1. Even if you have a job this is not the time to hide out and forget all about your career.  It’s the perfect time to plan what comes next.

One of my clients has a job he doesn’t like but in this climate he’s not giving it up soon either.  He’s also not giving up on his true career.  In fact we are working on what comes next.  He knows what he wants but he hasn’t believed he could do it mostly because his family didn’t give him any encouragement.  That’s where I come in, working though his limiting beliefs and coming up with practical ways of making his dream job a reality.

2. Put your toe in the water before diving in.

Many of my clients believe that they have have to give up their job to follow their true calling.  In a good  economy it may be OK to quit a job knowing that you can find a part-time to help with the bills or another full-time job if the dream doesn’t work.    But not now.

One of my clients had a day job he hated.  He wanted to be a full-time writer but with a family to look after he couldn’t give it all up and move to Montana or Montenegro or Monmouthshire.  We worked on how he could transition to his writing career, not by giving everything up but by gradually working on the switch.  He started with working on a blog that he could do in his free time and that would begin to produce income that eventually would replace his daytime job.

3.  If you’re unemployed be bolder and bigger.

The odds are tough.  There are more people looking for jobs than opportunities.  So it doesn’t work to be restrained and small in your search.  What works in a good job market doesn’t work now.

I am working with a very talented professional in the entertainment business.  After a while being out of work we started to work together.  Before he had easily got a job by applying online and with the help of a few friends.  In this market we worked on increasing his network, gaining mentors and thinking of alternative strategies like working on a “trial” basis and consulting on a contract.