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Is Your Job Safe? Are You Sure?

Two out of three workers think their job is in jeopardy

By Fred Yager
ConsumerAffairs.com

August 1, 2008

How would you know if you are about to get the ax? Experts say there are some clear and some more not so clear signs indicating that you may be on the verge of being let go. The key is to be able to read these signs so you can either get a head start on your job search or, possibly, take actions that might prevent your termination.

Clear Indicators

You may start to realize that your workload has gotten lighter and lighter as your responsibilities are dramatically reduced or assigned to someone else. You may find yourself being given assignments that would generally fall well below your pay grade or to someone with much less experience than you.

Perhaps you notice new people showing up for interviews and then returning to be seated in the office next door. Before you realize it, the new person is taking on some of the work you used to do.

Another obvious sign that you may be in line for a pink slip is that suddenly your work, work that used to be praised, is now being criticized as not up to standards. It doesn’t matter how good you think your work is or how hard you try, your efforts are rejected as inferior.

If this happens, you can be sure your days are numbered.

Being passed over for promotion or a raise when you are clearly the more qualified worker is another indicator.

More Subtle Clues

Additional clues could include just having the feeling that something isn’t quite right at work any more.

These clues could include slight changes in communication. For example, for no particular reason, your supervisor can’t look you in the eye, or he or she cancels in-person meetings and instead relies solely on email or voice mails left on your phone after you have gone for the day to communicate with you.

Sometimes the clues come in the form of job postings. You start to see that positions have opened up for entry-level workers, but nothing for more experienced employees. This could mean the firm is trying to cut costs by eliminating your higher-paying job and bringing on one or more lower-paid entry-level workers.

In these harsh economic times, more and more firms are merging to survive. If your company merges with a former competitor, positions may overlap so that wherever there are redundancies, there will probably be layoffs.

Also look at companies similar to yours. For example, in financial services, many of the firms have announced huge layoffs as the companies write down billions of dollars from their balance sheets. If you work in a sector being hard hit by layoffs, it may be time to start looking into other industries, especially those that are showing growth, such as healthcare, that could benefit from your skill set.

Developing an Exit Strategy

If any of these scenarios sound familiar, maybe it’s time for you to start looking for alternative sources of income or trying to turn things around.

In either case, if you think your position is vulnerable, considering going to your boss, even if she is reluctant to speak with you. Be persistent. Try to get him to either confirm or deny that your job is in jeopardy because of imminent downsizing or that your job performance is in question and if it is, go on record as stating you’ll do whatever it takes to correct the situation.

However, this may not be possible, especially if your supervisor has already made a decision to replace you or to eliminate your position. In that case, be prepared by updating your resume and networking with as many people as possible who could help in your search.

One veteran of the process said to call the most important people you know and tell them you’ve outgrown your current job and that you’re looking for a new position. Ask them if they could make any suggestions about job openings that they have heard about or if they will at least make a call on your behalf so you could have a 15-minute informational interview with a couple of their colleagues to explore what options might be available at their companies.

Here are some other steps to take if you fear your termination is near:

• Contact people who like you and your work at your current job and ask if you could have a testimonial or letter of recommendation that you could use, as needed. Some may be reluctant to write a “to whom it may concern” recommendation, but if you can get such a letter, it is helpful to have on hand since the specifics about you and your job performance may be blurred down the road when you need to ask for a recommendation for a specific job possibility.

• Get all the contact details that you need for references so you are prepared when you go on job interviews. Have the name, current title, address, phone number, and e-mail address for at least three professional references. If possible, contact those references now, especially if you have not spoken in a while, and try to get together for coffee, lunch, dinner, or at least have an extended conversation so they are up-to-date about your career situation, your accomplishments, and your job search goals.

• Find out if there are any job loss support groups in your community in case you lose your job and you need some help from others who are going through the same thing.

• Get your finances in shape. Hold off on any large unnecessary purchases. Build up that emergency savings fund so you can cover at least three months of searching if you have no severance pay, unemployment insurance, or income coming in.

• Check your employee materials about what services your company will offer you if you are terminated. They might have an agreement to provide you with outplacement services at no charge for a certain length of time.

• Consider taking courses or even going back to school to upgrade your skills or get an advanced degree if you need to gain more knowledge or skills to be competitive in the workplace.

• Look yourself over, critically, and see what positive changes you could make to increase your chances of getting hired. If necessary, work with an image consultant to buy new clothes or make different clothing choices to enhance your appearance. Consider everything from your suit, tie, shirt, casual business attire, jewelry, or hair, if you are a man, to your dress, suit, handbag, accessories, or makeup, if you are a woman.

• Read articles or books on how to master the job interview, how to write a powerful resume, new trends in your industry or in business in general that you should know about, and even on work relationships. By becoming more current about what’s going on in the business world and your industry today, you will increase your appeal to a new company as someone who will be an asset to their firm.

Keep in mind that your impending jobless status will be on your current company’s timetable unless you become proactive and start your search so you can secure a new job and beat them to the punch.

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