How to ‘recession proof’ your career

Singapore is currently experiencing more than full employment. Executives and professionals can pick and choose which company they want to work for. Make no mistake, this is not job hopping time. Instead, this is the best time to do some career planning.

Recession is coming
It may sound ridiculous to think about recession when the economy is running at full steam. If history offers any lesson as a guide, it does not need me to be an economic prophet to predict that after every economic boom there will be a bust. Nowadays business economic cycle is getting shorter and shorter.

In every recession I have candidates calling me out of desperation for a job because they have no career planning done beforehand. By then usually it is too late because jobs in the same industry have disappeared. They cannot move vertically up or down, nor horizontally left or right. They are job dead on the spot.

You need to ask yourself is your career, not current job, recession proof? If not, you better start preparing now while there is time.

For example, if you have twenty years of experience and your career is not recession proof, but you love teaching, now is the time to do some part-time teaching at one of the tertiary institutions and, or study for higher academic qualifications, so that when recession strikes, you have an edge to be hired over other applicants to teach full-time at the same institution. This kind of career planning takes years to execute. It is too late to do it during recession time.

Alternatively, you can start looking for a recession proof career now while the economy is booming because you have more options. Industries such as healthcare, pharmaceutical, food, education, or anything that is a necessity during economic boom or bust, that is generally a safe industry to enter.

Of course, there is nothing wrong to work in a chic industry during economic boom to earn top dollars and gain some exciting experience. Just be prepared for the worst if the industry does turn against you.

Don’t job hop
Don’t job hop at every prospective job offer just because of better pay or higher job title. The field is not always greener at the other side. Study carefully if the potential job offer fits into your career goal. To be fair to your employer, and for the sake of your own reputation, make sure you have earned some profits or saved some good money for the company before you change job.

Depending on the industry, working three to ten years in one company may be considered not job hopping. Most Singaporean executives are not aware of this. As a headhunter, I can assure you that employers always choose a steady executive over a job hopper for high and important position if everything else being equal.

When you are young you may not think much about the future, but you may regret for the rest of your career when you are competing for a senior position later and lose out because of your earlier job hopping mistake. When you are competing for a top position in a company, everything counts.

Believe me, for top positions, competition is always very keen. The worst part of your resume will be your job hopping stigma that cannot be erased off. So think carefully before you say good bye to your current company during this tight labour market.

Don’t play out employers by signing employment contract with no intention to start work. You may not know that you will stay in the same industry for life, you may have to pay a heavy penalty of losing a good career opportunity in the future.

Not celebration time
When the economy is booming, it is the best time to work hard and smart, and save for rainy days. It is not celebration time. It is not a time to relax and take things easy. When recession comes, and it will although we don’t know when, you will feel safe and not panic.

Do not gear yourself financially to the edge during boom time with all kinds of purchases thinking that you can always service the loans. When the economy burst and you are retrench, you will cry and lose your self esteem. In every past recession, I always see many executives seeking me out begging for a job.

It is a pitiful sight to see them without a good career plan during the good days when they still have time. When the tree is dead, the days of watering are over.

If you are prepared, there is no fear
Generally speaking, if you are forty-five and above, you are most vulnerable for the “firing squad” when recession strikes. After fifty, your labour economic values drop drastically in the executive search market.

While the economy is booming, you still have options to choose and plan for your future career from now to your ideal retirement age. When recession arrives, your options would have evaporated. Plan your future career now while there is time. If you are prepared, there is no fear.

Pang Meng Hock, Managing Director, Apex Headhunters