Given the current economy, there’s a great possibility that your company has gone through some layoffs within the last year. You may not be able to stop the layoffs, but you can definitely defend your job, and make sure you’re not the next one to go if they do occur. Between 2002 and 2003, I got laid off twice due to company restructures when the economy took the detour south after the 9/11 attacks. Luckily, in both occasions, I got hired back exactly the same day I lost my job by another business division. At the time I did not fully understand all the reasons why I was offered a job right away while some of my colleagues did not, but I’ll tell you that story another time. Below are some of the things I’ve learned since then which will keep your job safe.
1) I’m great! Do you think I’m great too?
You should always know what you manager thinks of you. You might be surprised to find out that even though you might hold the biggest stats in your team, and you meet all the business metrics, your manager may not think of you as one of the best employees. The easiest way is find out is to simply ask: How am I doing? Am I exceeding your expectations? Some employees feel intimidated to ask this question directly. If you are one o them, get over it, and ask it! You may think you are doing a fantastic job, but in the eyes of your boss, this could be different. You should never wait to the end of the year to get a performance review to find this out. Through the year, you have to approach your boss and ask: Am I on the right track? If you are, well great! But, if you are not, you have a chance to work and fix whatever the problem is. In your manager’s eyes, you have to be a Top Contributor, and the last person he or she would let go in the event of layoffs.
2) Merlin’s Crystal Ball:
Do you have Merlin’s crystal ball that tells the future? Probably not, but what you is massive amounts of public information about the company and industry you work for. Read all the news about it. Find out how your company’s stock is doing. Are they making money? And, are they meeting forecast earnings? Even if they company is profitable, they could still result to layoffs if they are not meeting the earnings the shareholders expected. Are there any changes in the market that could affect the products or services you sell? All these data can give you signs to find out if layoffs are in the horizon. You also have to tap into your internal company network, and frequently talk to colleagues, friends, managers, and executives you know to find out of any foreseeable changes in your business division. Forewarned means forearmed, which means that the sooner you know about changes, the sooner you can make an informed and smart decision about your next step in your career.
3) The average has no leverage.
I recently wrote an article, “are you average?” in which I described steps to take not to be an average employee. In bad economic times, average doesn’t cut it to be safe when layoffs occur. You must take the initiative to find new projects where you can shine. You must acquire new skills constantly. You must be a leader to others and put those skills to work through mentoring sessions. You must do more than what you get paid for, and show that you can take on new responsibilities. Yes, you need to have a life outside of work and you should, but being efficient at your job, acquiring new skills, and taking on extra work projects to stay off the layoff radar will require you to work some extra hours. Finally, you must follow through. If you volunteered to do the extra work, but you want to go home early because you want to watch your favorite TV show, then you need to record it and watch it later. Being a Top Contributor means you will need to sacrifice some of your personal time.
4) How much money am I making … for the company?
Most employees often worry about how much money they are making for themselves, but there are many individuals who do not stop to figure out how much money they are making for the company. When it comes time to layoffs, who do you expect will be let go? Will it be Joe who made the company 9 million dollars last quarter or will it be Bob who couldn’t close as many deals? What ever your position is, you are there to bring revenue to the company. You must find projects where you can generate more revenue. Whether it is training others, solving problems in-house, or getting your clients to renew or upgrade their services, anything you do can be translated into dollar amounts. Figure out what that amount is and start promoting it along with your successes to your superiors. Your superiors are human and humans tend to forget things fast. You need to keep promoting yourself and keep reminding them of how valuable you are.
3) Hello Mr. Executive, do you know who I am?
If you leave your job today, who do you think will miss the work that you do? Will it only be your colleagues and immediate manager? You would want as many people as possible to miss the job that you do because that would mean that more people currently depend on this job. Talk to your manager and see if there are any projects or tasks where you can help her/him. Look for tasks where you can work directly with your second, or third line manager, or maybe with other executive from other business divisions. There more direct contact you have with these executives, the more they will remember you, and keep you in mind when it comes to promotions. Also, when it comes time for that layoff meeting to decide who to let go, there might be more than one person voting in your favor. Remember that it’s not only about whom you know, but who knows you.
Above all, do not forget to stay positive. If you feel the need to complain about your job, don’t. Focus on the things that you can control. If you follow the steps above, you’ll be very successful whether layoffs occur or not.
I hate my manager.
That’s all I have to say about that. (Thank you Forest Gump)