Before there was money, there was bartering – an exchange of skills, services, or products instead of using money.

During a recession, with less money in circulation, bartering can be a way to create an alternate economy, such as occurred during a recession in the early 1980s, when many bartering clubs sprung up. As club members, people could gain points for the skills, services or products they offered; then others could use the points they acquired for own skills, services, or products to buy the offerings from others. The clubs used various systems to make sure there was a balance between what people offered and what they could buy from others. Then, as the economy improved, the membership in these clubs declined as people joined the mainstream economy.

Given the loss of jobs today, this seems to be a good approach to renew, whether you organize or join a bartering system. Consider it a part of your professional development, too.

If you become an organizer, Continue reading Barter Your Way to Success – and to Further Professional Development

Bartering existed long before the money economy developed. It was a way to exchange products or services you had for products or services from someone else.

The growth of bartering seems to be inversely related to the growth of the money economy. So as people earn more money, they have less interest in bartering, and vice versa. That’s why during the early 1980s recession, many bartering clubs emerged, so people with reduced funds or work could have more buying power.

The way these clubs work is that the members offer their services or products for points; then others use their own points to purchase those services and products. A person can accumulate negative points to some degree if they purchase more producers and services than they sell. But then they have to earn more positive points in order to continue to buy something. The ideal is attaining a balance between what people offer and what they get from others. It’s like another money system which you can use when you aren’t earning as much as you have earned in the past from the regular economy.

Today, this seems like a good way to increase Continue reading Join the Bartering Economy to Increase Your Income in the Money Economy

At networking parties for the film industry and the unemployed – sometimes the same people in both groups — I have been running into a growing number of people who speak desperately about spending 30 or 40 hours a week sending out resumes and trying to set up interviews. But then, nothing. There are no jobs. So their job has become finding a job – though there are few jobs to be had at a time when layoffs are spreading from industry to industry. No wonder they are increasingly depressed.

Sometimes if you are faced with such a situation, the best approach is to give up a frustrating and fruitless job search for now. Instead, think about how you can volunteer to do something where the work is needed and where your skills and interests make this task a good fit. Volunteering is a good way to learn new skills and further your professional development, as well as keep you busy and fulfilled because you are making a contribution. Later you can use that experience to help you get a paying job – or get clients to pay you for using these skills on their behalf.

As example of the value of volunteering, I just read a People magazine article about Mary Marzano, 49, of Maplewood, New Jersey, whose sister’s home in Galveston was destroyed by Hurricane Ike. Mary discovered from a hotel-employee friend that the hotel threw out sheets and towels each month, so they could provide the guests with brand new linen. Realizing that the poor people in Galveston could use the sheets and towels, she began collecting them from some local hotels and shipping dozens of boxes of sheets to the stricken area. Then, she began sending these extra linens, along with donated quilts and bathrobes, to local charities and public services, including Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and some homeless shelters.

Though Mary has been doing this mission of good will on weekends, since she works as an advertising-account supervisor, you might do such volunteer work to build your professional development portfolio during the work week, when you are out of work with little hope of a paid job in sight.

So where should you volunteer? Continue reading Volunteer Your Way to a New Job and Increased Professional Development

As unemployment increases, a new type of networking is emerging, which is much like the pink slip parties held during the dot.com bust — though now it encompasses ex-employees in every type of industry. Besides these parties, unemployed groups have been springing up all over, so that people can provide each other with job tips, resume writing help, and mutual support.

For example, one group I discovered in Santa Monica, normally thought of as an enclave of the wealthy, is the Unemployed Social Network founded by Jeremy Erickson, a former architect, who has found a highly profitable niche writing resumes for the unemployed – a perfect example of engaging in professional development to discover new highly marketable skills. By way of introducing his services, he has invited meeting participants to bring in their resumes, cover letters, and portfolios, so he can help them make these better – and hire him as a coach, mentor, and resume writer to help them further. He has been participating in numerous pink slip parties too as a way to let people know about his services. Continue reading Using Networking by the Newly Unemployed to Find New Types of Work