If you are not a "skill holder," then perhaps you are hurting your financial opportunities

Corporations hire without joy and fire without remorse.

With unemployment at a record high in 26 years, Americans are more often facing the prospects of losing their job. For many, a pink slip can mean a long and difficult process to find their new form of employment.

Brian Massey,  the author of the soon to be published "The Market For Me -- Surviving Job Loss and Build Your Lifetime Career Network" said he believes most Americans need to switch from become job seekers into what he calls "skill holders."

Skill holders know that there is a market for their work expertise and can decide which firms or companies should benefit from them, Massey noted. Meanwhile, most Americans are what the Austin-based author would call "job seekers."

In his book, job seekers are expected to be grateful for their job and loyal to their employers. Skill holders negotiate the best price for their skills and and are "always in the market."

Skill holders expect to move from job to job. Job seekers are often surprised when they are fired. More importantly, they are not financially prepared to lose their job.

In these uncertain times, more of us need to switch from the job seeker mindset to that of the skill holder. By understanding our value, we can get a fair return for our services and expertise.

If you are in Austin for the Door64.tech fair on April 30, please make plans to hear Massey speak at 2 p.m.

(Note: Brian Massey and cardboardresume.com, the web site that will accompany the book, are clients of my company. If you want to be one of the first 10 people to read his e-book, please email me at mattscherer (at) gmail.comm. If you wish to reach me, please understand that I added an extra m to my email address to fool all those spam operators who mine my online contact info to sell me the opportunity of a lifetime in Nigeria.)