Recession-proof strategy 1: Prepare

- In sports, people like to say that a good defense is the best offense, and it's true when it comes to the economy as well. Recessions are bigger than any one person, but if you prepare for a downturn when the economy is good, you'll be ahead of the game, and you can avoid some of the biggest personal risks in a recession including loss of job, loss of income, or loss of wealth. So what does it mean to prepare for a recession? To me, there are three strategies. Get your head in the game, get hungry, and beef up your resume. The first thing you need to do is get your head in the game. This is a way to mentally prepare yourself for a downturn, even if things are good. The most basic parts of this strategy are to always keep some savings in reserve, and try not to make your biggest investments or purchases at the peak of the market. The most successful businesses don't just freak out when a recession comes and cut everything. They plan ahead, and they have downturn strategies for their revolving credit lines, capital expenditures, and the timing of potential acquisitions. As well as how they could downsize when things go south. Companies usually have their head in the game, and you need strategies like these as well. The second thing you need to do is get hungry. The early bird gets the worm. Scratch that, the early and really hungry bird gets the worm. But being hungry isn't about desperation, it's about desire and determination. How hungry do you have to be? After the 2001 recession, I went back to school and did a second master's degree, and part of a third, and while in school I interviewed for an internship at a bank, but I didn't get the gig. I kept emailing regularly to the chief economist until he finally hired me. He later told me, only half jokingly, that the reason he hired me was so that I'd stop emailing him. That's how hungry you have to be, to be rejected for a job, for a mere internship no less, but to keep checking back in. Just because the well is dry now, don't be afraid to go back to it later. In a recession, you have to work 10 times as hard to find a job. You don't have to be willing to do anything, but you have to be willing to do a lot of things. Sales people at companies don't give up selling during recessions, they just double down and push harder. When you're looking for a job, you're selling yourself and you need to double down on yourself. Push harder. The third thing you need to do is beef up your resume. Education doesn't end with formal schooling. Take continuing education classes, and if your employer offers in-house training, or there's a budget for education, jump on it. Learn a language, anything than is better than nothing. Why? Because it's the ability to learn, not just the mastery of specific skills that employers are often looking for. It's something academics call metacognition. You probably won't use Latin at a tech firm, but if you can learn Latin, you can definitely learn HTML. Especially if you're an older worker, you might need to show employers that you can still learn new skills, and that you want to. In the boom years, you need to make sure you set aside some time, effort, and money to keep building, keep growing, and keep investing in you. Companies try to build their human capital during good years and you need to do the same. Just remember, you need to get your head in the game, get hungry, and beef up your resume to be best prepared for the next recession.