Kazira

I am reading a lot these days about what to do to save/keep your job in the current economic environment, where a recession is all but imminent. You've got advice coming from every direction - job sites, new sites, career gurus, coaching blogs, etc. People are making predictions about what industries are safer than others in current times (environment, energy), which verticals are cyclical (construction, technology), and which sectors are always in demand (security, healthcare).

SO is there really such a thing as a recession-proof job? Can you really be selective about the career and industry you choose to pursue and invest in, in order to minimize the risks of a future layoff or RIF (Reduction In Force)? Can you really plan your career in such a way that you can out-smart the economy? How do you prepare for such uncertainties and ensure that you are not left holding the short end of the stick?

Here come my 2 cents. Every organization, no matter what it's size is, wants to do business and make money in all kinds of economic environments. Companies do not get started with the thought that they will get to take a day or a month or a year off in case there is an economic slowdown of some sort. And what makes up and defines these companies? It is it's employees - people like you and me. Further, every organization keeps a tab of how these employees are performing. Some do it in a formal way using annual PERs (performance assessment reviews) or EPMs (employee performance management). All the data is neatly tracked and stacked, and is readily available for making decisions on raises, promotions, and when required, the not-so-popular layoffs. Other organizations track employee performance in a more informal manner using some MS Excel based tools and yet some others just go by good old human memory.

Guess what, when things start hitting the roof, for whatever reasons, the company is often forced to shift gears to a survival mode. There are various levers that a typical company can pull once it gets to this point, but unfortunately, one of the most effective and agile methods of cutting the company losses is by workforce downsizing. Impacted staff could be hand-picked at times or the management could send packing an entire team/group/BU (business unit). It all depends upon how quickly and to what extent the company wants to rein in it's operating losses. Whatever may be the case, the company will always make an effort to retain it's top performers - The Rockstars - The Top 10% in the performance pyramid. And the way it determines who is a keeper versus who is a goner is by looking up all that annual performance data it's Human Resources (HR) department has been gathering over the years.

Now lets go back and answer those questions that I posed earlier, one at a time.

1. Is there really such a thing as a recession-proof job? I don't think so. There is no such thing as a "recession-proof job" - It's a myth! If a company is really in a hole or a slump, every employee - from the top floor to the shop floor - is fair game.

2. Can you really be selective about the career and industry you choose to pursue and invest in, in order to minimize the risks of a future layoff or RIF (Reduction In Force)? I don't think so. The only way, I guess, you could ensure that you do not get laid off is if you were to work for yourself. But wait a second, if you were to have your own firm, you would be subject to the same set of economic and market ups and downs as anybody else.

3. Can you really plan your career in such a way that you can out-smart the economy? Same response as that for  bullet # 2.

4. How do you prepare for such uncertainties and ensure that you are not left holding the short end of the stick? The only thing you, as an employee, have control over is your individual performance. Be the best and brightest at what you have been tasked to do, and everything else should fall in place. Remember, the companies want to hold on to the cream of the crop at all times. These are the individuals who have demonstrated the maximum potential when it comes to knowledge, skills, and attitude. There are the ones who have worked the hardest and the smartest. These will be the future managers and leaders of the company. These are the ones that will still have a seat on the table once the dust settles.

Thomas Jefferson could not have put it more aptly when he said that -

I'm a great believer in luck and I find that the harder I work, the more I have of it.

 

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