- Americans Don't Hope for Self-Employment - Goodbye Cruel World - catalin82
The American dream is becoming harder and harder to define…is it because the American people are lowering their standards? A new Gallup poll spanning 36 countries shows that Americans don’t have a lot of positive thoughts about self-employment. Many may still wish to run their own businesses, be their own bosses, become entrepreneurs…but they no longer believe it’s a viable career choice.
Waning Hope for Self-Employment
Gallup’s survey asked 26,000 people over the age of 14 for their thoughts on their chances of becoming self-employed in the next five years. Of the citizens in 36 countries who were polled, the Japanese believe self-employment is less feasible than any other group -- but the United States isn’t too far behind them.
More than 60% of the respondents from the United States do not believe they can become self-employed, placing America twelfth on the list of 36 countries whose citizens participated in the survey. If the American dream is being a self-employed entrepreneur, the majority of Americans don’t believe they can attain it.
Even Self-Employment Jobs Are Hard to Find
Joblessness isn’t just a hot topic at political debates and cable news discussions; it’s a very real problem that’s being felt by professionals in nearly every industry -- and that includes self-employment. High unemployment, changes to popular Internet search engines and economy issues are conspiring to create a shortage of opportunities in the work at home and self-employment job markets. Increased competition makes it more difficult to locate jobs, but there are opportunities out there -- and ways to get them.
- Build a job response kit. Job searching can be a lengthy process, but it should only take a few minutes to write the replies. Get serious about job hunting by putting together a great resume, a standard cover letter that briefly highlights work skills and job experience, and a good online portfolio that shows potential clients and employers samples of completed work.
- Job hunting. Searching for jobs is part of the ongoing maintenance that goes with being self-employed. Even professionals who have paying jobs should engage in regular job searches, because new opportunities are always becoming available. Bookmark several quality, trustworthy online job boards and check them regularly for new opportunities. Search for jobs at least once a week to avoid missing potential jobs.
Don’t lose faith in self-employment. Working at home, creating an online storefront, selling services locally -- it’s all viable for those who want to explore being independently employed. Establish and maintain a strong Internet presence, explore the local market to find new opportunities and commit to completing regular job searches to find new opportunities to make self-employment work.
KC Morgan - KC Morgan has been the featured writer in Self-Employment since 2006, using personal experience to create guides to being self-employed.
