How To Hold On To Your Job
Knowing
how to keep your job is just as important as landing it in the first place,
especially when the market hits rough waters. During recessions when
companies are looking to lighten the load amid declining profits or mergers, it
can be an unsettling time. Security in this situation is hard to see. But
avoiding the guillotine is largely dependent on one thing, YOU. Cultivating
skills and continuing to ride the waves of change are the way up when everyone
else is heading down.
The last
few years have underlined to both employees and employers alike that the best
person for the job is the one you cannot easily replace. For employers,
the equation is a bit simpler in that they have the benefit of hiring in talent
and the ability to be choosy when it comes to expectations.
The
market for employees is more competitive and keeping your value in the market
up is more important than ever. Mergers in particular are daunting for
employees. The probability of redundancies due to consolidations of departments
or changes in structure is often high and can be perceived to be catastrophic.
How do you keep your head above water?
My
father-in-law was faced with a similar situation when the company he had worked
for thirty years was bought out by another firm. Mike started out with Sinclair
oil in 1979 as a Loader in a terminal. The first thing that set him apart
from his co-workers was his education. He had gotten a degree in Science.
Though it was not a job that required an education, it certainly went a long
way in helping make him stand out. When he applied for an assistant terminal
supervisor position hard work and dedication were important, but his education
was a key factor in his progression.
As the
years went by, Mike kept up with the trends he saw in his workplace. Automation
was becoming more prevalent in the day-to-day operations of the terminal. His
answer to less responsibility in the handling of the various aspects of
day-to-day work was to head back to school and start taking computer classes.
Mike was kept on at the terminal and promoted to supervisor. Meanwhile,
the number of people working at the terminal was being reduced.
The less
skilled employees were all being transferred back to the refinery where there
was more of a need for unskilled labour. Eventually, the company was bought out
by another oil and gas firm. Most employees could feel their fate hanging in
the balance. Mike was even uncertain as to what the future might hold for him.
Being a highly paid supervisor, it would have been easier to take on someone
with less experience and pay them less to oversee the day to day operations.
The tension in the work place had started to mount as the gravity of the
situations started to sink in. Finally, the time came for him to sit down and
interview with the incoming management and do an assessment.
Over the
years, Mike had amassed a fantastic knowledge of how the systems worked and how
to handle day-to-day maintenance. He was the person everyone turned to when
there were operating problems. Mike had taken on the responsibility, learned
the systems, and met the output needs of the company for years. He sought out
education and kept ahead of the curve on the operations of the terminal. They
began the process of interviewing employees to assess their skills and ability.
During Mike’s interview, they asked about the operations of the terminal. They
asked who handled problems when they arose. His answer was the same for every
question they asked “me”. His dedication to getting the job done correctly and
on time was instrumental in his success and his determination to keep
developing himself and skills are what ensured his job.
After the
interview, Mike felt relieved. Over the years he had not given consideration to
the number of tasks that fell to him. He never complained about taking the
extra responsibility and he applied himself to every new challenge and sought
out more education to keep with the ever changing work place.
Mike was
called back in to discuss what the future held for him. The company had decided
to invest money in upgrading his terminal and adding more responsibility to his
role. The company had reduced headcount 20 per cent at the refinery. A good
number of those who lost their jobs were those that were unskilled. Quite a few
came from the terminal locations. Had Mike not sought out ways to grow with in
his job he might have been made redundant. Instead, Mike got a promotion and
managed to make a great impression on his new bosses.
by Christopher Peterson
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