Avoid Losing Your Job

This post begins a 7 part series on how to avoid losing your job

In the past, when a person achieved their goal of finding a job, they immediately set a new goal: get a promotion. That approach leads to disaster in today’s workplace. Today’s goal for both new employees and existing employees: Avoid Losing Your Job

Michael’s Sad Story

Michael worked for a global software provider that was acquired by another company. Layoffs became the norm. Yet, Michael survived as a project manager on a major profit-generating product. Eventually, however, Michael received notice that he would be laid off with another 325 employees. He left the company in mid-November. He worked hard and smart, and found a new job with a major company by Christmas.

He started the new job on January 3. The new company announced 115 layoffs on January 28 of the same year. Michael found himself looking for a new job within 25 days of starting the new job. He related the following when he came to tell us he lost the new job.

“I didn’t believe you when you told me that my new goal was to avoid losing this job. I didn’t do the things you told me to do. I’m convinced that if I had, I would not be looking for a new job. I really think they would have kept me.”

The Great Recession, stalled debt relief in the federal government, acquisitions, mergers, project-based work, and more elements contribute to frequent lay offs. Whatever the reason, 36% of the American workforce find themselves looking for a new job every 6-12 months. Losing one’s job lost the stigma it had 15 years ago. Most workers lose their jobs 3-5 times—or more—in their career.

3 Vital Behaviors to Avoid Losing Your Job

While no one can guarantee you will not lose your job, we’ve discovered some key tactics that can help you survive most lay off cycles. The 3 vital behaviors to avoid losing your job include:

1. Do the job they want done—and then some
2. Fit into the company culture
3. Communicate your return on investment to management

We will examine each in more detail over the coming weeks. However, let’s expand a little on each behavior right now.

Do the job they want done—and then some: Successful workers deliver what the company expects. They deliver the desired productivity (the number of things) management wants produced, sold, processed, or dealt with. They also perform at the desired efficiency (in terms of cost, time, etc.) management desires. Their work provides the effectiveness (accomplishes the end goal) management desires. Finally, they provide the quality that management expects. Once they deliver the productivity, efficiency, effectiveness, and quality management desires; they exceed management’s expectations. They increase their value to the company more than those who just do the job management wants done.

Frequently, companies fail to communicate effectively what the job is that they want done. Successful workers do not accept uncertain expectations. They build a network of friends in the company that can help them discern management’s expectations, but also can help them perform better. Great employees enlist the guidance of a mentor. Mentors take new employees under their wing to help them understand the expectations and quirks of the company.

Fit into the company culture: Every company possesses its own culture. The culture defines the environment, informal reporting structures, how people get along with one another, and more. Every company also operates based on both written and unwritten rules. Written policies and procedures may define the formal way the company runs. Unwritten rules may carry more weight than written ones. For example, one company’s written rules declared that men needed to wear “white or light colored dress shirts”. Nobody received a promotion who wore light colored shirts. The unwritten rule declared “white dress shirts only”.

Successful employees understand the importance of fitting into the company culture. Once again, they enlist the guidance of a mentor and their internal network to teach them both the written and unwritten rules, and to help them fit in. Many employees who did the job they were asked to do, found themselves the first ones to get pink slips because they never fit in.

Communicate your return on investment to management: Finally, successful employees ensure that management knows their value to the company. They communicate simple home run statements that describe a specific example of how the made or saved more money for the company, how they accomplished a special project, or improved performance. They do not embellish or share the statement to “kiss up”. They share the statement so that management knows they did the job and then some.

Now you know the 3 vital behaviors to avoid losing your job. Once again, no one can guarantee you will avoid every lay off. Implementing these behaviors, however, can keep you working while others lose their jobs.

Next week we will discuss how to build a network within the company.

Preparing Your Career: Some Concluding Thoughts

This post concludes our series on choosing and preparing for the vocational path that will bring you the greatest happiness, satisfaction, and income. Whether you read this blog for yourself, or for a loved one that needed the guidance, I hope you found some good ideas. We explored several concepts that built on one another to lay a solid foundation for an occupational future.

An Illustrative Story

Before we summarize, I would like to share a story that occurred just tonight. I think it illustrates what we discussed.

I received a phone call from a relative. He graduated from college with a teaching degree a decade ago. His first job out of college, with a charter school/private academy soured him on teaching. The politics (he failed the son of one of the board members), trying to teach students who did not share his love of learning, and losing his job helped him realize that teaching did not bring the satisfaction he sought.

Luckily, he found a real niche in the food service industry. Fast food did not raise his passion, but fine dining fed his occupational hunger. His expertise led to the management of fine dining establishments, especially the quirky small places that offered interesting tidbits to adventurous tastes.

Continued management brought him into increasing contact with food sales representatives. He began to realize that he enjoyed opening a new restaurant, establishing its reputation, and selling the brand. On-going management (what I call maintenance) bored him and he soon looked for the next “sell”. He will conclude his decade journey through food later this year.

He will embark on a slight course correction into sales after a thorough exploration and validation.

First, he began his exploration by enhancing the sales portion of his current job. He found the more he sold the better he felt.

Second, he outlined what he wanted in this course correction. He wrote down exactly what he wanted, and did not want in a sales job. He asked several tough questions. Did he want to sell a service or product? Did he want business-to business, business-to-consumer, or other kind of sale? How much travel did he want to do? He also explored all the different kind of sales: medical, food, office furnishings, manufacturing, and more.

Third, he plans to discover more about the sales world by talking to sales representatives from all walks of the fields that interest him. He prepared a list of questions to ask them about their job. He intends to verify that his degree will qualify for the work he wants to do. He will use his network of doctors, grocery stores, family, and others to identify people doing all the kinds of sales he wishes to explore.

Fourth, he will use all of this research to make a final decision. Fortunately, his research also helps him build relationships with the very people who will help him find a job.

Fifth, he plans to persist until he obtains the job that brings challenge, satisfaction and an adequate income.

In Summary

To summarize what we discussed these last few weeks, and what my relative illustrated:

1. Recognize the need for post-high school training or education
2. Choose what you want to do and get the training you will need to do it
3. Recognize that many paths can provide the training you need
4. Add experience to your training
5. Explore other options for using your education and experience

Next week we will begin our series on avoiding lay offs and getting the bigger raises and the better promotions. You will not want to miss it during these difficult economic times.

Salary Gap Widens

Do you feel that your salary increases don’t keep up with the cost of living? Do you perceived a widening difference between the you and the rich? Do you feel that you work your hardest, then don’t get the reward you expected in your paycheck?

Then, you must not be the CEO of a major corporation.

Recently released research by a number of organizations confirmed this last few weeks that the gap between the have’s and the have not’s continues to widen. The good news indicated that the gap was less than last year.

The Conference Board released their U.S. Salary Increase Budgets for 2012 survey indicated that the average salary in America will increase 3% in 2012 or .5% more than the 2.5% for this year. So, if you make

• $24,000 you will get an annual increase of $600 or $50 a month. For many people, their raise won’t cover the increase in wheat and petroleum products, let alone medical, housing, and other food related costs.
• $50,000 you will get an annual increase of $1,250 or $104.16. You may break even on petroleum, wheat, and medical costs. However, the increase in your medical premium could completely wipe out your increase and leave you even or worse.
• $100,000 you will get an annual increase of $2,500 or $208.33. You may even be able to save a little bit or pay down your debts when all is settled.

This assumes, of course that you weren’t one of the millions who spent one month to the entire year unemployed. If you were unemployed, then you took a minimum 20% cut in pay. You may even be one who lost all support last year including Cobra insurance.

Of course, you don’t have these worries if you are a CEO of a major corporation (not even a Fortune 500 company). Governance Metrics International revealed last month that the average salary for CEO’s (out of 747 surveyed) increased by 18%. 28% when additional benefits like stocks, bonuses, and other perks were added to the total. One radio station report the average increase for a CEO totaled $18 million dollars. I’ve tried to verify that number but can’t find it.

The reality persists that the middle class shrinks every year, while the ultra wealthy and the poor increase. Yet we continue to support this excess. Why were the CEO’s rewarded so well by stockholders? They sat on huge bank vaults of cash, didn’t hire people, and continued to lay people off. These decisions delighted shareholders. All except for the employees who don’t hold preferred stock and don’t see the big dividends others receive.

When viewed in this light, the talks from both parties seems ridiculous.

Add Experience to Education

A billboard on the side of the freeway conveys a brilliant message "Get a Resume With Your Degree".

 

STUDENTS WITH NO EXPERIENCE

Unfortunately, borrowing your way through school replaced working your way through school. More students graduate with debt today. They borrow student loans. They borrow on credit cards offered by finance companies who throw T-shirts, pizza, and other coupons to establish habits of debt. Many have to drop out of college because of debt related bankruptcy.

 

Consequently, most college students graduate from school with absolutely no, or minimal, work experience. I speak to lots of college groups to encourage them to add experience to their education. A frequent comment is "I graduate in a few weeks (or months). Most of the places ask for 1-2 years experience. I've never worked in my life. How am I supposed to gain experience?". At first, I thought the student ignored the small jobs they had done as youth. Upon further inquiry, however, I discovered that they had not mowed lawns, babysat, or worked during their teen years. Instead, their parents had so focused them on sports, dance, music, and other activities. Work interfered with their play.

 

As a result, they were entering the workplace in their twenties with no work ethic. They suffered a lack of experience. They do not understand the need for punctuality, dependability, and productivity. The only thing they can offer an employer is a diploma. They expect the workplace to conform to their habits. A recent story in US News and World Report lists seven advantages to working your way through college.

 

RICK'S STORY

Let me share the story of Rick. A young man I met in the late 80's. Rick, age 15 1/2 approached me after a presentation. No one in his family for 3 generations had gone to college. He wanted to be a mechanical engineer, but saw no way to achieve his goal. We discussed options. He knew an engineer from his church congregation. He offered to volunteer as a custodian at the engineering firm at which the man worked.

 

After six months of emptying trash and cleaning toilets, the firm hired him part-time. He still cleaned, but the engineers had begun to teach him how to draft using Autocad. He no longer cleaned by his 17th birthday, but drafted 20 hours a week. He also earned twice the average teen wage for the time. I remember him proudly informing me that he was leaving for his chosen university the next week, and had just bought a PC with his own money. Further, the engineering firm offered him work anytime he could come to the office--at three times the usual college student wage.

 

His engineering portfolio, when he graduated from college, did not contain student projects. It contained 11 engineering studies he had completed for the transportation system of a major copper refinery. It contained the design, drafting, and photos of 23 mechanical parts he had engineered for the same project. He added seven years engineering experience to his diploma.

 

Graduate schools lobbied for him to apply to their programs. They courted him as some schools court athletes. He accepted the offer from Purdue. They offered him a position as a teaching assistant. In addition, they gave him a grant to pay for tuition. Finally, they arranged a part-time job with a local engineering firm that paid him $58,000 a year.

 

Today, Rick is a Vice President with a major manufacturer of farm and other heavy equipment. He loves his job. He provides very well for his family. He has worked for the same company since graduating with his master's degree.

 

OTHER EXAMPLES

Many others mirror Rick's story. I know two people who worked their way through school doing film and cartooning. They both now work for Sony and Disney pictures. I know hundreds of students who earned certificates in medical, dental, and nursing assisting in high school. They worked their way through college and professional schools working in their chosen occupational field. I could share thousands of stories of accountants who worked as bookkeepers.

 

My advice to you as the student--or as the parent--work your way through college. Prepare for your future. Verify that your chosen occupation really matches your expectations. Become the person the companies and graduate schools recruit.

 

Add a resume to your diploma.