible Office Tyrants™ in the office, as in Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (John Wiley & Sons, July 31, 2009).

I would be pleased to get your feedback, comments and questions.