It’s an unsettling fact: we are in one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression. Layoffs are being felt across the board. Indicators suggest that more are yet to come.
Better to face reality than to hide our heads in the sand. It’s time to recession-proof your job so as to move forward on your career path
One school of thought holds that it is better to keep a low profile with the hope that you’ll be overlooked when the man with the axe comes around. That’s bad career advice. If you aren’t making a noticeable contribution to the success of your employer and getting proper credit, you will be an easy target.
Laying off someone who is quiet is much easier than pink-slipping the person who works hard and has earned visibility and creditability.
Six-Step Action Plan
Here are six steps you can take, beginning now, to protect and advance toward career success in these tough times.
1. Know what’s going on with your job, your department, your employer. Stay in the loop. Lunch and take coffee breaks with associates. Carefully study memos from the boss. Read trade journals.
2. Perform. Work hard and be seen as working hard.
3. Make yourself and your boss stand out as producers.
4. Don’t complain when you are asked to come in early and stay late. Be ready to take on extra work. Volunteer for special assignments. Suggest ways to improve your performance and that of your department.
5. Document your accomplishments. Make sure your employer is aware of your good work.
6. Be prepared to make a move if you are laid off. Keep up your contacts inside your organization and in your field of work. Learn new skills. Update your resume.
Hang in there. These trying times will pass. A new world of opportunity will emerge.
I wish you career success.
Ramon Greenwood, Head Career Coach
Common Sense At Work
P.S. If you found this posting helpful, you will be interested in my semi-monthly Internet newsletter, The Career Accelerator. No charge…No obligation. It’s loaded with common sense career advice. Click here for more details.
Very often, your cover letter will be the first thing that a recruiter looks at when he sits down to do that all-important first sift. It is your first opportunity to leave a lasting and favorable impression and as such it should work every bit as hard as your resume, if not more so, to convince him that you are the best match for the job. Remember, the employer is looking for a really outstanding candidate and if your cover letter is in any way sub-standard or does nothing to tempt him into reading your resume, then he will not waste any further time on your application.