Earlier in the week I read an article in DutchNews.nl which talked about how the number of jobs in the financial services sector in Amsterdam has dropped by 18.5% since the start of the financial crisis five years ago. You can read the full article here but it makes for fairly depressing reading if you are considering a job in the financial sector.
It seems to be the same all over Europe and not just in the financial sector; I was speaking to a Spanish friend today who was telling me how bad things are in Spain at the moment and how few jobs there are due to the crisis.
So, with fewer jobs out there and more people struggling to find work, what are the options open to you?
Here are two possibilities:
- Dust down your old CV and spend time reviewing and revising it, then make sure you tailor it for every application so that it makes you stand out from all the other candidates and gets you an interview. Know your strengths and learn how to really sell yourself. Get someone to help you – as a minimum ask a friend to at least review your CV for any errors or typing mistakes that you may have missed. You can also contact me to have your CV reviewed, anne@power-to-change.eu
- Start up your own business – I was at a small business networking event last night (Amsterdam Small Business Network) and was surprised to find that many of the people I spoke to had started their own business after being made redundant and finding it very hard to get another job. The great thing was that the majority of the people I spoke to had got over the set back of being made redundant and were viewing it now as an opportunity to go and do something else, something they’d always wanted to do but had not, until now, felt confident enough to do. They weren’t saying that it was easy but none of them were afraid of hard work and because of the networking group, they didn’t feel alone as there was always someone they could ask for help and advice.
If you choose either of the above options, I would recommend that you find a good networking group; one that has lots of like minded people with a positive attitude who you can share your knowledge with and who you can turn to for support.
And if you have a third option that might help someone struggling to get a job, please share it below.
