Is the 30 year job gone?

Is the 30 year job gone? It is unlikely that you will graduate, get a job, and retire from that job. This was the way.

Locally, friends graduated from high school in 1974 and went straight to work at Wausau Paper in Brokaw. Many were still there in 2012, almost 40 years later when the paper mill shut down operations at the Brokaw Mill.

Due to mergers and acquisitions of large companies and changing economic climates, I think the 30 year job is gone. Your company may not exist, operations move to another state, or your job may be eliminated by technological improvements.

Other things may happen that change how long you will work for a specific company.

If my 30 year job is gone, what do I do?

If this applies to the large companies, what about the smaller ones and how can we bring that home to prepare?

What do I do to make myself viable in today’s economy?

Learn. Business or individual, keep learning and adapting. From my perspective, job seekers who get left behind are the ones who stopped learning when they got their first job.

I am not necessarily talking about formal education. Resources abound for you to learn more about anything and grow in expertise. You don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home.

Adapt. As a business owner, if I am open to new technology, I will be more successful.

At the breakfast today, the person who asked the question about the 30 year job is the IT Director of a financial ministry.

He uses the cloud as a resource for sharing information and running his programs. New alternatives for sharing information, working, and learning keep being developed.

Don’t leave out financial planning

Plan. This could easily be a topic of its own or a series. One of the big problems I see is we lost the ability to plan, formally ingrained in people.

Saving is unknown and credit is the main way of paying for things we couldn’t afford directly. Don’t do that. If you think a layoff is pending or you could lose your job, shore up your savings.

Even if you have no plans for any job change, shore up your savings. Pay down your debts. Stop spending.

Take charge of your future. Be the pilot of your future and drive your own success.

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Julie Walraven, Design Resumes

Julie Walraven

Professional Resume Writer

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