Advice from the boss: keys to job security
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If you’re counting your blessings that you still have a job, patting yourself on the back because your boss appreciates you, and offering shallow, useless sympathy to the less fortunate, you will live to regret it. In this difficult market, resting on your laurels is a big-time mistake. Here’s what you should be doing to improve your job security.
- Be on time or be early. Don’t kid yourself that no one is watching, that it’s the culture of the company or the region or just the world in general to start everything late. If you tend to be first to meetings, keep a “to read” folder and be productive while you wait. If your workday starts at 8:00, be there. If the boss isn’t in yet, even better – you can get started before he arrives and be ready with a friendly “Good morning!” Trust me, I’m the boss so I know how delightful that can be.
- Get your work done on time, or sound the alarm in advance. There is no excuse for missing a deadline. If there’s a problem with a project, don’t shove it under the rug. Alert others to the issue and seek help before it’s too late.
- Communicate! Communicate openly and frequently, to supervisors and co-workers. Communicate clearly with clients. Don’t hide behind email – think about the best communication method for each person, each instance. How annoyed do you get when you receive an email or voicemail that just says “call me,” without a clue what it’s about? Make your messages short, clear, and useful.
- Help others. This applies to supervisors, co-workers, clients. Think about serving client interests in everything you do. Think innovatively, creatively. If you don’t know what clients need, ask them. When you’re out meeting people and networking, don’t swoop in and ask for a sale – ask “how can I help you?”
- Seek feedback. Welcome constructive feedback. If you’re not getting it, ask for it. If your performance review meeting is all positives, push to identify areas where you can grow. If you’re getting nowhere just asking, make suggestions about what you plan to work on this year and gain approval or even assistance!
Don’t sit back and relax. Now is the time to raise your energy level, rev up your productivity, and demonstrate — every day — the value that you offer.
To this list, I’d add, “hone your writing skills.” As a writer, I am admittedly biased but the ability to persuade, explain, and simply express ideas in writing can be an important differentiator.
A few other thoughts:
Act responsibly.
Be responsive.
Be the person who finds viable solutions.
Know your clients and understand their needs.
See business development as an opportunity to grow.
Be positive.
Thanks for the helpful hints and reminders. It’s easy to get caught-up in counter-productive tendencies and forget that it’s all about helping others. I believe taking the focus off yourself and applying it to others helps in leading fuller more productive lives both personally and professionally.
I like your question…and you’re guidance…here’s my two cents…
Job Security does not exist. But Talent security does. If you have the ability to adapt to the needs of an organization still produce and drive real revenue…you have have security.
You said “communicate”…and I do. I always do what I can to cut through rhetoric to say…where do you see my filling the organizations needs “next.” I never look at any job as a “lifetime” endeavor…one it’s boring and two unrealistic. Jobs change, assignments change, times change…it’s all “change.”
I’m a firm believer that talent to adapt and provide real value is the only security. Thanks for this post…and thanks Janet for the heads up on Linked In. Take care.
A few other thoughts on the subject:
1. Think before you speak; tempers are shorter these days so be more thoughtful
2. Volunteer for extra assignments; makes it easier on the boss to get a project done
3. Be concise; brevity is a virtue much appreciated in difficult situations
4. Always remember the mission; put clients and customers first.
Because companies, especially large companies, don’t always make rational decisions, there are no guarantees to job security, especially in the current economic environment. Many decisions are driven by politics and face-saving, which aren’t necessarily under your control. I was once part of a department in one unit of a company that was disbanded solely so that a similar department in a completely different unit of the company wouldn’t look bad as compared with our performance.
But having said that, I agree that there are factors that can help one save their position and it all boils down to this: you must make yourself the “go-to person”. You must be the one who can be relied upon to perform the best job, most reliably, in the most efficient way. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a lowly cog in a wheel or a high-level executive. And you also have to perform your own P.R. (but without being overbearing) so that people are aware that you’re the “go-to person”.