While businesses are no longer laying off employees in large numbers as they were 2 or 3 years ago, the recession is still dragging on. As 2012 approaches, companies may realize they need to cut costs still more, and that might mean cutting jobs.

Though no job is entirely recession-proof, and there may be nothing you can do to prevent being laid off, here are four things you can do to improve your chances of retaining your job in tough times.

Increase your visibility: If layoffs are coming, you may think it’s a good idea to fly under the radar and hope nobody notices you. It’s much smarter to do the opposite – be seen and heard throughout your organization. If you haven’t already, work on developing strategic relationships with your superiors. Make yourself available for additional projects and assignments. When management has to decide who to let go, it’s easier for them to fire “that guy in accounting” rather than you, someone they know and trust.

Enhance your skill set: Turn yourself into a company asset by building and improving your skills and increasing your knowledge of your department. Broaden your contributions by learning different tasks and have more than one skill set. The more you can do, the greater value you have to an employer, Also, if you do get laid off, you now have more expertise and a stronger resume.

Be an asset: Make sure you are adding value to the company’s bottom line, not just taking up space. Understand and fulfill your job responsibilities with care and minimal supervision. If your manager sees that you can handle the details, he’ll know he can depend on you to get the job done and turn his focus to his own duties. And be proactive: don’t always wait to be told what to do, but take initiative in finding innovative ways to be productive.

Stay positive: Your attitude is crucial in the face of impending layoffs. Stay positive and don’t let it affect your work performance. Whether you get hit or not, you’ll have proved yourself a solid employee and will be ready to take on the next challenge.

Put yourself in the place of your employer. If you had to choose between an employee who was personable, hard working, interested in becoming a better employee and upbeat—and one who lacks these qualities—which would you keep on the payroll?

Motivation and Courage

In a perfect world, we hear something once, record it in our brain, and never need to hear it again. Well, I don’t know where you’re living, but my world is far from perfect. I occasionally have doubts, fears, and disappointments in my life. During those times I need “shots of inspiration” to reinforce, to encourage, and to motivate.
What are some ways to reinforce what you believe, or to help you stay positive? Again, it’s a very personal thing, but for me good books, “feel good” movies, music, prayer, exercise, and spending quality time with a positive friend can all make a difference. One of the keys, however, is not to wait until you get “down” to act. You need to make the time to reinforce on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis..

QUESTION: What does “courage” have to do with being a person of good character…with someone who stays true to their principles and their values?

ANSWER: EVERYTHING!

You see, being values-driven means two things:

Doing what’s right – following our conscience; refusing to compromise our principles, despite pressures and temptations to the contrary, and

Taking a stand against what’s wrong – speaking out, whenever we see others do things that are incorrect or inappropriate.

Unquestionably, both of those require guts and fortitude…they require courage.

Reprinted from NISA Weekly Newsletter 10.14.2011

Having strong employment references is one of the final pieces to a successful job search. Who you choose and what they say about you to a prospective employer can make or break your chances of being offered the job.

Before you even send out your resume, select five people you think would give a potential employer a positive review of your professional skills. Professional is the key word here — don’t use a friend or family member for a job reference unless they have served as your boss.

Where can you find those five people?

Previous Jobs: Employment references should come from your previous bosses or co-workers. The most recent are the most important. You can also ask people you worked with at other companies, such as vendors or strategic partners. They may agree to give you a reference because they respected your work and your professionalism. This would show you are respected in the broader industry, not just at one company.

Academic Institutions: If you’re a recent graduate or have been in the workplace for less than 5 years, you can ask one or two of your professors or your advisor. In highly specialized careers like medicine, science or law, your intellectual background and training are always of interest.

Your Community: Think of someone completely outside your career field who can vouch for you as a person. Are you acquainted with a well-known local minister or politician? If you know anyone who has some sort of standing in the community, ask them if they will vouch for you.

Once you have identified the five, contact them, explain why you feel they would be a good reference for you, and ask if they would be comfortable discussing you with a potential employer.

When you’re interviewing and get to the point where you actually need references, pick three of the five that can best speak to the skills needed for that particular job. E-mail each of the three and send them a copy of the job posting. Explain why you want this position and why you feel you are a fit for the role.

Then, give each of them a call and see if they have any questions for you. Ask if they have any stories they feel would be good to share about you and your performance.

Ask them to call you afterward and let you know how it went. Make sure they will be positive! If you feel any doubt that they will, politely thank them and use an alternate reference. Don’t forget to express gratitude to the references you actually use as well. You never know when you might need them again.

Remember, an employer usually speaks to your references just before deciding whether to make you a job offer. Make sure you know that the people on your reference list will be the ones to give you that last boost toward a new job!

Please visit our website and visit and register for our FREE

Career Portal. You can take advantage of these FREE Job Seeker

Training Webinars!!
UPCOMING FREE JOB SEEKER TRAINING WEBINARS
Obstacles are Opportunities
October 13th @ (9:00 AM PST/10:00 AM MST/11:00 AM CST/12:00 PM EST)
You will experience obstacles during your job search. How you handle them will determine if you find a job or not. During this webinar we will address the following:

• Common obstacles
• Techniques to overcome obstacles
• How you learn from each experience
• Why this will progress your job search

Fear Does Impact Your Job Search
October 19th @ (7:00 AM PST/8:00 AM MST/9:00 AM CST/10:00 AM EST)
A job search is never a comfortable process. It can evoke emotions that are not common for you. FEAR is an emotion often experienced. During this session you will learn:

• To understand what causes fear
• How to overcome fear
• What is takes to benefit by your fears
• How fear can help you ace out your competition

Job Seekers may register on our Career Portal by clicking on our website http://www.clarkpersonnel.com Then clicking on the event and then register by clicking the webinar registration link for each event listed.

One of the most valuable types of social media for management or executive-level employees is an internal blog. Generally accessed through the company’s Intranet, an employee-only blog may be used in lieu of meetings and e-mail discussions, and can be especially useful when employees are in different locations or have conflicting schedules.

Blogs have transformed traditional media communication from one-way communication into an interactive dialogue between message creators and message recipients – what better way to stay in touch with your employees and make sure your messages are being received and understood?

An in-house blog can be a bulletin board, a communication tool and a way to enhance your company culture. Plus, these days, it might be better than e-mail.

What if you fail to see critical pieces of information in an e-mail? What if you weren’t included on the recipient list? With a blog, you are putting crucial information in one place, for everyone to see. Information about specific topics lives on the intranet, and critical information can be available to all who want to see it and who have permission to see it.

Also, ex-employees can’t take valuable information with them. When someone leaves and their e-mail account is dissolved, any important communications or valuable information that lived in that person’s account disappears forever.

Having an internal blog cuts down on “check in” time. People waste hours a week “checking in” with one another either in person, via e-mail or phone. A blog provides a method for your employees to log that information without management having to send “what are you working on lately” or “what’s your progress” e-mails. A blog gives everyone a central place for daily or weekly updates on ongoing projects. They can also be an internal platform to communicate about big wins and losses or give praise to exceptional employees or successful teams.

Using a blog this way also encourages organizational openness and accountability. They encourage open information, communication and debate — with the knowledge that all communication is at least semi-public, which should cut down on the petty behavior and bickering that e-mail can encourage.

An internal blog provides a fast and easy way to stay connected to employees and exchange information on virtually any topic. This increases employee engagement and therefore has a positive effect on the company’s ROI. It also helps management position itself as a cutting-edge, caring, and fair. These traits are especially important to young professionals, who are accustomed to and comfortable using social media.