Keeping Your Job: Six Tips to Avoid Being Downsized

In today’s economy, layoffs are on everyone’s mind. Here are a few tips to help you stay in the saddle at your job:

1. Do your best work. Unless you are a natural workaholic, chances are you have room to improve your job performance. Now is the time to shut off the web browser, cut back on unnecessary breaks and squeeze out an extra unit or two of work each day. Don’t become a statistic because you just had to check eBay for the fifteenth time today.
2. Be your company’s cheerleader. Encourage your friends and family to use the product or service that your company provides. Be quick to spread the good news about the new and innovative item or feature that your brand is introducing to the market. When possible, have the clients that you direct to your company drop your name as their reference. Every extra sale increases the bottom line and decreases the need for downsizing.
3. Keep quiet. Even if you resent your company or working conditions, refrain from complaining to co-workers or management. When deciding whom to cut from the workforce, the manager who heard your constant bellyaching might decide to do you a “favor” and eliminate you from the job you profess to dislike. Follow the old cliché: If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all!
4. Gain new skills. If your company offers advanced training classes, sign up for them. If there is a certification available in a coveted skill related to your job, take the necessary classes or tests to achieve it. If there is a new software application coming, become proficient in it before any of your co-workers. This not only makes you a more valuable (and less replaceable) worker, but also if the layoff does come you will have one more item to beef up your résumé.
5. Transfer to a more secure position. When reducing the workforce, most companies start with job positions that do not add directly to the bottom line. Clerical staff, employee recognition, human resources and certain layers of management are the first to go. If you feel that your job title may be in line with the wrecking ball, see if you can transfer to a position that is more intimately involved with the influx of cash to the company. Even if you must take a slight pay cut to move, it’s better than having no job at all.
6. Have a “Plan B.” Being laid off is stressful because most of us are not prepared for it. Even after narrowly avoiding downsizing again and again, we tend to think that it won’t happen to us. Be realistic. Assume that the worst will happen and be planning your next move. Keep an updated résumé on hand. Create a list of contacts that you have made with associates at other companies in your profession. Knowing that you have options and a game plan will give you peace of mind, and having this confidence may even help you keep your current job position by allowing you to be calm and focused at work.