Many of us oldies who recall the 1980s may have mixed sentiments concerning the period, and various things stick in the mind about it. I enjoyed a lot of great popular music at that time. We had a certain female premier, of course. But for some it was not such a good period, with very high levels of unemployment. There was, in the eighties, no Internet business and no online jobs as are available these days. Even so, openings were available for those who looked for them. If you were prepared to do whatever you were able to, you could find part-time office jobs, work from home, or move from place to place in search of seasonal opportunities.

After leaving college with a Geography degree and discovering there was no great demand in the jobs market for Geography graduates, I became for a while one of the millions of people out of work. However, I registered with an agency that I had heard about. After a few days the agency contacted me about a short-term placement. I started off operating a printing machine in an engineering works, and after that I did a stint at the Tax Office (needs must, as the saying goes!). Over time I worked as a stock clerk, and as a data inputter. The positionswere all fairly dull, and I was unlikely to make my first million working in these roles, but nonetheless they were work. Within a few days after one post ending, the phone would ring, and I would be offered a temporary post with a different employer.

A lot has changed since the eighties. The World Wide Web has affected the way jobs are advertised, due to online jobs boards competing with agencies. We are at this time dealing with a joblessness level as critical as in the 80s. However, Internet business affords the chance to work from home instead of in an office in a variety of different online jobs that did not exist twenty years ago.

In 1988 I was offered a permanent job and worked without interruption until the current recession. Although I became one of the many employees who faced redundancy last year, I was not too concerned, as I assumed I could again resort to doing temporary jobs. I once again registered with a number of employment agencies. However, the phone never rang. I was unable to get even the variety of short term work that I did before 1988. And as for getting my next permanent job, I reckon I have more chance of being selected for the next England World Cup team.

It was not until I learned about online jobs and had the chance to work from home in a self-employed capacity, that I saw how I might escape from long-term unemployment. With a small charge for the appropriate training, I went on to establish my own Internet business offering help to companies on improving their search engine placement. Reward is on the basis of results, demonstrable evidence that a website appears on the top page of an Internet search. However by employing the correct ethical techniques, this is possible over a reasonable time.

The plus point of running your own Internet business is that you can choose your working hours, and your own style of working. It is a fascinating and rewarding type of business, and definitely beats adding up machine parts at the factory or typing numbers into a PC all day, as I did in the old days. Once I had the chance to work from home in the search engine field, I never looked back. I don’t even think I’d want to go back to my former permanent job, if they offered it to me. And when it comes to my memories of the eighties, well it wasn’t all bad going: the great music of that decade will always live on for me.