Too often, the first thing people do when their firm is experiencing problems is to sit and mope, complain, do anything other than fit for their jobs or hit the exits. After all, complaining does nothing. Action does.
So if you learn your firm is experiencing financial problems severe enough to put layoffs in the cards or your job in jeopardy, here are a few things to do.
If you run a business unit or a company and the numbers disappoint, don't just take it; make your case to the board, to the president, to anyone who should hear it. Don't let the numbers stand unchallenged. Make sure people know that it is not unique to your firm and that you have a plan to change things.
If you're the Average Joe or Josephine, be the "backbone of the organization." Come in early and leave late. Care about what you do and document everything. Make sure people know how much effort you put in without seeming like a martyr.
If you're fairly new to the firm when problems occur, become "the eager beaver" by becoming a sponge for knowledge. Ask lots of questions and get advice from everyone important. Get going!
If you're an "old timer" become a work machine. let everyone see you as important so that they don't believe that you and your high salary are disposable.
And while all of this is going on, prepare your resume and start connecting with people inside of your organization to see if you can transfer to a division where layoffs are unlikely or outside of your organization so that you can start interviewing before you are fired.
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com
© 2008 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.
He is the author of “Get Yourself Hired NOW! The Big Game Hunter’s Guide to Head Hunting Your Next Job and Every Job After That” (in ebook and audio formats) and “Get Your Job Search Organized NOW!” (ebook) Both are available at www.getyourselfhiredNOW.com
To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.
Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series
- Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
- The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
- The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
- Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
- The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
- Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
Plus
- Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
- Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
- VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
- The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
- 4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals
- HeadHuntYourNextJob.com: 3 Search Products in one place
- Indian Job Network: Network for Work in
