The UK economic forecast might be bleak, but there’s no reason to panic, say the experts – as long as you’re a well-liked and skilled team-player who knows when to brag. Here’s how to keep receiving that vital pay cheque:
1. Too late now. If you have been taking an active interest in your own career development (and if you don’t, who will?), you should already have valuable, up-to-date skills from all those training courses you asked to be sent on. Well done. Stay or go, you’re all set.
2. Market research. Forget the prospect of redundancy and think about how your boss is feeling instead. Ask what’s important to him/ her and other key decision makers, says Rachel Brushfield, a career coach at Energise, an executive coaching service. “By doing that [you] will become indispensible because [you] are thinking about [your] target audience.”
3. Personality counts. Being conscientious won’t be enough to help you to keep your security pass, according to Professor Ivan Robertson, the managing director of Robertson Cooper, a business psychology firm. Warm, gregarious, outgoing types who are able to be assertive without antagonising others are more likely to have a future in an organisation.
4. Be a good apple. When times are tough, managers often take the opportunity to get rid of those who don’t fit in, Professor Robertson says. “From the boss’s point of view the thinking tends to be... is there anyone who is going to really rock the boat and make problems for us? They’re the ones that you don’t want.”
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5. You’re a star. Being a good team player doesn’t mean being anonymous, so take the time to point out what you have achieved – and take that effort seriously, says Julia Harvie-Liddel, the UK and Ireland recruitment director at Accenture. “It won’t just instantly happen for you and you are going to have an awful lot of other people trying to do the same.”
6. A balancing act. You need to have specific skills that the firm values, but you also have to be a “flexible generalist”, willing to pick up tasks that fall outside your role, Brushfield says. “People have to do that anyway these days but is even more true when the chips are down.”
7. Remain ambitious. Don’t forget to keep building your skills, even if this means juggling your already heavy workload, Harvie-Liddel says. “Make sure that you keep abreast of new projects and initiatives within your organisation and be first to volunteer your help.” If you’re convinced that you have a future at the firm, others may be too.
8. Cover your bases. If you have an inkling that your team faces cuts, don’t wait for the chop before networking, fishing for another role internally and polishing your CV.
9. Desperate tactics. Consider whether ordering a photocopier which is so complex that only you can fix it; or taking on a tedious project that is sure to run and run, will look good on your CV. It might be better to jump ship than stay put and fester.
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10. Stay positive. You could be the beneficiary rather than a victim of redundancy. “So many people say, ‘It’s the best thing that ever happened to me because it made me do this, that or the other’ that they had been thinking about for a while,” Professor Robertson says.
Find out more
Watch The Wall Street Journal’s online video clip entitled “recession-proofing your paycheck” at: online.wsj.com/careers
Find out how to write an all-singing, all-dancing CV and covering letter
If you’re faced with the threat of redundancy, find out about your rights at: direct.gov.uk/en/employment/index.htm
Are you making the most of your connections? Read Brilliant Networking, by Steven D’Souza (Prentice Hall, £9.99).
Make the most of your skills with the help of Go Put Your Strengths to Work, by Marcus Buckingham (Free Press, £16.70).