Gaining an advantage in a recession

THE CURRENT SITUATION
The current (2009) global economic position isn't too flash. With many countries in or nearing recession, companies are more likely to downsize and people are more likely to lose their job. Increasing your skill base not only improves your chances of keeping your current job, but it also improves your competitiveness if you look for another job. Recruiters are known to be pickier in times of recession and maximising your skills and knowledge can help you stand out of the crowd.
If you currently have a job you like you should be happy because many people wish they could say the same thing. If you are concerned about the real possibility of losing that job, reading up on the following topics will put you in a better position to hold onto your job.
On the other hand, if you are unfortunate enough to have lost a job already, don't let it get you down. Read up on these topics to help you stand out of the crowd when looking for a new job.

WHAT TO LEARN
For those who are looking at improving their skills and knowledge to gain an edge in the business world, I recommend learning the following topics.

1. Negotiation
It doesn't matter what type of job you have or want, you will need to know how to negotiate. People have a common misconception about negotiating, thinking it is only for union leaders or board room meetings. In fact, it is an everyday skill that everybody uses without even realising it. By reading up on this skill, you will not only have more control of your current situation, but you will have more control over your future situation. This is number one on the list because of the positive impact it can have on your career. It’s not just used to ask for a raise, it can be used to get more favourable hours, flexibility, increase possibility for promotion, etc.

2. Communication
Look at almost any job advertisement and under the list of skills required will almost definitely be 'good communication skills'. It is so important and yet, many people don't even bother to learn about it. Even reading one book on the subject puts you above the majority. So find a book on the topic and read about it. Then go out there and apply the information you have read. Recruiters put a very high emphasis on communication skills.

3. Body language
Most people either don't have a clue what body language is or they have an extremely limited understanding of it. This is why it is so important to learn. If you learn about body language, you will have a clear advantage over most people. Body language is the non-verbal language everybody uses without realising it. You can accurately read other people's signals and gestures to determine their thoughts and feelings. This is great for most jobs when you work with other people. Reading other people's body language can help you a great deal.

4. Business basics such as accounting, economics, management, marketing
Even having a basic understanding of these areas can put you at an advantage. Most people are happy with their limited understanding and don't care about learning other areas. Those who learn even the basics of other business areas have an advantage. If you have ever heard somebody use jargon and you were left scratching your head over it, you should learn more about the area. Not only will it make your life easier by understanding more, but other people will recognise and value your wide understanding.

5. Personal finance
This topic is more for your own personal needs rather than career need. Having a better understanding of personal finance can help you improve your situation so a recession won't have as much of an impact on you. Unfortunately for many, the recession has already hit hard. In either case by learning more on personal finance you are improving your future prospects. If you know the basics you should continue your learning by reading up on more advanced areas. Doesn't matter what your current situation is, you can improve your situation through learning. Even if you have a financial planner you go to, you should still read up on it. You may even find out that the principles are so basic you can do it yourself without any help from a financial planner.

THE FUTURE SITUATION
By reading up on these topics you put yourself in a better position for the future. If you read up on the basics of economics, you will find out that recessions (like the current one) will end. When the recession ends you will be better prepared for the next expansion (opposite of recession) and be at an advantage when looking to improve your career. While I can't guarantee that learning about these topics will be enough to get you a new job or keep your existing one, I am sure that it will help you to do so. Just remember, the more you learn the luckier you get.

Have a look at List of Book Reviews to find books I have reviewed on the topics above. If you can think of any other topics that are useful to gaining an advantage in a recession and could be added to this list, feel free to let me know by leaving a comment.

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Book review: Body language (how to read others' thoughts by their gestures) by Allan Pearse

Body language (how to read others’ thoughts by their gestures) – Allan Pearse

Synopsis:
This book focuses on identifying non-verbal signals that people make and how those signals can tell you what the person may be thinking. As far as I know, this is the first detailed book written on the topic. Research shows that our ‘body language’ is a significant part of how we communicate. Most people think that verbal communication is the most important aspect of communication. This book discusses the basics on how we communicate with our body and gestures.
This book focuses on business situations but the gestures discussed are used in all situations so everybody can still read it.

What I gained from reading this book:
This book has improved my communication and people skills a great deal. As I read through the book, I started noticing gestures and positions that other people make. I even began to notice all the signals my body would make. Recognising all those signals and gestures helped me get an understanding of how people are feeling and their motives. Not only has this book opened my eyes to a ‘language’ I didn’t even know existed, it has really been fun watching my friends and family make all these gestures I never noticed before.
Using this knowledge in my job in customer service has been great. My confidence in dealing with people has increased because I now have a pretty good idea how a person will act based on their body language.

Positives:
Understanding the signals people make can help you understand their position better and improve communication. The pictures give clear examples of what to look for. The examples are simple enough to recognise without spending too much effort watching the signals people make.

Negatives:
Some people may think that a lot of the gestures discussed are common sense (for example: thumbs up means okay or good). While many of the gestures are very basic to recognise, most people don’t even notice them in everyday life. Reading about the obvious gestures still helps you learn about them.
As the book was written quite some time ago, some situations may seem out dated. Don’t be put off by the age of the book because when you think about it, the way people act hasn’t really changed in the last thirty years so everything will still apply today. I have reviewed a more current book by an ex-FBI agent on body language here.

Recommended for: Everybody
I recommend this book for everybody because having an understanding of basic body language can improve your people skills. This book will be very useful for business people as many of the examples are common business situations.

Genre: Informational

Overall rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Where to from here:
If you want to improve your understanding of body language, have a read of the following reviews:
What every BODY is saying by Joe Navarro

Book review: What every body is saying (an Ex-FBI agent's guide to speed reading people) by Joe Navarro

What every body is saying (an Ex-FBI agent’s guide to speed reading people) – Joe Navarro

Synopsis:
The author is an ex-FBI agent that has studied people’s non-verbal signals and gestures in an effort to determine their thoughts and feelings. The author explains what body language is and why people make signals and gestures without even thinking about it. A very detailed explanation of the human brain is given and why the signals made are accurate indicators of people’s thoughts. The author uses experiences interviewing suspects to explain situations where a signal helped in finding out the person’s true feelings.

What I gained from reading this book:
I have already read a book on body language by Allan Pearce but the difference with this book is it was written three decades later. Much scientific research has been conducted in this area and this book is a result of that research. I enjoyed reading about the human brain and how our body acts without our control. The examples were fantastic and very entertaining. It was great to hear examples of how the author interrogated suspects and lead them to confessing by noticing the clues in their body language.

After finishing this book I noticed so many signals and gestures people around me made that helped me determine what they were thinking and feeling. I have been using the information from this book whenever my friends would have a game of poker together. Although I am far from an expert, my ability to tell if somebody is bluffing or not has increased as I can now recognise tells.

This book (as well as the other book I have reviewed on body language) has helped me out in many situations from the poker table to dealing with customers.

Positives:
The credibility of the author and the obvious research that has been made gives me a good feeling that I am reading good quality material. The explanations are simple enough to understand but go into enough detail to give you a thorough understanding.
There are plenty of photographs to demonstrate examples and the examples of real life situations are very interesting.

Negatives:
Body language is a very wide topic and there are countless gestures and behaviours. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to include all of these into a single book. People who expect to know absolutely everything about body language after reading this book may feel disappointed. But for everybody else, there are more than enough signals and gestures to study.

Recommended for: Everybody
I recommend this book for everybody because a basic understanding of body language can help you out in almost any situation where you are involved with somebody else. Not only can it help you out in communicating with other people, it is a very interesting topic.

Genre: Human behaviour

Overall rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Australians can buy the book by clicking the picture below:



Where to from here:
If you want to read another book on body language, have a read of my review on:
Body language (how to read other’s thoughts by their gestures) by Allan Pearse

Other related topics include negotiation:
Getting to YES by Roger Fisher and William Ury

Or you may want to read up on general people skills:
How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie