Polymer Studios :: Web Consulting

Job security.

Got some?

Got enough?

If you’re wondering about your prospects in the current economy, you might check out the Job Security Score. It’s a questionnaire that claims to tell you whether you should rest easy or revise your resume.

I have no idea how accurate the score might be. I tried to complete it, but gave up as the questionnaire is not well suited to the self-employed. That, and there were two questions about your industry and business type that offered only a limited (and seemingly pre-Internet) set of choices. My guess is they’re using some kind of prefab industry classification system that thinks there are, like, ten industries in the entire world. All that to say that you have to wonder how reliable such a score can be if it’s based on a really non-nuanced view of the market.

Still, if anyone tries this, please Iet me know. Perhaps we could post and pick apart the results (without any identifying data, natch).

Of course, if you’re truly wondering about your job security — or how to create some, you should pick up Daniel Pink’s The Adventures of Johnny Bunko. It’s a quick, entertaining and encouraging romp of a book that offers a counterintuitive take on job security.

A quick note about the photo. I realize that this photo makes one hell of a statement on racial inequity in the U.S. But I see an additional meaning, which is why I chose it. It reminds me that how each of us experience the economy is relative. For everyone experiencing good times, there are others having a rough go at it. And what separates one perspective from another is often a really thin line. So, be kind to your unemployed friends. Buy them lunch and help them network. And keep building your own network with tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc., as luck favors the well-prepared. If you do join, be sure to look for me:

LinkedIn: Don Ball
Facebook: Don Ball
Twitter: @donmball

Update: A dear reader took the test and provided a screen shot of her score, which is all that she got for taking the test. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the more curious among us might want to know what criteria makes one’s job more or less secure than others…