In the last few weeks I’ve been looking at a bunch of job postings at my company to try to find a promotion. I’m hoping to take my career to the next level while increasing my income.
However, there is a big “recession” cloud looming over my head. I need to make sure my career is ready just in case the economy doesn’t get any better and we head into another recession.
With this potential recession in mind, I am doing two things to make sure I can make it through a recession with a steady income stream.
Be Valuable to Your Company
Let’s be honest: any job is expendable. With that being said, make yourself as valuable as possible to your company. The more valuable you are, the less likely you are to get that pink slip when the bad times roll around.
First, be great at what you do. My job does performance evaluations every year and I work hard to make sure I’m in the high performing group. If your company doesn’t tell you whether or not you’re a high performer, ask your boss. It’s as simple as, “What can I do to be even more valuable to your team and this company?”
Then do what he or she says.
Finally, understand the nature of your role. You might be the best person on the entire planet at making powerpoint presentations look pretty, but your company can survive with ugly powerpoints. On the other hand, there are certain positions that are absolutely essential to a company staying in business. If you aren’t in one of those positions right now, try to move yourself into one as soon as possible.
Have a Backup Plan
You can literally be the single most valuable person at your company, but that doesn’t mean jack squat when that company goes out of business. In scary economic times like today there are two things that everyone should do to prepare for the worst.
First, keep your resume updated. If you get canned today, you should be ready to find a new job tomorrow. That means having an updated resume and maintaining relationships with business contacts. You should have a network of people, both within your current company and outside of it, that you could reach out to if you were looking for a job.
Second, diversify your income. If I lost my job today I’d be in trouble, but at least I’d have the little bit of income this website brings me. I could also start freelance writing or using my skills to do odd jobs until I could find a new career. Having multiple income streams gives you extra money in the good times. More importantly, it gives you at least some money in the bad times.
Understand Your Risk Tolerance
It’s a scary time to be looking for a promotion because the last guy in is usually the first one out. On the other hand I can’t pass up the right position if the opportunity presents itself. I’m a bit of a risk taker and can handle the idea that I might be in trouble if a recession hits.
If the thought of losing your job scares the pants off you then it might not be the right time to look for a promotion (as long as your current job is a vital position to the company and you’re good at it).
Readers: What precautions do you take with your income to prepare for job loss, a recession, or some other bad situation?
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Kevin McKee is an entrepreneur, IT guru, and personal finance leader. In addition to his writing, Kevin is the head of IT at Buildingstars, Co-Founder of Padmission, and organizer of Laravel STL. He is also the creator of www.contributetoopensource.com. When he’s not working, Kevin enjoys podcasting about movies and spending time with his wife and four children.
I try to keep my skills and licenses updated and always have a resume waiting. It doesn’t hurt to have a strong network either. If I lost my job today I know of some companies that would likely hire me tomorrow. It isn’t my ideal job but it would hold me over if it ever came to the point where I needed the income.
I’ve been trying to diversify my income streams a little more by expanding the garden, creating a blog, and lightly trading in the stock market. All of which are pretty small but something to build on and if the pink slip comes I’ll have a little more saved and a little more trickling in until I find a new job. Speaking of finding a new job, thanks for the reminder to update the resume.
Great article! Visibility in your industry is always a good investment: be active on industry blogs, attend conventions, etc. If you can graduate that to some form of industry leadership (council, volunteer, organizer, newsletter editor, etc.) that helps a lot.
Helping out with tasks outside of everyone’s job description also boosts your value as a team player.
Networking, especially with alumni, also helps a lot. Especially when an industry has a round or two of layoffs, I’ve noticed that the alumni get together after work, at a bar or a similar kind of place, once a week maybe. That’s where the people who got their next job hang out. Great source of new job leads 🙂
Also, any and all training and education is a valuable recession proofing strategy. To your existing employer, or your next one, that shows that you are way above average in your drive to become better continuously. That speaks volumes.
Good thinking to think ahead, Kevin! You don’t aim where the clay pigeon is – you aim where it’s going to be.
How often do you update your resume? Quarterly? Bi-annually? Anually? or whenever you feel like it? I updated mine about a month ago, but I just had a wild hare and about 2 hours of free time. I am thinking about doing it quarterly so that I can put fresh accomplishments in there. Especially monetary or quantative data. Since I updated my resume, I rewired my entire office(s) and procured new networking equipment. That’s something I should really get on there ASAP!
Great post, great advice.
I always keep my resume up to date, because you never know what may happen or when. I have had two job offers within the last couple of months, so I feel confident that I could get another job soon, if this one was not to work out.
Good strategy. Beats whining and sulking in your cubicle because you’re not appreciated enough.
Network, network, network. you should always have a list of people you can call today if you lost your job. Knowing people is the fastest, most profitable way to get a job. If you have a great network setup, there should be a handful of people who would hire you tomorrow if you decided to give them a call.
That being said, this is not easy at all. You need to follow your above steps to get there. Be valuable, keep your resume updated, and know what you are comfortable doing.
Network, network, network. you should always have a list of people you can call today if you lost your job. Knowing people is the fastest, most profitable way to get a job. If you have a great network setup, there should be a handful of people who would hire you tomorrow if you decided to give them a call.
That being said, this is not easy at all. You need to follow your above steps to get there. Be valuable, keep your resume updated, and know what you are comfortable doing.
Great article! Visibility in your industry is always a good investment. It was very informative thank you for sharing.
I pay for articles written and posted in financial blogs.
Thank you.