Strategies to use in a recession

- Not many people get burned by a recession and become an economist to better manage it the next time around, but that's exactly what I did after the recession in 2001. I finished graduate school and walked right into a recession. I wasn't an economist at the time, but my career was hurt by the economy. So I vowed to become an economist to be able to see the next recession coming, so that the next time I could be recession-proof. By the time of the great recession of 2007 and 2009, I was an economist working in an investment bank and I was prepared. I used a number of different strategies to face the recession head on and in devising your own plan to face recession, there are six chess moves you can make. Let's do a brief overview of these strategies. First is to prepare. You need to get your head in the game. Get hunger and anticipate the next recession. Build your resume and ask yourself what you're willing to do when the chips are down and what you're not willing to do. You're watching this video, so you've already taken a great first step towards preparing. The second strategy is to dig in. You need to do everything possible to stay in your current job, company, or industry and that means clinging on and being an indispensable employee who keeps their job even when other people in the same situation are losing theirs. This strategy is best for individuals who aren't able to change their life situations easily. The third strategy is to hide. Here you take refuge from a recession either by staying in school or going back to school until the economy is looking up or by finding a safe haven job in a recession-proof industry. It's easiest to go back to school if you're young, but really anyone can do it at any time. I completed my most recent degree when I was 39. As for finding a job in a recession-proof industry, that will depend on your skill set. If you have training and education, healthcare, and government, hunkering down in those sectors might be a good option. The fourth strategy is to run. This is physically relocating to a geographical location where prospects are better. It can also mean pivoting out of an industry or a company that's going down the tubes. If you were a horse and buggy salesmen in the 1920s, you might of wanted to run to a car sales job instead. This is about focusing on what you're running toward, not what you're running away from. Moving physically is easiest if you're unencumbered. The fifth strategy is to build, and there are two things you can build to make yourself recession-proof. Your professional skill set or your own business. Everyone can build their skills, as for building a business, it's generally best for someone with a long runway. The amount of time you can afford to spend building your business before it turns a profit. People with long runways tend to either have a spouse who makes a steady income or they might have a chunk of money in the bank that they can afford to lose or they have various assets that they can sell off to finance their entrepreneurial adventure. The sixth and final strategy is to invest. You can put money into an existing business to grow it. Help pay for your kid's education or invest very carefully in the stock market. It doesn't mean buying and selling individual stocks unless you really know what you're doing, and anyone with kids should absolutely be investing in their children's education, not just for their kid's sake, but potentially for their own as well since you might depend on them when you're older. These six chess moves can keep you on the board when the economy slows and the right strategy for you may be a mix of them, not just one.