Sino Hero Foods Ltd

With the global stock markets on a huge upswing and commodities hitting highs again lead by gold, it seems all is once again well with the global economy and the severe recession (depression ?)of the last 15 months looks like a bad dream from the very distant past. Investment Banks are back to paying record bonuses and have started hiring again. So all seems well indeed.... or really is it ?

As last weeks debt based implosion in Dubai proved, we are clearly not out of the woods yet. In fact if anything, we have managed to put several rounds of band aid in what is essentially a large wound. The credit binge of the past decade will take a while to work off and we will see more Ireland, Iceland and Dubai style blowups.

Hidden in all the hoopla of the huge' recovery' in  financial markets worldwide is the story of the massive damage to the middle class. In the USA, the ' American dream' of howm ownership has turned to the curse of negative equity with households owing much more than their homes are worth. In Dubai, not paying off debts in time is punishable by a jail sentence, Icelanders cant even have Mcdonalds burgers now that the burger chain is withdrawing form Iceland in the aftermath of the crisis, Hong Kong youth unemployment is in high double digits and in India the middle class home buyers face delays of over 2-5 years on property they have paid for as developers are cash strapped and hence delayed projects across the board.

With USA  middle class households stuck with their unpaid mortgages, they cannot afford to move out even if they found jobs in another state leading to reduced labour mobility which was always a big strength for the US economy. No wonder the jobless rate remains stubbornly in double digits at over 10 % but in reality some economists estimate that the real rate of unemployment and underemployment is over 17.5 %. It is not uncommon to hear of stories of  highly qualified ex- managers now working on hourly wages in retail and convenience stores to eke out a living or just put food on the table. Just the other day, a friend of mine was asked for a loan of USD500 from a seemingly well off acquaintance who lives in a flash house in a upscale neighbourhood but has been without a job for 18 months ! In fact we put an advertisement last week for a junior administration assistant and within half an hour of the advert going on line, we had 155 resumes ! What was more eye opening was the demographic range of the  group from 22 years fresh graduates from good universities and good academic backgrounds to candidates in the late fourties with over 25 years work experience behind them ! If ever we think getting a job is hard, lets face it giving a job in this market is a very hard task too with such good candidates and such stories that the resumes do not tell of the personal and professional upheaval some of the candidates have gone through is the past 18 months.

The bad news in all this is that it will not get much better either on the job front for three reasons

1. As the economic downturn lasts longer, more candidates join the job market and hence the backlog increases.

2. Some of the jobs created in the bubble economy of the past decade should never have existed and will probably not be back in a long time.

3. Since household wealth has taken such a massive hit, spending and hence growth will be muted for a long time and hence fewer jobs at least for the educated middle class.

So what can one do ? Having discussed with quite a few people, one theme emerged as a likely answer, however cliched it sounds. Keep an open mind and force yourself to accept the new reality as this time maybe it really is different and not in quite the way you would ideally wish for. I am personally not a huge fan of what is called ' Eduscam' or 'lifelong learning' which is where the majority of middle class feel they have been cheated.Having spoken to and hired quite a few brilliant young graduates of top universities, I see the ' social contract' shattered all too often that study hard, work diligently and be honest and one will move up in life just doesnt work in this environment. But keeping an open mind is essential as one needs to acquire a new mindset and maybe new revelant skills to come back in the game. It is not uncommon  to observe that some older  and long term employed staff who have now been laid off may not have polished the job search or networking skills to be able to launch and effective ' back to job market' campaign. This will have to change.

Similiarly and even more challenging is a career change may be called for or even absolutely essential. Are the skills one acquired over the years transferrable or can one add value and present them in a more marketable or growing area of employment? A laid off investment analyst friend of mine launched an Investor relations (IR) firm with some other collegues and is doing well since he can still use  his skill set and contacts in an area that is growing and has strong demand. Another friend who lost her job in finance has become a senior financial journalist. Another has become a teacher while a laid off property sales professional has started his business offering professional property and security management services demand for which is growing in light of the great number of foreclosures and security issues associated with empty homes. A businessman friend of mine whose venture collapsed in the downturn has even managed to take up a consultancy role with a former competitor and seems to be managing well.

Also sometimes its OK to question the conventional wisdom. Don't go insane sending thousands of resumes and taking rejections personally. Some resumes are now auto screened by software and can produce pretty random results. So dont be too hard on yourself if nothing shows up and maybe give it a rest for few days or weeks to get yourself together. Beware of too many' paid networking' events too where people peddle ' false hope' or network marketing type schemes of dubious commercial value. But do consider taking up some part time job or hobby or volunteer work to keep productively occupied so you have other things on your mind than the dreaded job search. Sometimes escape from reality is OK too to escape a constant negative loop. Do search for smaller companies in your neighbourhood and try contact them as sometimes smaller companies are more in need of skill sets that professionals might have like graphic design capabilities, advertising support, on line marketing, website design and even industrywide contacts that they could be able to budget a little for that extra assistance.

Finally, stay in touch with people and do not become a recluse ! It is hard keeping a cheerful front and it need not be superficially upbeat as people understand the hardships others are facing. So keep an open mind in meeting people you know  (and new ones too) and share truthfully your experiences and show empathy for their circumstances and  be open to offer and also receive advise when suitable and appropriate. Sometimes just listening or being heard is all it takes to spark that idea that allows you to think outside the box and plan the big comeback. All the best !