WHAT’S GOOD, Y’ALL? Over the past few weeks, the finance industry has discussed a looming recession, a potential stock market crash, and a shrinking job market. All good things, I'm sure... But don't worry. We're not talking about problems in this email, only solutions. Let's get into it.

FOCUS ON YOUR METASKILLS

This advice comes from a book by Marty Neumeier called Metaskills: Five Talents for the Robotic Age. You should read this — not only to recession-proof your creativity but also to AI-proof your creativity. It's a fantastic read. And now, I'm going to spoil it.

In the book, Marty discusses five key skills that transform creative talent and make you hirable no matter the economy or changes to the creative space.

• Feeling = your ability to care about other people.

• Seeing = your ability to create systems of production.

• Dreaming = your ability to bring ideas to life.

• Making = your ability to test the results of creative work.

• Learning = your ability to guide your own learning process.

When you can outsource the production for cheap, people are willing to pay for those who can guide production to get results.

This book is my bible at this point. It's guiding my personal brand as I'm working to create content and education for you. But, if I were to add an additional skill, it would be — connection.

• Connection = your ability to connect with those around you.

Creativity does not happen in a vacuum. This is true for finding new inspiration and for collaborating with other creatives.

As things get more difficult, do not underestimate the value of connecting with other creatives. Here are a few community groups I know exist: CreativeMornings, Pexels, and AIGA. 

MARTA: THE MOVIE

How do you stand out in a competitive job market? You create an ad for yourself. And no one has done this better than Marta Puerto.

After Marta was laid off, she spent months applying for jobs, and when she heard nothing, she created this ad:

It went viral, and she waded through thousands of new connection requests on LinkedIn and dozens and dozens of interview invitations from employers around the world. Only a few weeks after releasing her ad, she landed a new job in April.

There's so much noise out there in the social media space.

So many tried to take the approach of being a thought leader or posting educational content to break through that noise. But that's a long play. That's why treating your job search like a marketing campaign can cause you to devise great ideas to stand out.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MOST RECESSION-PROOF JOBS?

I've been in this long enough to see the market get tight around creativity a few different times. And, while no job is recession-proof, we can look into the ones that historically perform better than others.

1: Photographer & Videographer

People will still get married, host events, have kids, sell homes, and need videos or photos of their products. Focus on being local, owning your style, and customer service.

2: Online Marketing

Companies will still use their advertising dollars to promote their products online and through social media. Focus on finding clients in the pet services, financial, healthcare, discount stores, and legal industries. These are typically businesses that operate the same or better in a recession.

3: Events (In-person)

People will look for ways to escape; position your business to help in-person events function creatively or technically. Focus on branding, marketing, stage, and lighting design that connects events to new attendees.

4: Education & Course Creation

The tighter the job market gets, the more important it'll be to develop skills that get results (the results being new work). Focus on teaching those skills and making them cost-effective.

5: Affordable Creative Assets

Supply other creatives with fonts, stock videos, templates, presets, or audio files they might need to make their creative work easier. Focus on unique assets that are hard to find on current creative assets sites.

AROUND THE INTERNET

• Use LinkedIn wisely without the cringe from CreativeBoom: take a look at the skills you need to be on a platform like LinkedIn
  

• Tech needs marketing more than marketing needs tech from TheDrum: an opinion piece from Mark Penn CEO of Stagwell
  

• Liquid Death teams up with Van Leeuwen Ice Cream: look at this ad for a limited-edition hot fudge sundae flavored sparkling water.