Are You Prepared For Your “Now What”

If you have lost your job, seen your friends lose their job, or are frantically holding on to your seat the two words “now what” may be staring you right in the face. Furthermore with each day of economic data you may be asking yourself who am I without a paycheck? What will I become without a paycheck? Or how do I protect the paycheck I have been accustomed to seeing monthly.

The real question you should ask yourself as you endure through today’s economy is simply, are you prepared to face your own version of the uncertainty of tomorrow? In other words what’s your “now what?”

Life may throw many curveballs at you but it also offers the opportunity to answer this very important question.

Reflect for a moment on the following statements:

• If you can see the opportunity that can come from loss you can be the gain that comes from uncertainty.
• If you can prepare for life with less you can live your life with more.
• If you think about your “now what” you will plan for your “what now” and your “what now” will become “what next”.

It all starts with preparing your life, managing your personal brand and having an approach to your career to always have an answer to this important question. So here are 10 tips to prepare for your “now what”.

10 Tips to Prepare for Your “Now What”

1. Create a pre-established automatic renewal agreement with five people who will give you a positive reference without you having to ask their permission.

2. Always have two business cards with you one from your current employer and a generic one that lists your transferable skills

3. Turn your resume into a website about you that allows others to learn about you and spend more time assessing your skills outside of the interview room

4. Make a plan to get together live with one person a week who can give you advice on how to further your career, or plan your next move

5. Write out your five most appealing qualities and five specific jobs that would make the best fit. Find five people who work in those occupations and invite them to lunch over the next five weeks

6. Save $50 a week for the next 10 weeks to build a reserve fund just for your job search activities. View all information about the company, starting with swot analysis and ending with reviews of former employees. Your fund should help you buy a domain name, build a website and enable you to participate in key networking opportunities to meet contacts who can help you in your search

7. Spend an hour each day building your reputation online by joining a social media website like facebook or professional networking websites

8. Carry an About Me card in your wallet that reminds you of

• what you aspire to be
• what you need to do to get there
• what training have you had so far to prepare
• what contacts you need to make to get you closer to your goal

9. Spend an hour a week volunteering at a charity or cause related organization then email the board members of that charity to connect and share your capabilities

10. Write the highest ranking person whom you have a connection to within your organization a note stating how you have created value for your organization and what more you can do to help your organization grow

About the Author
Rosaria Elias is the writer and editor of Businessays.net. Rosaria graduated from the philological faculty with honors, and is professionally engaged in journalism, writing articles on various topics. She has studied business on specialized courses and successfully implemented her knowledge in projects.