Retaining your job during a soft economy or times of recession is a matter of strategic planning. However, when job threats are looming even mid and senior level executives can become uncertain with regard to the best methods to hold onto their jobs. What follows are some key ideas which you can implement to lessen your chances of becoming a casualty of any economic downturn.
The first thing you might want to do is familiarize yourself with the current financial condition of your company. If you work for a big name corporation you can follow their financial profile on any of the business news channels or online periodicals. These sources are often filled with information on businesses which have impending lay-offs. If yours is not a major firm, you can still note signs of impending financial trouble. For instance, is the company eliminating the use of temporary workers, or are they cutting back on employee hours or fringe benefits.
Another measure of a company’s financial steadiness is whether the company is laying off administrative staff. These are usually the first positions to experience lay-offs since these types of jobs typically do not add to the overall profitability of the company.
Employ a survivor mentality. This means remain focused on your work and are future-focused. One of the best ways to remain focused is to concentrate on the needs of your clients or customers. Your main priority should be satisfying the needs of both internal as well as external customers for without them you will not have a job. Provide stellar customer service so that customers will come to rely on your for assistance. In this way you will prove your value to the company and make yourself much more indispensable.
Employing a survivor mentality also means remaining positive in your work environment. In this way, your colleagues and supervisors will want to continue to work with you since most people prefer to be around optimistic and upbeat people. Most people will also prefer to obtain the assistance of a congenial colleague over one who is more competent but has a more negative attitude.
Be willing to wear multiple hats. Many senior executives are asked to assume a few roles to support cost containment. Mergers, acquisitions, and company reorganizations demand that executives be versatile and able to adapt to added responsibilities. Another strategy is to find ways to leverage your experience to value-add your services in an area with which your supervisor may not be well versed. For example, an IT Manger with teaching background may offer to lead a training session for new staff to the department. Also be willing to assume tasks which are officially “below” your title and years of experience since lay-offs occur at levels both above and below your title which create gaps in their wake.
There is an old saying to the effect of “plan for the best but prepare for the worst. With this in mind, if you are sensing that your company is having some financial difficulties, it might be a good idea to spruce up your resume and examine your options with regard to job search. There are many online sources to assist you with preparing a professional resume and it is well worth the time to take advantage of them.
Finally, begin to network among your friends and members of your professional circle to let them know that you may need to be involved with a job search in the near future. The time to begin to start a job search is when you are still employed while you have the security of a paycheck. You can also call on some executive recruiters and alert them to your situation. Perhaps at some point in your career you have been contacted by executive recruiters. If you were able to establish a nice rapport with them, this would be a good time to check in to let them know of your situation and that you are conducting an exploratory job search. Be sure to have them agree that your conversation is to be held strictly confidential.
