Job security is between your ears
You may (or may not) have heard this expression in recent times. What does it mean? It means your parent’s definition of ”job security” is gone! It means we can no longer take solace in the fact that we’ve put blood, sweat, and tears into a position within a company and have any assurance that we’ll have that position tomorrow.
Sound bleak? Sure, it may be slightly pessimistic, but I feel strongly that it’s better to have this outlook and be prepared instead of chancing that “my company is different” (only to find yourself calling your friends from the side of the road, saying, “Uh, I just got let go!”). Essentially, your future employability depends on your brainpower, not on time served within the four walls of an office building.
What can you do to prepare? Many things, for sure. But aside from specific tactics, the mindset I urge you to adopt is (repeat after me), “My job security is my talent, skills and ability, and is not tied to a specific company or position”. Bottom line: it’s all about managing your personal brand.
After reading an article entitled “10 Essential Steps to Take BEFORE You’re Laid Off” from Get Rich Slowly, here are my favorites:
- Update your skills - It’s easy to become distracted by everything that’s going on today at home and at work. We neglect investing in ourselves. We can get away with that during boom times, but during tough times we need up to date, relevant skills. Start immediately. If you need training, get it — but don’t mistake training for application. Make sure you are practicing your skills professionally on a day-to-day basis.
- Start a blog that contains at least 50% professional material - If you don’t already have a blog, stop reading this one and go start one right this minute. It’s essential. Your blog is your living resume. It shows how you think. It shows how you write. It shows what’s important to you. While it is fine to blog about personal topics, devote half of your posts to professional content. What is that you do by trade? Mentor us through your blog. We employers love hiring mentors — they raise everybody’s performance.
- Network, network, and network - This is an on-going, never-ending activity (not something to be done ). Depending on how you’re wired, networking is either a lot of fun or a lot of work. If it’s work for you, have the discipline to start now. Building a network takes time, effort and sincerity. Start attending breakfast and/or cocktail networking events. Set goals for yourself. For example: “I want to have a good conversation and exchange business cards with at least 3 people during this breakfast.” Also, be sure to update your LinkedIn profile, as it is a very effective marketing tool (not to mention well optimized by search engines). Future employers aren’t dumb. They’ll detect that you only decided to invest in updating your profile and expanding your network and references after you lost your job. Do it now. Like physical networking, developing your virtual network takes time too. Set goals. For example: “I want to have 100 contacts by the end of the year and 250 contacts by this time next year.”
- Learn to use social media effectively - Learn to use Twitter and Facebook. In addition to starting your own blog, participate in some discussions online by commenting on blogs in your industry. Always link your comments back to your blog. Potential employers will Google you. Show them that you’re thoughtful and have something to say. Conversely, be careful about thinking “it’s just Twitter” before tweeting something that could embarrass you later.
- Do extra-curricular work that showcases your abilities - What’s better than telling a prospective employer how good you are? Show them! If you’re a software engineer, contribute on an open source project, develop an iPhone application or develop a robust website. If you’re an online marketer, prove your good by showing me that you have a site that gets a lot of traffic. I met a man earlier this year who’s a program manager at Microsoft. He wanted to move into a new role as a marketer, but didn’t have any day-to-day responsibilities at Microsoft that showed he could do the job. So he bought a domain and set up a website dedicated to Caribbean travel. Soon it was attracting lots of traffic and ranked high in organic search. It was a great way to show doubters that he was qualified.
Agree or disagree with this sentiment?
How about two blogs, Dave. One that showcases “your brand” and another that showcases “you”? One for what you do to pay the bills, and the other (much more important IMHO), that expresses those things you identify with in a larger life context.
Good to hear from you! Interesting concept … but I still think one is best b/c “your brand” = “you”. The lines are blurring – the two (personal and professional personas) are becoming more closely fused all the time. Besides, being transparent about the personal “larger life context” things can only help/boost the professional brand … much like when product brands do things to expose their human side. It can provide prospective employers w/ a real, more holistic taste of who you are as a person.