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1月21日

Do you have a Family Emergency Plan? How about one for your career?

Wake up... It is time to make a proactive networking plan incase you or your networks need help finding a job or employee. What is YOUR plan?

 

During the last employment crisis in 2001 I wrote the below blog on how to build your personal and professional network to get your next job.  We saw a ton of people that were not prepared to deal with a down turning economy. We saw people shell shocked, depressed, despair and then hopeful because people realized that it were their ability to network with people that will help them find the right opportunity!  

 

We also saw the affects when people would network for short periods of time and when they would stop after finding a job. And their jobs would be eliminated again. So they would have to start all over.

 

Why am I brining this up? We are not sure what we have in store for the US economy and I am not trying to scare you, but rather help you realize a proactive plan to protect you and your family. Creating a communication plan is not different than that of an emergency plan you have for your family during tornados or after 911. If you do not have a plan this is the time for you to create one (http://www.ready.gov/america/makeaplan/).

 

During this uncertain economic uncertainty you need to have a plan. I would compare it to a survival plan for tornados. In Wisconsin, I have 2 weeks worth of food, water, medical supplies etc… No I am not crazy or a survivalist. I just want to survive and take care of my family.

 

I am now looking at my networks and contacts the same way. First, I organize my contacts in order of importance and strategic to who is the most influential contact that can leverage their network to help me.

Secondly, I made a communication plan to help strategically get the word out to what direction I need (Lost My Job, Close Contact that I recommend needs a job, and/or general kindness to help).

 

Third, is to prioritize who or what communication gets sent to your contacts:

·        Primary: Top Tier Business, Family & Social Networks

·        Secondary: Family & Friends, Other Business Contacts

·        Tertiary: Religious Institutions, Charities etc…

·        Undefined: Transactional Networking…

 

 

Finally, you need to define the protocols of, who, what, when, where, why and how for each of these groups. There will be contact that you covet or incase of an emergency break open and e-mail. Others you can call them to tell them who and how to help other will just lend their name to you and introduce you to their contacts.

 

Think of it this way. The contacts closest you are the most influential so establishing a pattern of communication with them is critical. The farther out you go from your network the less you will want to contact. But keep this in mind the further out you go it is critical that you evaluate each contact and try to set up some communication with them. You just never know… :  )  

Now you are starting to feel good about creating a communication plan that will allow me to use my top critical contacts to get the word out for me if I need it. Now what I need to do is check the healthy of my network or expiration date on my food.  It is important to reach out to your network to see how everyone is doing. You need to make a plan and decide who and what frequency of your contacts. You do not want to be a pest but at the same time you do not want your networks to think that you only call when you need something.

 

I hope this makes sense and if you have any questions please ask.

Social Networks to try: www.linkedin.com, www.facebook.com, www.plaxo.com and many, many, more…

 

 

Building your Personal & Professional Network:

Remember when I talked about how to control the future of your career when you cannot control the business market?  Controlling your future begins and ends with building your personal and professional network.  In 2001, I started throwing Pinkslip Parties in Wisconsin to help proactive employers network with potential candidates. Throughout that year, I saw approximately 55 people get jobs. Many of those individuals still attended the next event in order to network, even though they had jobs, because they found it to be fun. Yet others did not. Through the year, I saw many people who were laid off 3 to 4 time because of the business climate. The Pinkslip partygoers who kept networking found jobs right away, and the others who stopped networking had to start all over again. The moral of this story is that the partygoers that kept networking got to know employers and employers got to know them.  They felt comfortable with each other and it was easier for the recruiters to recommend those people with whom they felt comfortable. An analogy of the hiring process is that you have one or two dates, and then you are asked to get married. It is a scary process, so the better you get to know the company and the recruiter, the more able you are to make an educated decision. Lets face it, the hiring process in the U.S. considers if they like you first, then whether you can do the job.

  The strategy is to develop business networks; associations that fit with your background and the industry you are trying to get into.  Do not forget charitable groups, as there are a lot of companies that want their employees, managers and executives to give back to the community.  Many people give me the excuses, “I do not have time” or “I have too many family commitments”. My response is, “you have to make time!” This is a commitment for your future, both personally and professionally. 

 

Check out our resource section for candidates, recruiters and business, and you will find where some of these networks are. New ones will be added as I here of them!

 

CEO Confidence Survey

Latest Press Release

THESE DATA ARE FOR ANALYSIS PURPOSES ONLY. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION, PUBLISHING, DATABASING, OR PUBLIC POSTING WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION.

CEO Confidence Declines Again, The Conference Board Reports

January 15, 2008

The Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence, which had declined to 44 in the third quarter of 2007, fell to 39 in the final quarter of 2007 (a reading of more than 50 points reflects more positive than negative responses). The last time the Measure fell below 40 was in the final quarter of 2000 when it fell to 31.

"CEOs' confidence in the state of the U.S. economy continues to wither and is now at a seven-year low," says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "Given continued trouble in the housing and credit markets, persistent volatility in financial markets and increases in energy prices, it's not surprising that confidence has eroded. Looking ahead, the majority of business leaders expect these lackluster economic conditions to prevail throughout the first half of 2008."

CEOs' assessment of current economic conditions was considerably less positive, with just 7 percent of CEOs — down from 14 percent last quarter — stating economic conditions had improved. In assessing their own industries, business leaders were also less optimistic. Approximately 15 percent claim conditions are better, down from approximately 17 percent in the third quarter.

Looking ahead six months, the outlook has turned more negative. Currently, 16 percent of business leaders expect economic conditions to improve in the next six months, down from 20 percent last quarter. Expectations for their own industries are also less upbeat, with only 17 percent anticipating an improvement, down from 27 percent last quarter.

Inflation Outlook: Modest Price Increases Expected

The majority of chief executives expect changes in their firms' selling prices in 2008, with just 9 percent anticipating price increases in excess of 10 percent. On average, firms plan to hike prices by 3.2 percent, slightly lower than last year's expectation of 3.3 percent. Some 13 percent plan decreases and 4 percent foresee no change.

Related Tables are attached. (You will need Adobe Acrobat to view)

Source: CEO Confidence 4th Quarter 2007
The Conference Board

For further information contact:
Ms. Lynn Franco
at +1 212 339 0344
lynn.franco@conference-board.org

The after match of Chimes Distruction and the wake of job losses are staggering.

1/21/2008

The bankruptcy filing of Ensemble Chimes Global in Los Angeles on Jan. 9 leaves the users of staffing services through the company's vendor management system with some unresolved issues. However, the greatest learning opportunities for staffing clients may come in the long term, as all of the issues surrounding the bankruptcy come to the surface, and clients gain a heightened awareness of the potential risks associated with running staffing transactions through an intermediary company.

Currently some staffing suppliers are opposing the sale of the system to Ensemble Chimes Global's former president, and alleged improprieties have come to the surface about the financial dealings of executives of Axium International Inc. the parent company of Ensemble Chimes Global, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. As these events transpire, clients are realizing how they can become vulnerable, should their vendor management system supplier be acquired, file for bankruptcy protection, or handle funds inappropriately. While the bankruptcy trustee has made interim arrangements for the operation of the system, at the very least, clients face the potential for business interruption should vendor management system firms go belly up and all of the financial ramifications have yet to be identified or decided in this case.

As of Friday afternoon, Ed Lenz, senior vice president for public affairs and general counsel for the American Staffing Association said he had heard from staffing suppliers that outstanding receivables owed staffing firms by Ensemble Chimes Global totaled anywhere from $100 million to as much as $300 million. Lenz said it was his understanding that the majority of the outstanding balances represent billed but unpaid client invoices.

Also still at issue is $22 million in funds swept away by Axium's owners Golden Tree Asset Management as reported by the Los Angeles Times last week and contractors who were paid directly by Ensemble Chimes Global are blogging about being laid off and having little recourse for unpaid wages.

How staffing suppliers that provided temps under the Ensemble Chimes Global system might weather large write-offs is another potential concern for clients.

At the very least, many Ensemble Chimes Global clients originally contracted with a company that operated under different ownership and a different set of financial circumstances, during the pre-acquisition period. While clients may have felt protected under the terms of their original ECG agreements, it's hard to say if those agreements will provide complete financial protection for clients, until everything shakes out.

"Now everybody's trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again," says Lenz. "I think there will be lessons learned from this insolvency. For example, clients will want to make sure that VMS suppliers have escrow accounts, so they don't co-mingle funds, and clients may place a premium on sound management in the future and require more assurances that the VMS company will continue to operate. All of the issues haven't surfaced yet, and right now, clients have a right to be skeptical."

Leslie Stevens

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