Keeping your job when times are tough Ma. Salve Duplito INQUIRER.net
February 22, 2009
GLOOMY PREDICTIONS ABOUT JOB losses make for dour dinner conversations, but short of plugging your ears nowadays, escaping them will take some effort as they almost always crop up as part of the main course.
There’s the Intel story and those scary predictions coming from the Department of Labor and Employment itself warning of job losses as the crisis deepens.
Now, whether or not you think a pink slip with your name on it will be sent to you soon, a sound strategy to secure your job will come in handy.
Outplacement
Of course, when a company shuts down as a business decision, nothing you can do to spruce up your value as an employee will do any good. But if there is a fighting chance for your company to float in this crisis, you would want to be part of the team that sees it through the downturn--not the one laid off.
Vicente U. Kilayko, director of Drake Beam Morin (DBM) Phils., is in an industry that is benefiting from the economy’s swoon. Companies that are retrenching or laying off people pay DBM to help their employees move on to another career.
This is called outplacement.
Kilayko points out, however, that the skill sets needed to succeed in a new career are the same as the ones that will help you keep your job, even in a downturn. “Challenges in Hiring Entry Level Positions,” a 2006 study done by the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) says exactly the same thing.
“The study showed that most applicants lack analytical thinking, good communication skills and initiative. These are the skills perceived valuable by human resources people,” says Robert Dan J. Roces, head of PMAP’s research department.
Roces says that in difficult times when employees are asked to be better at multi-tasking, maybe because several staff have been laid off and there’s more job sharing, you need to have the initiative to get the job done.
“Math is already a given or you may speak perfect English. But do you have the analytical skills? How do you get your message across? You need to strengthen these skills,” he says.
Major steps
If you feel the need to keep your head above the worry pit and protect your job and career, even in a downturn, here are 10 steps to take:
1. Read the signs. This is not the time to always be the last to know. Know what is happening in your industry, company or in your department.
“For those that are in the export industry, for example, or in the financial sector, the signs are there. The writing is on the wall and you need to prepare,” says Kilayko.
When all of a sudden the company announces that there will be freeze hiring, or that overtime work will get a tap on the shoulder instead of extra pay, or that this year’s company outing is cancelled, it’s time to buckle up for a difficult ride.
2. Be visible. Play your strengths. Kilayko stresses that there is no substitute for doing your best. Make an effort to be visible because office wallpapers are hardly included in personnel recommendations. Volunteer for extra work, if possible, like organizing office events or doing corporate social responsibility programs, even if these are not part of your job description.
“You have to be identified as a productive person, that’s the bottom line,” Kilayko says.
3. Update your skills, or even better, be ahead of the curve. If you already have the laurels, don’t sit on them. These are changing times, meaning those laurels may no longer be sufficient. If you used to make great Powerpoint presentations for the chief executive officer, learn how to spice them up with Flash animation or create video presentations.
Kilayko explains that certain situations may call for multi-tasking as jobs left vacant by layoffs get spread around the office. “If you have more of these skills, you will be a candidate for survival,” Kilayko says. That goes without saying that you need to be good-natured about the additional load. Remember to just be thankful you have a job.
4. Network within and without. Your boss’ friends are good friends for you too, especially when you think the company is about to go through some rough patches.
But don’t stop there. Keep your network alive both within the company and outside the company. This is a good way of having good visibility, says Kilayko, so do go on those early morning industry association meetings, or have lunch with a former boss. You can do this better if you circulate through volunteer work in the organization and remember that this is also a good strategy whether or not you stay in your job.
5. Keep your complaints to yourself. This is a time of longer hours at lower pay. Cost cutting will be on every manager’s strategy. Accept it, deal with it, and keep any complaints to yourself. If you’re planning on asking for a raise or a promotion in a turbulent year, the joke is on you.
6. Last in, first out? Not necessarily. “Each of us has a perceived market value, that’s the reality of the game. That comes out in the salary that you asked for when you were in the hiring process. If you can pack it up with skills and competencies, then you don’t necessarily have to be the first out even if you were the last in,” says Kilayko.
He pointed out that some people in a downturn are more expensive than a regular year. These are the people who can sell themselves, their skills and competencies well to their companies.
Learning machines
Newbies also need to be learning machines. You need to be willing to cross your t’s and dot your I’s and listen with dedication to learn what it would take to keep your job. “Learning should never stop,” says Kilayko.
7. Fill up your own tank. There’s a tendency to think and breathe shoptalk when you’re worried about your job. Don’t. Keep a good work-life balance because you don’t want to be burned out in a bad year. Set aside time for relaxation with family and friends.
8. What if you’re in charge and you make mistakes or fail to reach targets? It’s always lonely at the top, especially if the ultimate responsibility to deliver results lies squarely on you and a downward spiral in the economy makes it difficult to hit targets.
Citing figures from the US, Kilayko said turnover is highest among chief executive officers because of stress. “They typically stay for 18 months to 2 years on the job,” Kilayko says.
CEOs or those in upper-level management get paid high salaries because they are expected to make correct decisions. That doesn’t mean they don’t make mistakes. They just make more good choices than bad ones, says Kilayko.
If you find yourself in this position, Kilayko advises owning up to the mistake especially if it was made with the best intention. “If that was the best decision you can make at that time and you made the decision with the best of intentions, then accept the mistake and sleep with your conscience clear,” says Kilayko.
9. Stay out of office politics. Keep your focus on the job at hand and not on what’s being discussed in hushed tones near the water fountain or the pantry. The temptation to vent frustrations on officemates is common, but getting involved in gossip turns you into the least valuable player on the team.
10. Scale down your lifestyle. Avoid big purchases and keep your lifestyle in check. Make sure you have an emergency fund worth six months of your monthly expenses kept in cash or near-cash instruments. You may not be able to do anything about the economy or your company’s business decisions, but your personal finances, at least, are under your control.
(For more personal finance articles, visit Inquirer.net’s MoneySmart blog at http://blogs.inquirer.net/moneysmarts).
