7 tips to help you keep your job

It seems like there are new stories every day about layoffs due to this shaky economy. If you’re afraid you might become a statistic, there are a few steps that could help you keep it.

I have to say up front: I’m not an expert on staffing. I’m just going by my experience and the experience of others who’ve lost jobs (what they’d have done differently, knowing what they know now) and who have narrowly missed losing jobs.

Find a way to be unique. If several people in your company are doing roughly the same thing you do, look for a way to give your work an edge. If you’re in sales, think of some untapped market you should try to reach. If you’re in customer service, try to come up with something you can do that makes customers feel like you’re catering to them without costing the company money. If you’re pushing paperwork, try to come up with a way to save steps and increase efficiency.
Tell your boss about it! Unfortunately, not all bosses keep an eye out for employees excelling – they’re too busy checking for slackers. Let them know about your innovative new idea or solution. Don’t come on too strong – you don’t want to seem like a desperate suck-up. Just email them, or mention it in passing. Or say you wanted to clear it with them first (that gives you a chance to describe your idea, plus your whole thought process that led up to it).
Got no ideas? Plunder your friends’ brains! If you have no idea what you can do to distinguish yourself, ask friends and family who don’t work there. By the time you’ve explained to them what your job entails, chances are one of their questions will spark an idea for you – “Yeah, why do we do it that way when we could do it this simpler way?”
Network. Maintain relationships with your co-workers and – just as importantly – people who work elsewhere. You never know where a job offer might come from if you do end up losing the job you have. This is a good time to help co-workers and show them what a team player you are. (If you can get the boss to notice your teamwork, even better.) If the people you help now are later in a position to help you, they’re more likely to remember you because you had their back.
Don’t get depressed! I know that’s easier said than done, but the more confident and upbeat you are, the more people want to keep you around. Even though things may be scary, take deep breaths, long walks, long baths… whatever you have do to keep from getting discouraged.
Let people know you’re worried. It never hurts to let your boss know you really need your job. The odds are everyone else needs theirs, too, but the one time I was laid off, I got chosen because the boss mistakenly assumed with my qualifications I could easily get a job elsewhere (in fact, the market for my chosen field was awful, and that’s why I’d ended up in his field out of pure desperation). Don’t whine and put on a waterworks show – just mention in passing that you’re worried about layoffs because you don’t know what you’ll do without this job. Or have a conversation in earshot of a boss in which you mention to a co-worker that you’re concerned.
If you do get laid off, BARGAIN. Employers usually hate laying people off. Sometimes you can offer to stay on with a cut in pay or a loss of benefits or by taking on additional responsibilities. It never hurts to ask, “What can I offer you that would enable you to keep me on?”

And of course, it doesn’t hurt to save everything you can and consider giving up some non-necessities just in case the worst comes to pass. I personally do not recommend pinching every penny you can – from my experience, I need at least one or two frivolous crutches in my life, or I get depressed. But make a smart choice like keeping your $20/month Netflix subscription rather than your $5/day Starbucks habit. You can even start making your own delicious mochas at home so you still have something to look forward to every morning. You could put off buying a new car or new computer or new clothes. And whatever money you can sock away, get it into a savings account that’s earning decent interest.

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