Competing with Outsourced Labor through Increased ExpertiseWritten by Scott Brown
In this job searching tip, we’ll discuss how increasing your level of expertise can help you compete with cheap overseas labor. The whole trend towards outsourcing is scary to people in many industries. But truth is some kinds of outsourcing are more effective than others, and by becoming more familiar with weaknesses of outsourcing model, you can better position yourself to compete with it. Outsourcing is most effective with work that many people know how to do. Lots of people know how to prepare tax returns, or could learn fairly quickly. Lots of people have an undergraduate computer science degree and can write a computer program. But outsourcing tends not to be as effective in areas where highly specialized knowledge is required. If you become familiar with a technology or area of expertise which average person has not studied or worked in, you will become less of a common commodity. It generally helps if area of expertise is something new, because newer it is, usually fewer people there are who know it. An example of this would be Sarbanes-Oxley legislation for financial industry, which was enacted by Congress as a result of corporate scandals like Enron collapse. People who are familiar with this and approaches to helping financial institutions cope with its requirements are in high demand right now. Go to a job board and search for highest paying jobs in your profession. You’ll probably notice that many of them require expertise that few people have.
| | 20 Questions That Helped Me Take A Leap Of Faith And Change CareersWritten by Suzanne Beardsmore
When I was working more than 45 hours a week in a job with a two hour commute each day, challenge of a new husband, new step children, two beagle dogs and maintaining a home was more than a stretch! Something had to give, and unfortunately I was one starting to not be able to hold it together!It was a Catch 22 situation. We had an expensive home near city center with large mortgage costs, which demanded feeding through joint incomes. So we took (what seemed) a gigantic leap of faith and sold house, buying a less expensive one further into suburbs. This house is actually on more land and better than our ‘old’ one. The best thing is upkeep is less, house larger and area more pleasant. The next big leap was for me to get fully involved in our home business, which my husband had been working for six months. At first I couldn’t see how a home business could keep me interested after mergers, acquisitions, share floats and working with some of largest corporations in our country (and world). This really was a worrying point for me. However, I soon discovered a home business could contain all excitement, victories and thrills of my previous work, without stress, backstabbing and hassles from people. For me challenge is interesting and results rewarding. So, to help those who are toying with idea of making a change, rest assured a home business can be a great vehicle for you to gain work life balance and enjoy your family as well as make a good income. One of great things about many home businesses, is that you can get them started while you are in your current job and make a full time transition when you and your business is ready. You can take things at your own pace….after all, it’s your business!
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