Today's Job Report

The continuing loss of jobs in the U.S. economy-20,000 in January and over 8 million since the recession began--suggests that this recovery will be unlike any we've ever seen. We thought the 1991 and 2001 recessions were strange because they led to "job less" recoveries. Well, this recovery will be ca candidate for "Ripley's Believe It or Not".

If you add up all of the job cuts already announced by employers (including those in academia) for 2010, they exceed the number of jobs most economists are predicting we'll create during the entire year. In other words, this Great Recession isn't going to morph into a "job less" recovery; it's going to stick us with a "less jobs" recovery. Even as employers see business start to grow again, we'll see jobs continue to be cut.

What does that mean for anyone in transition or contemplating a job change?

The come-as-you-are job market is over. In that job market, the key to success was to look complete. If at all possible, for example, you wanted to have a terminal degree in your field. The more complete you were, the stronger your credentials as a candidate.

Today, exactly the opposite is true. You want to look incomplete, or better yet, as if you are a work-in-progress.

Why? Because that position signals that you have two important characteristics that all employers respect: It tells them that you understand the importance of staying current in your field and that you take personal responsibility for doing so. Said another way, being proudly unfinished is a surrogate for a commitment to self-improvement, and continuous self-improvement is the only way to sustain one's worth in today's rapidly evolving world of work.

So, here's the challenge: what steps might you take to brand yourself as a work-in-progress?

Peter