Who all read the article in the Dutch News yesterday: Economic growth at a standstill until 2014, says central bank
“The Dutch economy is unlikely to improve over the next two years, with house prices and wages continuing to fall and unemployment rising, the Dutch central bank said in a report on Monday.
The economy is weak because household spending continues to fall and there will be a further 4% fall in disposable income by the end of 2013.
The central bank expects house prices to continue falling until sometime in 2014. This will depress spending and growth and the downward spiral will not stop until then.
Unemployment will increase over the three years and reach 6.4% of the population, compared with 4.4% in 2011.”
( Just click on the link to read the full article)http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2012/06/economic_growth_at_a_standstil.php
So you are looking for a new job and you read the above; doesn’t it just make you want to crawl back under the duvet and hibernate until things start to pick up?
Obviously, tempting as it may be, that can’t happen in reality so just what are you going to do?
It’s time to start investing in yourself!
If unemployment is going to increase as much as they say then the competition for jobs is going to get even tougher so you really will need to know how to sell yourself both on a CV and at interviews and that’s where my How to Sell Yourself & Get the Job You Want programme comes in. I can guarantee that by following this programme you will be in a far better position to confidently talk about yourself, your strengths and your achievements and the feedback from my clients confirms this. However, I am always on the lookout for new ways to help my clients and today I spent the morning with Elisabeth from Dress to Impress (www.dtoi.nl) and boy does she know her stuff!
Before I met her I prepared myself for being told off (in the direct manner that the Dutch are known for!) for wearing all the wrong clothes – I couldn’t have been more off the mark. After talking with Elisabeth it was clear that she knew what people should wear in order to look good and of course looking good immediately boosts your confidence – just what you need when going in to that interview. What was also important for me is that she made it clear that at Dress to Impress they believe it is also important for people to keep their individuality which is also important if you want to stand out above the other candidates.
At the same time, with unemployment at the level it is, more and more people are starting their own businesses but these are tough times and it can be difficult to convince people that they should buy your products or services especially when their salaries aren’t increasing. This is when you must be able to brand yourself as well as your products/services (see https://power-to-change.eu/business/how-to-get-more-clients/ for more information) so that you can be seen as the expert in your field and the person to buy from and to do this you have to be able to look the part and again the ladies from Dress to Impress know exactly how to help you with this.
So why should you pay someone to tell you what to wear when you have a wardrobe full of clothes? The great thing is that they don’t tell you what to wear; they suggest what is right for you and then it is up to you what you buy and the chances are that many of the items in your wardrobe were purchased on a whim and you have hardly wore them which definitely is a waste of your hard earned salary!
Now is definately the time to start being proactive and invest in yourself so that you get the job you want or the stream of clients you deserve.
