creative-solutionsCreative Employment Solutions

Here are some creative and outside-the-box solutions you might want to consider.

1. Switch industries

Do you know which industries are hot where you live now? And where is your passion ... the industry you prefer? Check our Targeting Tools. This will give you a good head start!

Then, learn all you can about that industry as quickly as possible, and recast your credentials to show your transferrable skills. If you need experience in the industry, try volunteering.

2. Relocate inside the U.S.

Sometimes the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence.

For example, Williston, ND has grown 79% in the last 4 years and added more than 26,000 jobs. Dickinson, ND has grown 26% and added 18,000 jobs. Unemployment was 1% in Williston and 1.8% in Dickinson as of August 2011. It appears that if you can "fog a mirror" you can get hired on the spot in either place! However, there's a long waiting list for hotel rooms, apartments and houses. 

To find other growing areas, use our Targeting Tools. 

3. Relocate outside the U.S.

There are 48 countries with unemployment rates lower than the United States (as of 10/30/2011). Of these 48, 6 have unemployment rates below 3%, including Thailand, Qatar, Singapore, Vietnam, Switzerland, and Norway. The website Trading Economics has unemployment rates from around the world, plus many more indicators that might help you decide.

You'll need to do your homework before you move - for example Visa requirements. And, you may want to approach American companies specifically about their opportunities overseas. Many of these will be hidden jobs, just like they are here.

CNN ran an article titled No jobs in the U.S.? I'm moving! After getting fed up with the sluggish U.S. economy, these job seekers tell their stories about trying their luck elsewhere. There may be some jewels in this article that help you find additional options.

The Sydney Morning Herald ran a story Australia needs skilled workers not more university graduates. At the time, their unemployment rate was 5.8%. In the first half of 2011 it had dropped to below 5%. Maybe they still need skilled workers ... might be worth pursuing.

4. Start your own business

Have you thought about consulting? Check our Solo Consulting page.

Or, get creative on your own.

In September 2011, CNN posted an article From unemployment to startup. Unemployment, job dissatisfaction and sheer guts created startup success for these eight entrepreneurs. Their examples include:

  1. Take this job and shove it. (about entrepreneurship)
  2. Start at the bottom? Yeah, right. (web videos for companies)
  3. Diamonds are a guy's best friend (low-cost wedding rings)
  4. When speeding tickets pay (provides help to get your speeding tickets dropped)
  5. More than a cushy title (names new products and brands, Sony, GM)
  6. Being your own boss again and again (members swap ebooks)
  7. Showing app-titude (develops mobile applications for various companies)
  8. The recession: Bring it on! (create your own job)

In September 2011, CNN posted an article Doing it for themselves. Meet 10 female founders - and one mentor - who are passionate, ambitious, and on a quest to create the next great company.

In October 2011, CNN posted an article Starting a business in a downturn -- crazy or genius? For bootstrapping entrepreneurs who do their homework, 2012 could spell opportunity.

On October 22, 2011, CNN posted an article Hot spots for new business, new jobs. Interestingly, 10 days earlier we sent out our notice on the Hot spots for jobs. (What a coincidence!)

In June 2009, CNN posted an article 6 companies born during downturns. Think a recession is a bad time to start a company? Imagine if the founders of these major corporations had thought the same. They cover P&G, IBM, GE, GM, United Technologies, FedEx. Maybe it's your turn.

Bloomberg Business Week posted an article about the 8 Inventions from the Great Depression. They include the electric razor, car radio, supermarkets, Tampax, chocolate chip cookies, Laundromats, the Monopoly game, and Xerox. Maybe this will spark your creative genius.

Need cash fast? This is a "crappy" job, but Pooper Scoopers can make $60 per hour ($100k+ per year) and you can start work right away almost anywhere. And you can own your own business with very little startup capital! here's how

Here are some stories we've seen that might inspire you:

Stories we’ve heard:

  1. Two women buy cloths from Nordstrom Rack and re-sell them on EBay. They grew so quickly, they bought the house next door to hold their inventory.
  2. Seamstress buys clothes from Goodwill, touches them up to make them more modern, and resells them on EBay.
  3. Some in China will pay an American $30 per hour just to talk to them on the telephone, so they can improve their conversational skills in English.

The point is, there are a wide variety of businesses you can start on your own.

The take-away

You have many choices, from your own back yard, to around the world.

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