All of us have always dreamt of what we want to be in the future while we were young. We have imagined ourselves being Doctors, Nurses, Lawyers, and a CEO of a company. From where we are now, we always look back and see how far we have come but reality always strikes in. We don’t always get to have what we want but it’s not always impossible to be who we want to be.

They say that the world has made it rough for us but if we think about it the world has offered so much to us even in times of recession. It’s always a matter of perspective and knowing its causes and effects. So what does the recession mean?

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) it is a significant decline in activity across the economy, lasting longer than a few months. It is visible in industrial production, employment, real income and wholesale-retail trade. The technical indicator of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth as measured by a country's gross domestic product (GDP)

Recession is basically normal for it is a part of a business cycle however certain critical events may trigger the initiation of a global recession. Like the recent recession in the United States that affected the rest of the world. It centered the people’s attention to the risky investment strategies used by many large financial institutions. It was then very eye-opening to all nations whether developed or still developing ones; it helped each government to amend and implement policies to help prevent future financial crisis.

Due to these circumstances, most companies have cut back on their expenses and reconfigured their strategies. Some companies were acquired by larger ones however there were those who closed. Even large companies had to shut down some of their branches, or warehouses, or retail stores. Although the Philippines is one of the countries that somehow benefited by it, in a sense that other countries looked into outsourcing. Our country is fortunately on the pool for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Contact Centers. Some foreigners especially Koreans also fly into the country to learn English as a Second Language (ESL) as they find it more effective yet affordable. On the other hand, it also affected us in a way that some of the companies have closed here in the Philippines especially those affiliated or branches of foreign companies.

Over some time DitoNa.com have conducted a survey on how the recession has affected your career. You can see the final percentages of the votes on the image. Majority of those who voted with 23.88% says that due to recession they have No Salary Increase, 20.9% says that it only gives them Fewer Opportunities which is contrary to 10.45% of the voters who says that they have more Career Opportunities; It caused 16.42% of the voters to lose their jobs; 10.45% stayed on neutral ground saying they are not affected at all; the last in poll both having 8.96% are the voters who says they have Fewer Job Prospects and Career Change.

As we look into the impacts of recession, from the increase of the unemployment rate, the fall of productivity of businesses, and the change on the living standards or the lifestyle of the people dependent on their wages and salaries; we should also look into what we can do about it. Let us always remember that our ancestors before had nothing yet they made so much out of it. We can take this as a challenge to our generation and come up with ideas that would brighten this dark time. Let this not be a hindrance to our goals and dreams of becoming who we want to be yet this should serve as our challenge.

However this recession has affected you; let us always see this in a different view. If you have lost your job maybe it was never meant for you and a better one is coming up. If you have kept yours then you have a reason to be more grateful. If it lessens your opportunities then maybe you should look into each one of it and see how it goes perhaps it may turn out to be the best one for you. The salaries may not increase but maybe it’s a matter of a change in lifestyle, cutting back on some expenses, or a matter of just holding on until the recession is over. There is always enough for us in this world so let’s always look at things on the bright side.

As the saying goes, “When a door closes, a window opens.” Let us then look into the window of opportunities and eventually finish the cycle and hope for a better tomorrow.

About the Author:

Geeko is a pen name of a Computer Engineering graduate from University of San Carlos. He’s the Project Coordinator and Marketing Head of Global Interactive Solutions, Inc. that specializes on Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Website Development, Ecommerce, Content Management System (CMS) and Software Applications. He’s a blogger and currently manages the social media of DitoNa.com. He maintains an enormous wealth of ideas and information. Very active in conceptualizing things and put them into action with faith and trust. Oh he’d be pleased if you would follow him on Facebook by clicking here.