When Your Employment Was in Danger, What Did You Do To Keep Your Job?

By Susan M. Heathfield


Jobs Vacancy, Job vacancies, Employment Jobs

How to Hold Your Job

I had a therapist who gave me this response when I asked him what I would have to do to keep a job (I was unemployed at the time). He told me, "Fake it 'til you make it. Ask questions and be open-minded. Exude confidence; even if you don't feel it, show it!" I guess it is important to note that it's worked so far for me in applying for jobs, but I have yet to use this advice when actually hired and working for a particular office/employment. I guess I sorta trusted him because , although he had o.c.d. (like me), he was a role model for me and I knew the advice originated from his mouth, so I knew the information was true.

—Guest Robert Cura

Demotion

It's always fishy if your rank stays the same but you report to a lower ranked person, while your old boss insists proudly, "This is not a demotion." Well, my friends, it led to termination. Secondly, boss does not lose interest in employee's personal life because he is busy, but probably because of guilt about manipulating the employee out of job soon. Like Andy Grove said, "Only the paranoid survive." Gluck!

—Guest pgg

Put In More Committment

From experience I think the best option is to put more effort into your job and increase your networking for human relationships and development of new ideas.

—Guest emmanuel Ashinaga

Self Reliance

It's always best to have faith in yourself, everyone else is not reliable. I worked with a girl who had problems and kept calling off and not showing up without out calling them. She was fired and she blamed me for getting her fired - she did that on her own. I relied on myself until I got tired of the job, I wasn't fast enough for them, but I think the problem was that I was distracted from working at my best because the co-worker was a friend, but not the one mentioned above. I had 2 co-workers at 2 different times. The 2nd one was better to work with than the 1st.

—Guest annonymous

Update Your Resume Annually...

I worked for a Gov't contractor so we were required to update our resumes annually. This has saved me from long bouts of unemployment many times given Federal contractor hiring trends. Also, keep an updated copy of your resume on job boards (Monster) even if you're not looking and make slight changes to them every 3 months so your resume appears as if it is a new resume entry instead of an aging posting. Also, every quarter assess your skills, training, and accomplishments. This way not only do you have an accurate account of what you did for your performance review, but you have great info to add to your resume when you rewrite it each year. This is also a great benefit when you get ready to interview for a new position because you already have accomplishments (relevant and recent) to highlight. Lastly keep all email addresses and phone numbers/names from recruiters that contact you through Monster. You may not be looking now but you'll need them later if you do get laid off.

—Guest Ana

Love your Job not Company

Always keep this in mind: "Love your Job , not your Company". This means you should always keep options open in your hand and the moment you smell something fishy, "switchover." Do not wait...

—Guest Uday Deshmukh

Shock

My boss told me they are about to fire me. I was shocked and all my colleagues were shocked as I was always regarded as one of the best. Next day I told my boss I am not leaving if they don't pay me for 3 months ahead, according to the law. Probably he thought it will be too much and didn't ever tell me again to leave. Though now I am thinking about quitting myself for good.

—Guest Svitlana

What to do before you are laid off/fired

Always have a plan. No one should work 9-5, go home and that's it. When you complete your 9-5, work on that hobby that could lead to income. Work on that plan to start your own business. Work on that book you always wanted to write, the college course you would love to teach, a community activity that allows you to meet people. Just like that tax company-you must have people. Most people land the job because of who they know-not what they know-so network, have contacts. When you see yourself or your company in danger, seek you new position before you lose the old one. Use the time to start your own business venture or to turn your hobby into full time employment. Be creative, think outside the box, offer something that you know is needed. Most important of all believe in yourself, your faith and your values, and know that you can and will make a way where there is no way. Keep your head up!

—mzwoods

Weathering the Storm

Seeing is believing and it's always tough to see the real hardworking underpaid ones go. It seems that way all over.

—Guest Candy

Feedback for Readers

I took your words to heart and rewrote a portion of the article to more completely describe what I meant by taking work home. Thanks for the feedback. Susan

—SusanHumanResources

Be careful what you send home....

One piece of advice given above is to send home things you're working on, e.g. an employee manual or purchase justification. Be aware that this is formally the company's property (after all, they paid for it to be done). Depending on what's in it and how you leave, using it later or even just sending it off-site might result in you getting sued for breach of contract. Workers who deal with intellectual property, e.g. patents, industrial processes, etc., need to be VERY careful how they conduct themselves with this sort of info. It should be obvious, but....

—Guest Driftwood

Try not to let it get you down

I could tell 8 months into my new position that my department's time was limited. I am not sure why they brought me on so near the end but I still performed my very best. After my boss was suddenly let go for unclear reasons, I had to take over his duties as well as my own. I knew my time was coming soon although management never said a word. This stretched out for over 6 months so I would go to work thinking it was my last. I had my office cleaned and a box in the corner for when that final day came. Those were the worst 6 months in my career both what it did to me emotionally and the physical affects. When the day finally came that they laid me off, they wanted until after 6:00pm to do it. In short, if you can get out before the day comes do so. If, like me, you are unable to do so, do your best until the day comes and remember that it is not your fault. In my case, over 120 people were laid off in the period of a few short months. Look forward rather than always thinking back.

—Guest Alex M

Jump Before You Are Pushed!

An obvious thing to do is to apply for new jobs as soon as the signs are there. The ideal situation is to be given a severance package the day after your new job offer is confirmed. But even if you cannot achieve this perfect timing, getting out before the rush is always a good idea.

—Guest Simon

cust serv rep

I actually worked at a slower pace. Look--when you "know" it's about to end, there's nothing you can do but try and stick it to them as they are going to eventually stick you. That's life-oh well.