Continuous improvement should be at the heart of any professional. Despite what workers have achieved in their careers or what level they are on the career ladder, they should always welcome opportunities to improve their craft and expand their knowledge and skills. Particularly for tech professionals, continuous improvement should be at the forefront, as technology evolves constantly, and keeping up with the demands of new technologies will keep IT professionals relevant.
Unfortunately, there is another one that many tech professionals should be dealing with, alongside striving for continuous improvement and other ways to stay relevant. This year, hush tones whispering the word “recession” seem to grow louder. Because of this, IT professionals like yourself may be panicking about how to cling to your employment status.
But before you shake in your boots, let’s stop here. There is no actual announcement yet that economic uncertainty is falling upon us. Regardless, now is the opportune time to be ahead of the pack to recession-proof your career. In this article, we share some tips on how to stay afloat as an IT professional and how you will always be the apple of any recruiter’s eye, whatever the economic situation is.
Let’s clear the air first: there’s no recession… yet.
The National Bureau of Economic Research is responsible for declaring if there is a recession in America. It follows trends in unemployment rates within a specific period of months, and if the numbers are indicative, the bureau will announce that a recession has indeed begun. However, there has yet to be an official announcement that a recession is happening in the US.
So why is there a commotion regarding a looming recession? There has been a massive wave of layoffs and hiring freezes across the country in the recent months of 2022. These unfortunate occurrences in various companies can be linked to slow business growth during the pandemic, accompanied by rising labor costs.
However, there is particular apprehension in the tech industry. It is worth noting because many tech companies experienced a boom during the height of the pandemic, but as the new normal has begun to settle, said companies are experiencing some difficulties:
- Redundancies. Because businesses suddenly grew in demand between 2020 and 2022, tech companies had to get more staff. Now that the business climate is normalizing again, significant employee redundancies exist in departments like human resources and sales.
- Depressing economic status. Aside from the ongoing crypto-winter (with many tech companies being dependent on cryptocurrency), global events, such as the Ukraine-Russia war and various food shortages, forced companies to tighten their belts.
- Growth-over-stability mindset. There was a boom in tech products and services, including online shopping and cloud-based services like video streaming. Many tech companies saw this as a business opportunity. True enough, many raked in income. But what seemed like striking the iron while it was hot was soon identified as jumping the gun. Tech companies have been struggling to maintain growth in the past two years.
It bears repeating: no need to panic!
It’s understandable that there might be a tinge of apprehension on your end, but instead of basking in fear, why not channel that energy to recession-proof your career? Professionals like you are now well-aware of what is happening, and yes, you are empowered by information to keep your job in the current market.
1. Get into the gig economy.
The gig economy is a market that thrives through freelance and contractual work. In the gig economy, professionals can have a multitude of jobs rather than one full-time commitment.
The recommendation isn’t to abandon your current work in pursuit of multiple contracts. To recession-proof your career, expose yourself to different jobs, so you can develop familiarity and experience in them and eventually put them on your resume. Also, having more than one job is a good safety net in case companies decide to lay off their workforce. Your side gig can save you in a pinch.
Consider as well gaining familiarity and expertise with recession-proof industries. For example, the e-learning industry is expanding well into the future, being a 197-billion-dollar industry last 2020 and a projected $840 billion by 2030. Online selling won’t disappear anytime soon, as the pandemic emphasized how easy it is to make your purchase at home.
UI/UX, app/website development, and online content management are only some of the skills needed for these industries. If you have these skills, you may want to look into these industries to recession-proof your career.
Speaking of tech skills, you can find a long list of in-demand IT skills nowadays. Some of them are data science, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
Looking for opportunities to learn and apply these new skills is helpful in recession-proofing your career. While taking on additional studies may mean shelving a hefty amount of money or spending more time to study, see this as an investment. Coursera, Udemy, and Katacoda are only some of the best online learning platforms to choose from in learning new tech skills.
3. Keep your soft skills in check.
Aside from keeping your tech skills updated, it will also help you in the long run if your presence in the workforce exudes professionalism. While individuals doing the job well can be star employees, nothing beats great communication skills, impeccable customer service, and precise time management skills. These are soft skills that employers are looking for nowadays.
Ian Siegle, co-founder and CEO of ZipRecruiter, said that an overwhelming 93 percent of surveyed recruiters consider soft skills as the driving force on whether to hire a candidate or not. This data should be a good reminder to not only include these skills in your resume but also to practice them daily. Remember: workers with superb soft skills are retained, and applicants keen on soft skills get hired.
A TOP-NOTCH MEANS TO STAY EMPLOYED: GET A STAFFING AGENCY TO HELP YOU!
Staying employed in the country’s current economic situation, combined with news of massive layoffs, sounds unstable and does not bode well for your confidence. It would be helpful to have a team in your corner who can scour job openings for you and look for recession-proof jobs. This service is what a staffing agency can offer and a whole lot more.
What’s good about staffing agencies is that you don’t need to pay them. You’ll only have to approach them and hand over your resume, and they’ll talk to you regarding your job prospects and preferences. They will then look for job openings for you or approach their client employers if there are openings where you can apply. In most cases, agencies are paid by the employer once they can find the perfect candidate.
So, while you are close to availing of a staffing agency’s services, why not go straight to one specializing in the technology industry? On-Demand Group is your best bet to recession-proof your career.
We at On-Demand Group are committed to delivering only the best services when finding you a job in the tech industry. Converse with our in-house consultants; 90 percent of them have professional experience that spans an average of 10 years. We are committed to building a team of enthusiastic professionals within the IT industry, and you can be a part of it.
Let’s build integrity-rich partnerships that will have a lasting impact, whether there is economic uncertainty or not. Contact On-Demand Group now.
