What Are the Demographics of the Recession?

Good article from the NY Times giving the facts on what the general demographics of the Recession of 2008 looks like.

Here are two interesting facts:

• The recession is hurting more men than women
• More Latinos than any other ethnic group are out of work

States that have seen high unemployment before are seeing even higher numbers now. The article suggests that the only thing that could possibly help bring us out of recession successfully is for young people to become more educated. Yet I feel like that's very post Great Depression logic. There is already a large portion of highly educated individuals in the United States and many of them are out of a job (it's not just manufacturing jobs anymore!).

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Standing out

Another job article update from S. Chan.

Trying to stand out in a job is tough. Especially when you have no network, little experience or even no background on a field you want to enter.

That's why leverage is the way to go when trying to figure out how a company needs your set of skills. Even if you do NEED a job, the company you're applying to should never feel like they will be helping you, in fact, you should let them know they need you and you will be there to help them.

Giving off the scent of desperation never helped anyone in any situation.

In this article, a woman moves to new city in a new country in hopes to finding a dream job. With no contacts, network to speak of, she set off to separate herself from the pack. She leveraged her skills to show that the PR companies she was looking into, needed someone like her. This story has a happy ending, and if you think creatively enough, anyone's story can have a happy ending.

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Reinvent Yourself

Thanks to S. Chan for this article in regards to reinventing yourself.

Your skills shouldn't limit you to only one field. For example, a political science degree doesn't always equal a future career in law or getting a degree in engineering shouldn't always equate into becoming an engineer. There are many roads one can take, and that definitely include repurposing your skills to find something new and fresh for your background.

Do Laid-Off Men Turn into Brutes?

See articles from Newsweek and Gawker, because I can completely believe it. More drinking? Check. Rallying against their non-laid off counterparts (I believe, men and women alike). Check. Trying to become more manly men? Check????

Ok, so not all of these things may be true (for obvious reasons), but even for women, this will be an interesting phenomenon to look at. I wonder who will discuss this next?