Make Yourself Indispensable at Work, Even In a Recession

These items of advice are useful in or out of a recession or other economic downturn.

We have here some good ways of avoiding the negative fallout from times like the Recession of 2008 - 2010 in America. Taken together, they make up an effective strategy to make you indispensable to your current employer and a popular player that other companies wish they had on their teams. These techniques and plans will build your reputation on the job into an image far above the average worker and make you a standout in the employment market.

If one job ends, you will most certainly find it easier to step into another. for some, this process can even be seamless - So, take a week's vacation before starting that new job, if you can.

Continue networking from the time you get your first job as a kid, until you die. Whether or not you move smoothly into new jobs after layoffs may depend on your network of contacts and the people you have previously helped.

Keep your resume updated and keep looking for work. Always be prepared for the next move. Stay ahead of the game.

On the job, continually think of ways to streamline work processes, save time, cut costs, and generate new revenues. This may result in the combining of some jobs, with resulting layoffs, but if you produced the cost savings plan, then you should be retained as a valuable employee.

Speak up and make yourself known. Be visible and available at work. If you sense layoffs, down sizing and money problems at work, avoid taking personal days or vacation time. If you go, it will prove that the company can get along without you. Come in first and leave last. Increase your production and effectiveness. Twice during recessions, I took over company units that were losing money because of mismanagement and waste, and showed a profit within 60 days. One of these companies was a restaurant chain and one was a social service corporation.

Broadcast your contributions effectively. Keep a Work Portfolio, and email progress memos to your supervisor and the boss, showing how you are cutting costs, increasing sales and profits, and coming up with effective new ideas. Now is the time to further your documentation, not to discard it. Make sure the right people know about you. You might volunteer to write for the company newsletter or to start one.

Expand your territory. Don't be a person that does only what he or she is told to do, but use initiative and stay effectively busy. The Five O'Clock Club (www.fiveoclockclub.com). Volunteer for additional responsibilities and learn new skills (free online courses).

Ongoing Professional Development. Stay trained. Companies lay off the least useful people - those whose skills aren't current. Take online classes, go to school part-time, join trade organizations and the Chamber of Commerce. Remember: "Libraries will sustain us in times of no money better than money will sustain us in times of no libraries."

Don't just complain; be proactive. Management wants people who can boost morale during tough times. Upbeat people are less likely to get laid off than people who actively dislike their work or the company. If you complain about work all the time and offer no solutions, perhaps you should go somewhere else. In addition, worriers are not nice to have around. They give the impression that they do not know what they are doing.

Start another, part-time career. Executives buy companies, especially based on technologies, at low prices during recessions and plan to hire during economic upswings. Learn all you can about technology and start a part-time job connected with it that might become full-time if you lose your "day job."