Bonus Episode: Roughing Out a Job Loss Survival Plan

In this bonus episode, I want to tackle the question: if I lost my job, what would my first step be?

Key topics:

✔️ Disclaimer here: this is not advice. I cannot tell you what to do and each person listening to this episode will have a different set of circumstances. This is for your entertainment only.
✔️ Would I count solely on recruiters or staffing agencies to help me out? Nope.
✔️ Would I assume that every "success story" I see online about weird side hustles that turned into million-dollar enterprises will naturally happen for me, too? Nope.
✔️ There is often a gap between the loss of one job and the start of another. I would want to devise a plan for how best to fill that gap. And I wouldn't personally do that with hot air, nonsense, and unicorn toots. 🦄💨


Links I mention in this episode:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1125110/10858972

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/21/swimply-side-hustle-making-money-renting-backyard-pool-to-strangers.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07SvHeo8ozs

https://michigan-post.com/the-us-job-market-is-a-contradiction/


Need more? Email me: https://causeyconsultingllc.com/contact-causey/

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Transcript

0:15

Welcome to the Causey Consulting Podcast. You can find us online anytime at CauseyConsultingLLC.com. And now, here's your host, Sara Causey. Hello, hello. And thanks for tuning in. I wanted to record a bonus episode about trying to rough out a game plan in the event of a job loss. In the last Saturday broadcast, one of the things that I talked about was how I needed to do a separate episode about that exact topic. And I've had multiple people who have written into me to say, well, I know that I need to get some kind of game plan put together. But I don't exactly know how to handle that. I really don't know what my first phone call would be. I really don't know how I would handle a job loss right now. And as you know, I like to quote GI Joe knowing is half the battle. So I would really commend everybody who's already thinking about this scenario, in my opinion, you're at least one step ahead of John or Jane Q Public that's just walking around with their head in the clouds like labor shortage, labor shortage, inflation is transitory, everybody is doing great. People are flush with cash, or still yet one of my favorites, people got stimulus checks back in 2020. And so they're all living in grandma's basement. And it's like that is a lot of people living in grandma's basement doing nothing and just opting out of the economy. But I digress. So I'll get my boilerplate out of the way early here. This is not advice of any kind. I cannot and will not give you advice. There is no way for me to know the individual situation of everyone listening to this broadcast, or even when this broadcast may reach you. There are listeners literally from all over the globe. So I don't know what country you're in what continent you're on, and what your individual situation might be like. I cannot and will not give you advice. This should not be taken as advice of any kind. It is me opining and talking for your entertainment only. And that's it. So if it were me, let's just pretend that I am completely by myself. I am staring at the wall and I'm opining out loud. Maybe you are somehow a fly on that wall and you're watching me have a conversation with the wall? If it were me, there are certain things that I personally would do and certain things that I would not do. Me personally. For starters, I think it's just important to merely contemplate the question, okay, in the event of a layoff in the event of a job loss in the event that the entire company closed down and everyone there got a pink slip all on the same day? How would I handle that? What would I do? I know for most people, the very first thing is going to be well, I have to call my person, spouse, partner, parent, best friend and let the emotions out. Totally understand. After you have made that call to your person, what would the next phone call be in terms of finding another job in terms of trying to become employed again, as soon as possible to avoid a serious interruption in personal finances? Where would that first phone call be? If it were me, I would not put all of my eggs in the basket of recruiters and staffing agencies. Yes, I know I'm opening myself up for a lot of rotten tomatoes. And as you're sitting there as the fly on the wall listening to me talk to the wall by myself. You might be wondering, well, you're in HR and staffing and recruiting. So what gives why why would you talking to yourself and giving yourself this information? Why would you say that? For one thing, in my opinion, that strategy is going to be the go to strategy for a lot of people. In other words, that strategy is going to become quite crowded quite fast. In my opinion. I remember when I was new to the industry, meeting with Pete Leffkowitz who if you're not familiar with him, he's one of the OGs of the staffing world. And one of the things that he has taught for years and years is watch what the crowd is doing and move in the opposite direction. In my opinion, that is very sound advice, not just in the business world, but also for life in general. Sometimes the herd might be driving themselves off of a cliff and the strategy and the mentality Have you heard might not be the right strategy for me. So if I were sitting here staring at the wall opining out loud, I would say, you know Self, I don't think that relying on recruiters and headhunters and staffing agencies to rustle me up another job real quick is probably the greatest idea. In my opinion, I predict that we will see no small number of people doing exactly that. They are going to feel like okay, well, I had dozens upon dozens of recruiters and staffing agencies that reached out to me during the Great resignation and tried to woo me into some kind of job. I was probably a jerk to them. At that point in time, maybe I ghosted them, maybe I was rude. Maybe I strung them along and thought it was funny. But now that I'm in dire straits, and I want help, then I'm gonna go ahead and reach back out to those dozens upon dozens of recruiters and assume that they're going to be able to find work for me fast. If it were me, I would not bet the farm on that. To pull the curtain back for you. I have already had people that I reached out to in 2021. Or earlier this year, coming back saying, Hey, I know I ghosted you, or hey, I know that I wasn't interested. And I acted kind of snooty to you earlier. But hey, could I still be considered or hey, is this job still open by any chance? And it's like, no, a job that was open last year, is not still available, it's been filled. If you were interested in it, then instead of, in my opinion, acting like a jerk, or being a ghost, and thinking that the great resignation was gonna last forever, and you could just treat people some type of way, and the band would never stop playing, you might should have made different provisions. The fact of the matter is we have to look at basic supply and demand. When there are fewer jobs available periodic out in the market. That naturally means that staffing agencies and recruiters are going to have less jobs that they can pitch. It also means that there will be stiffer competition for whatever jobs are available. And my guess is if a company is willing to pay a staffing agency or recruiter potentially a fee for talent, they are going to be super picky, super picky. So if it were me, if I had been rude to someone, if I had ghosted them, if I had taken an attitude, like my poopoo didn't stink, I don't believe that my first course of action would be to go back to that staffing agency or to go back to that recruiter and say, hey, hey, oh, buddy, old pal. Is there any way that you could hook me up with a job? Now? I know that I didn't want to hear from you. And I didn't act very nice back in 2021. But you know, things are different now. And I need just so could you kind of like help me out. If it were me, that would not be the first phone call that I would make personally after a job loss. Relying on agencies and recruiters would not be my personal first strategy. One thing that I personally would do is look at my network people close to me individuals where there is already a high no like and trust factor. I myself would not as a first step start approaching randos. Somebody on LinkedIn I've never met I've never spoken with, they really don't know me from Adam. No, no, no, that's not what I would do. I would reach out to individuals, close people who are within the circle of trust, let's say, where there's already a rapport established, they already know me, they know my work ethic. They know the quality of what I deliver, and they can speak from direct experience about What sets me apart from everyone else in a crowded industry. Why have I made it all of these years when so many other people have washed out? What is it about me, that sets me apart from the average Joe or Jane Q Public out on the street? That would be for me personally, the very first thing that I would do. Now, with that being said, there are no guarantees in life. So there is no guarantee that people in that immediate circle of trust where there's already a high know, like and trust factor will be able to help. They could be in the same boat as me. The companies that they're working for companies that they own, they may be on a hiring freeze, there may not be anything available. So Will I myself would also not put all of my eggs in that basket either. Oh, well, my uncle will help me out, oh, Nate, my neighbor down the street really likes me and he owns a company, I'm sure he could hook me up. We want to be really careful, in my opinion, of putting all of our eggs in any one particular basket. If we have some type of personal financial crisis, a job loss, we didn't see coming, sudden company shut down where everybody floods the market at the same time. I think it's savvy. And what I would do is not put all of my eggs in any one particular basket. Because the individuals in my circle of trust that would be my go to place first may not be able to help me. Back on June 30, when I published my episode called job market predictions. One of the things that I said was, I would not be surprised to see an influx of people using the gig economy, not so much because they want to, but because they feel like they have to, in order to make ends meet. This is another potential situation where the market could get flooded. It could happen slowly, or it could happen quickly. We really just don't know yet. So another thing that me personally, I would consider is what could I potentially do to help bridge the gap financially, if I needed to go from a full time w two job with benefits that I lost, and bridge the gap until I could land another full time w two job with benefits? What are some potential things that I could do to make ends meet in the meantime, and understanding that the gig economy may be pretty crowded, there may be competition for jobs, that historically maybe there hasn't been so much competition for, there may be more competition to do things like deliver pizzas DoorDash personal shopper grocery delivery, working in fast food or retail, doing gin labor, showing up at a factory or a facility and saying yes, I'm willing to be the custodian or I will push a broom, I will do whatever needs to be done on the shop floor for whatever shift you want me to show up for until I can find something full time permanent, there may be more competition for those types of jobs. And I would expect again, okay, I'm not a psychic. I'm not Nostradamus, so I don't know for sure, I would expect that we will see a definite influx of white collar and knowledge workers showing up on freelancing websites. This is another place where I'll pull the curtain back. I'm already seeing it on some of the websites were a position that got posted last year during the throes of the great resignation. And they might might have had five proposals at most, you know, the majority of people would have been like, no, no, I'm not going to do that for that amount of money. That's, that's silly. Look at you silly billy. Now, some of those same types of proposals where they're wanting magic person, you walk on water for pennies on the dollar, some of those postings are getting 20 to 50 submittals. To me, that's crazy. That already tells me that some poopoo has hit the fan. So I myself as part of my game plan, I would not say, Okay, I'm going to put all of my eggs in this freelancing basket either. Because some of the places where it has been relatively easy to pick up work, if you just needed to find a project quickly or freelancing gig quickly to help make ends meet, Hey, I just want to drive for rideshare service for two or three weeks to help get by pick up something on a freelancing website and worked on it for two or three weeks or bid something that's just a one time one off thing. Those types of gig positions may have more competition for them than you think. So if you haven't in the back of your mind, that okay, I'll just show up and put an application in and probably get hired the same day. If it were me, I would want to consider the possibility of what if it didn't work out that way. What if I couldn't show up to a work today get paid today type of place and actually get work for that day? What would I do then? If it were me, I would also personally be leery of anything that seemed too good to be true. Or anything where there were huge promises and it sounded like it might be kind of scammy whether it's someone telling you that they can make you an overnight celebrity, or if you pay their fee, of course they're gonna they're gonna blow you up on the interwebs or they're gonna give you a secret about how to become the next crypto currency billionaire. I would be weary of anything where it's like, this kind of sounds too good to be true. I also just my opinion, and I could be wrong. But I would also be leery of any news outlet, any social media platform telling you that there are just tons of ways that you can get rich quick, you can start a side hustle that sounds completely absurd and just make money hand over fist. Okay. Okay. One of the things that I would remind myself of, I would say self, you know, the people that typically make the news the people that typically get stories shared about them on social media are the ones who made it. We don't hear about the hundreds of people who tried something and failed. We hear about the people who actually made it. I'll give you a for instance. And everything I'm about to say is my opinion only. And that's it. As Dennis Miller has always said it is only my opinion and I could be wrong. In my opinion, there's a bit of clickbait, over on CNBC under their side hustles category. And the headline is this 57 year olds lucrative side hustle, earning $177,000 renting out his backyard pool to strangers. I will drop a link to it of course, so you can read this for yourself. And I'll read a little bit of it for you here. When Jim batten spent $110,000, building a luxury pool outside his home in West Linn, Oregon in 2012. He knew he was making an investment. I would say he couldn't have known that 10 years later, he'd earn more than enough to pay it off by renting it out to strangers on the internet. Baton says that since September 2020 his pool has hosted roughly 9000 swimmers through a platform called swim bli which dubs itself the Airbnb of swimming pools. The result according to documents reviewed by CNBC make it $177,000 in revenue in less than two years. Baton says the experience isn't for everyone. Hosting a rentable pool isn't as simple as laying out fresh towels between visits. He says he's paid roughly$37,000 on maintenance over the past decade. For the 26 foot by 18 foot pool along with its pool house from cleaning and testing the waters chemicals to managing all the bookings baton estimates he and his wife Lisa, spend roughly 12 to 14 hours per week on their side hustle and quote, if we scroll down, we find his comment. I love the income. But I generally caution people away from it that and says unless you're retired or don't have a day job, it takes a lot of time to learn about pool chemistry and management. It's not good enough to just rely on a once a week service to come out and look at your stuff. I look at my pool chemicals probably five to 10 times a day. And underneath the picture of Jim and his wife we read Jim batten pictured with his wife Lisa says he loves the income from hosting a pool on swiftly despite its increasing competition and quote, yeah, wow, okay. Where do we even begin? So adjusted for inflation? You know, this, this person spent $110,000 back in 2012. That's been 10 years ago. How much would it cost to duplicate that pool in today's inflationary economy? Are you going to spend that kind of money to put in a luxury pool and then rent it out on swimmingly as a side hustle? And assuming he has neighbors? I don't know. Maybe he's off in some rural area completely by himself. And people are willing to make a long drive out to use a luxury pool? I don't know. But if he's in a neighborhood, how do the neighbors feel about all of these randos showing up to use a pool for an afternoon? I mean, I don't know that I would feel very great about that. About three weeks ago, Orlando miner published a video called Airbnb just died massive recession mistake. I'll drop a link to it so that you can watch it for yourself. And one of the things that he talks about in that video are Airbnb parties. And he talks about people throwing these parties at Airbnb houses, getting into fights violence, breaking out people getting shot, the cops getting called and how neighborhoods are just fed the hell up with this kind of behavior. They're tired of randos who do not care anything about the houses and the properties trouncing in and out having loud parties getting into fights and altercations people getting shot. I mean, that's scary. bullets don't have names on them. If a fight breaks out with a bunch of drunken gay, who's at a party, you could get killed. What if your child got shot? I mean, to me, this is lunacy. So I myself would not want randos just shuffling in and out to use somebody's swimming pool. Maybe that's just me. Okay. Maybe I'm an I'm an old stick in the mud. But I wouldn't feel super comfortable with that. So what's the point that I'm making here? Well, to return back to me staring at the wall opining for myself only, you know, I would say self, I need to be really aware of clickbait titles and articles on the interwebs. Because people make it sound like starting a side hustle and just making buku bucks overnight is easy as hell. These clickbait articles and videos just make it sound like anybody and their dog and their uncle, and their mom's cousins, brother can show up with a red hot idea and get paid for it overnight. I myself would be skeptical that that is a strategy I would want to employ to try to make it through a job loss and subsequent financial crisis. If it were me, that's not the direction that I personally would choose to go in. I personally would reach out to individuals in that circle of trust where the know like and trust factor has already been established, to see if there was anybody in that network who had the time and the ability to help me out do Are they hiring? Do they know anybody who is could they put in a good word for me that might help me to get a leg up over the competition, I would look in earnest for possible gaps in the market. Is there some unique talent or service or ability I have that's under represented in the market. Now I saw a post the other day on social media. And it was, in my opinion, total example of social media pandering because this person had posted it on social media that you should not care. If you want to get involved in a saturated market, you should not care about your competition. If you just do power of positive thinking, that's enough to see you through and I thought I myself, if it were me, I would try to utilize really good critical thinking and a solid BS filter, I myself would not try to go into a saturated overly crowded market and then hope that people just automatically saw my value and automatically saw how I'm so different from everybody else that's already in a clogged up market. If it were me, I personally would try to look for gaps in the market, I would try to look for a place where there's an under representation of what I have to offer, not an over representation of what I have to offer. I've heard it said before in the business world, that is a wise idea to look for where there's already a market to look for where there's already an audience to look for where there's already a need. So instead of coming up with a product or service that potentially no one wants, or potentially no one needs and then trying to gin up interest for it. And hoping it it makes look for where there already is a customer base instead of trying to invent one look for one that already exists. So that's another strategy that I myself personally only speaking for myself would employ Where is there an under representation of what I have to offer in the market? And where is there already a receptive audience of people with money to spend even in an economic downturn that I can market my services or my products to? I personally would steer clear of clickbait articles and titles. And I would also steer clear of anything that seems like it's too good to be true. overnight success. If you pay me 1000s of dollars, I'll make you a celebrity. If you pay me 1000s of dollars, then I'll teach you how to do X, Y and Z and become a cryptocurrency billionaire within a month. I personally would avoid strategies like that. I would not put all of my eggs in any one particular basket and I definitely would not utilize my first phone call to start trying to drum up interest from staffing agencies and recruiters, especially if I had been tacky and rude to them during the Great resignation. I would not rely solely on the power of positive thinking and hopes and dreams and unicorns and roses and sunshine to help me whether a job loss and a subsequent financial pinch at home. From a mindset perspective, I absolutely believe that attitude is crucial. I do think it's important to do daily affirmations and to say Come What May I'm going to survive. I am going to come out of this on the other side in good condition. I'm going to make it through whatever this is recession stagflation Come what may I am going to not only survive I am going to thrive. All of that is important. It just can't be the only thing that you're doing. When we think about things like faith and works, yes, you have to have faith and you also have to have the works to, would you lay down on a train track with an oncoming train barreling towards you and say, You know what I think through the power of positive thinking alone, I am going to stop this oncoming freight train. I myself would not, I believe that I would want to utilize common sense. If you are going to start your own business or your own freelancing gig that you want to mature into a business that you own and operate for yourself. That's all admirable. And I am not again, I'm not giving advice. I'm not telling you to do that or not to do that. Speaking for myself, and my own experience, you're going to need time to do your testing and your beta testing, you're going to have to see if this idea that you have is going to sprout is it going to germinate? Is it going to bear any fruit? Does it work for a short time and then it fizzles. You're going to need the time and the money and the runway to do that testing and beta testing. And if it were me and I were in a crisis situation, and I needed money immediately, then I don't think that I would want to take the time to test and beta test an idea. And then maybe it works out maybe it doesn't, I think I would want to go as quickly as possible to a sure thing, so that I had money coming in, we could make rent or the mortgage payment, I can make the car payment, the kids would be fed, nobody would be going hungry or living out on the street. I wouldn't want to do alchemical experiments in the middle of a crisis. That's just me personally. I was interviewed recently by the Michigan post to talk about this weird, contradictory job market here in the US. And I'm going to read the last paragraph of that interview for you here. Preparation and paying attention. The question was asked what suggestions do you have about not being caught off guard by a layoff or a company shut down? And here's my response to them, preparation and paying attention? To me those things are the ultimate bottom line. Do you know if the company you work for is in good shape financially? If not, can you conduct research to find out? Do you feel like your role is integral to the company? Or are there 10 other people on staff who do the same thing? Are you in an industry considered essential? Is your industry growing or shrinking? These are important things to consider to at least give yourself an important heads up as we weather this transitional period. Folks, I believe that we're in a weird transitional period of time. The great resignation is coming to an end whether John Q Public Jane Q Public wants to admit that or not the great resignation is coming to an end. Inflation I do not believe is transitory. I personally think that we're already in a recession. What comes next? I do not know. I do not know. But I really do not want anybody to be caught off guard. As I've said before, historically, unemployment has the tendency to shoot up quickly but be slow to abate. And I think it's important to have some kind of game plan roughed out for yourself and your family so that you know that you know that you know, you can survive. Can't give advice to anybody can only opine for your entertainment only. I hope that you have found this entertaining. In the meantime, stay safe, stay sane, and I'll see in the next episode. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. If you haven't already, please take a quick second to subscribe to this podcast and share it with your friends. Thanks for tuning in. We'll see you next time.