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How To Keep Your Job through a Recession

Steps to Take to Ensure Your Employment During an Economic Down-Turn

Jan 30, 2009 Tammie Burak

It's time to take a critical look at the work that you do and decide upon what you will do to ensure that you stay employed for the duration of the recession.

With predictions of massive layoffs in all the headlines, many people are wondering what they can do to protect their jobs. Consider these points:

How Have You been Contributing to the Success of Your Company?

It’s a good idea to tactfully let your superiors know what your contributions have been and what you are doing for your company’s long-term benefit. Anyone is expendable. Give the boss reasons to believe that losing you would be more than sloughing off excess baggage.

How Have You been Contributing to Reaching Your Company's Main Business Goals?

Now is not a good time to be working in your company’s sideline business. Assess your role in the company’s core business activities and get back to the basics if possible.

What Can You Do to Gain Skill That Will Make You Indispensable?

Assess your skills and build on them in whatever spare time you may have. Take a course, job shadow a colleague, or volunteer after hours. Be willing to learn the skills necessary to fill a need that you have identified in your company’s business.

Get Serious

If you have gained a less than stellar reputation at your workplace, shape up immediately. The class clown, the slacker, and the big-mouth are probably least likely to stay put when cuts are being made. Polish your reputation and give your superiors reasons to believe that you have the company’s best interests in mind.

Work Hard

Establish yourself as someone who’s got a great work ethic. Come early, stay later, get more done. You need to be seen as being efficient and productive.

Positive Outlook

Stop complaining and develop a positive outlook. If you’ve got a job to go to, consider it a blessing and put on a happy face.

Put On Your Thinking Cap

If you’ve been around awhile and know your business well, your experience and insight can be invaluable to your company when economic times get tough. If you’ve got some great ideas that may help your company to survive these difficult times, now is the time to share them with the decision makers.

Zip Your Lips

If you’re a relative new-comer, now is the time to sit quiet and listen. Learn from others with experience. Don’t be the know-it-all who’s got all the great ideas about what’s wrong with the company and what to do about it. Weigh your fresh ideas against what’s being said. Make your contribution count.

Refrain From Gossip

Extricate yourself from conversations that are nothing more than company gossip. Develop a reputation for not being a tale-bearer.

Steer Clear of Conflict

Avoid taking sides. You might end up on the wrong side when the time comes for deciding who stays and who goes. Find a way of getting along well with everyone.

In summary, the best way to ensure your continued employment when times are tough is to develop an excellent work ethic. Having a good work ethic can only help your future employability, too.

The copyright of the article How To Keep Your Job through a Recession in Career Advice is owned by Tammie Burak. Permission to republish How To Keep Your Job through a Recession in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.