Layoffs add stress. You may decide to find a new, more stable job. If not, these tips may help:
- Follow the principles of being an excellent employee: hard work, integrity, dedication, innovation, etc. Insulation against layoffs starts the day you begin work.
- Involve yourself with new projects and initiatives. Troubled companies often change strategic direction and create new projects that are more in line with the new strategy. Higher priority is placed on the new projects and their staff.
- Volunteer to perform the tasks nobody wants to do but must be done. You will become much more valuable.
- Don’t change departments. The new person is always the first to go.
The best insulation may be your ability to find another job quickly. Keep your resume updated. Get feedback from industry experts in your current organization. Keep in touch with your business contacts.
Elton Orme
Applications Expert
TenFold Corporation
MISM ’00
Entirely—no. We live in a time that downsizing occurs with increasing frequency, and there are too many complicating factors (changes in assignments, management, company structure, economy, etc.) that can quickly and dramatically affect your career.
However, there are three basic things you can do to enhance your chances of survival:
Constantly and visibly demonstrate value to the company. Each week you should be able to answer the following question: “What have I done of value this week?”
Anticipate trends and assess their impact on you. Monitor leading indicators inside and outside the company that may require some adjustments on your behalf before conditions change and it’s too late.
Network. It’s important to establish meaningful relationships inside and
outside your company. These relationships must be nurtured according to the desired or actual depth of the association. These relationships will open a variety of opportunities.
David Tietjen
Program Management/Marketing
TRW
MBA ’88
Alumni Exchange: A forum for alumni to share ideas about challenges facing Marriott School graduates