What If You Lose Your Job – Be Prepared
Reportedly, the country is in a recession. Whether it is or not is really only a technical issue for economists. For those of us that work for a living it is a reminder that we always should have a back-up plan. Here are some things I've learned along the way.
The safest plan in life is to recognize that you can only depend on yourself. With that in mind, it is prudent to always watch for other work opportunities. How do you do that? First pay attention to what is happening around you – talk to folks – they always like to talk about themselves and their jobs – listen. Watch ads in the industry – I'm not saying one should switch jobs on a whim or simply opt to make a few dollars more at the expense of uncertainty. But, take a personal inventory of your skills, characteristics and aptitudes and measure that against what is available. If you are one-dimensional – you must change. Remember the old saying about “putting all your eggs in one basket”? If your livelihood – the ability to support yourself and your family is dependent upon a single skill – you will probably have a problem in the future. The time to acquire additional skills is now. The sooner the better and age is really not a factor, although flexibility in acquiring additional skills is often easier at a younger age.
Get educated. The community college network throughout the nation has a multitude of courses available that teach welding, heating and refrigeration, computer tech classes and a host of many other hands-on skills that can translate into a better or higher paying jobs. They are relatively inexpensive and the skills learned can be priceless.
In your present job the following suggestions may help. Make yourself indispensable. It doesn't matter what you do, you are competing with others, so be on time, give a little extra, be dependable and conscientious. Don't bitch. Smile – be enthusiastic. You'd be amazed at how many people cannot be counted on. These attributes may not save your job, but when you become a critical spoke in the hub – you'll be the last to go if a downturn occurs.
Be a cheerleader. Years ago, a good friend of mine and I were both working for the same boss as were several others. He wasn't that good of a boss – but he was trying and times were tough. We could have opposed him and it would have been easy – but we decided that success was in our best interests, so we decided to encourage him, compliment him and help him to be successful. We also conspired to support each other. If I was around the boss, I would say, Have you noticed how hard Don is working lately? And that idea he had about such and such is really working well.” He would do the same for me. We also provided suggestions to the boss – something like, “Have you ever thought of doing . . .?”
The bottom line is that we decided to be part of the solution and make our work environment better. It worked. The company ended up being successful and we both profited. Even if our efforts had not been successful – nothing would have been lost.
Be visible. If you're working hard, make sure others know about it. That doesn't mean you make public statements about how good you are, but it does mean that if a customer compliments you, you could say, “I'd appreciate it if you told my boss that, it makes him feel better to know we're trying our best.”
Finally, the hardest thing of all – save. Bad things happen to good people and all of us could lose our job. Saving for that rainy day is a tried and true solution. It takes discipline but just a few dollars a week mounts up and provides a buffer if the worst happens. All the experts say we should have six months of wages banked to be prepared.
This stuff is easy to write about. Taking action is the hard part. I've been up and I've been down, but never out. One year, after having had a job of considerable responsibility and pay – things didn't work out well and I ended up having to mow lawns to support the family. I was 40 at the time and the best lawn mower in town! It ended up that someone noticed me and I got a great job offer!
Bottom line – be prepared for the worst and the you'll feel a lot more confident about the future.
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