http://qs1969.pair.com?node_id=749126

All the world's a very narrow bridge:
The essential thing is not to be afraid.
-- Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (18th century)

With unemployment in the US at its worst in 30 years (and the EU sure to follow soon) I thought it might be an opportune time to gather together some of the past posts on job transition. Here are a few I've found via Super Search:

Thoughts on transitions - by choice and otherwise:

Making yourself more marketable/employable:

How we see ourselves influences the way we present ourselves and search for jobs. Here are some threads that may provide food for thought:

Formal employment at a company may not be the only option. Here are some thoughts on alternatives to "yobs":

Getting a perspective on where our industry is going may also help in the job search. Recessions often rearrange the job market causing old professions to die and new ones to rise up (see Job Losses Hnt at Vast Remaking of the Economy @NY Times for a recent essay on this topic). We can't predict the future, but we may be able to make some reasonable guesses by looking back at how others read the market 5, 10 years ago and what has changed since then. So...

Whether you are looking for a job or consulting gig, here are some thoughts on handling interviews and negotiations:

Thoughts on keeping yourself busy between projects: Long job hiatuses can make one look rusty and out of date. One way to avoid this is to start a programming project of your own. Here are some threads that might help you:

And finally some thoughts about how to use PM during those down times:

What are some of the best PM threads you remember on job hunting, dealing with job loss, retraining, career development and learning Perl? Are there some particularly astute non-PM posts on the topic that you would like to share?

Best, beth

Note: there are a lot of links here - please message me if you notice any broken ones, I'll try to fix it promptly. Thanks, in advance.