Newsletter Archives /Today's Career Voice - January 2009
Recession-Proof Your Career
If you’re staying up at night trying to find ways to avoid a pink slip, you’re certainly not alone. So we’ve compiled a number of strategies to help recession-proof your career, so you can rest easy.
Make Sure Your Hard Work is Noticeable.
The people who breathe a little easier now-a-days are the ones who find ways to be seen and heard. They don’t wait to be noticed. Try these tips:
- Speak Up! Communicate clearly and directly. When in meetings, contribute to the conversation. If you have a good idea, share it, and make sure you get the credit for it.
- Build Connections. Become a person people want to work with - both within and outside your current organization. Network, volunteer, attend industry functions and trade association meetings.
- Work on highly visible assignments. Volunteer to work on assignments that are attracting attention from those who count at your organization.
Work Smarter.
With companies asking workers to “do more with less,” these days, chances are you already work hard. But are you working smarter? Check out these strategies:
- Be an efficiency champion. Suggest changes to improve efficiency and help figure out how to make those changes happen. Essentially, be an agent to change, not an obstacle to it.
- Improve your multi-tasking and time management skills. Compile and prioritize to-do lists. Use a speakerphone or phone headset to free your hands to do other things while you talk.
- Know the time of day you are at your best. Use those better periods of the day to spend on the toughest tasks you need to accomplish.
Make Yourself Transferable.
Employers today are looking for workers who can make the greatest impact on the job. Can you deliver value to a wide range of initiatives or departments? Develop these transferable skills:
- Evaluating and planning. Improve your ability to identify and solve problems, through research, allocating appropriate resources, creating innovative solutions, etc.
- Communicating/Interpersonal Skills. Honing your interpersonal skills means you’ve mastered the art of conflict resolution, motivating others, and generally knowing how to listen, communicate with and support people around you.
- Leadership. Effective managers are hard to find. The ability to supervise and mentor others is extremely valuable. Work on building your delegation, coaching and management skills.
