The Powerful Truth

January 26th, 2009 may henceforth be known as Bloody Monday or Job Massacre Monday: according to CNN.com and a few other sources, 71,400 job losses were announced today. I wish there was an extra zero in there or I had simply typed it incorrectly but no: seventy-one THOUSAND four-hundred job cuts were announced in one day.

Boggles the mind, doesn't it?

Here are a few of the Fortune 500 companies that announced layoffs today (with the number of jobs in parentheses):

-Caterpillar (20,000)
-Pfizer--pre-merger (8,190)
-Pfizer/Wyeth--post-merger (18,000)
-Sprint Nextel (8,000)
-Home Depot (7,000).

For the unabridged list, please click here:

Economists, such as Rebecca Braeu at John Hancock Financial Services, predict that this is "the tip of the iceberg" when it comes to massive layoffs at other major companies (please click here for the article).

If this grim prediction doesn't frighten you and send you running for cover, then continue reading (if you're already shaking in your boots and/or have already lost your job, I suggest turning on fluff TV for a few minutes, as it does wonders for lightening the mood. A personal favorite is Gossip Girl). Still there? How courageous! Here goes: By some analysts' projections, the unemployment rate could potentially hit 10 percent by later this year or next year.

Ready to check out of 2009 and re-join the human race/working world in 2010? Before doing so, I ask you to consider this oft-used but ever-true aphorism:

Knowledge is power.

Yes, you may lose your job this year (if you have not lost it already). No, you may not get a bonus or a pay-raise, no matter how much you've earned and deserved it. Finally, yes, the more you know about what may happen and how you can handle it, the better off you will be in the long run.

Often, people are well aware of what may happen in the real world but believe that by ignoring it, the real world will exist without them in it. I am guilty of succumbing to this situation (Gossip Girl, remember?); however, while it's a temporary salve for maintaining one's sanity in the face of hardship, perhaps it may be advantageous to admit challenges in the road ahead and do what's necessary to prepare for them.

At this time, I suggest writing down (or at least thinking about) your particular situation: Do you still have a position? If so, do you think it's safe? If you feel that you may lose your job, what can you do to either save it or how can you prepare for the job search? If you've already lost your job, have you started looking for new positions yet and, if so, how is it going so far?

In answering these questions, what strategies may help you as you move forward? Have you thought about the benefits of re-branding yourself and your current experience? Also, have you set mini-goals as you reached for a bigger goal (career or non-career related)? The bottom line is the more you know about where you are now and how it fits into the larger realm, the better of you'll be in preparing for the future.

At this stage of the game (if you can really call the economic/job crisis/recession a game, in which case it would be "Trouble"), knowledge really is power. You can continue living in the make-believe world of "If I don't think about it, it won't happen to me" or you can realize that the real world may very well come knocking one day and the more you've prepared yourself and your strategy, the better off you'll be. That strategy may evolve as circumstances change but self-awareness will go a long way in staying afloat throughout the Job Massacre that will be 2009.
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How are you faring with the current job market? Have you thought about what strategies may work for you as you move forward? Have you thought about how coaching help you change your perspective and assist in goal-setting as well as re-branding?