Recession Career Survival |Leila's House of Corrections

Given the current state of the economy, cultivating career survival skills can be the key to your success.   What can we learn now to help us survive in the workplace? You may be tempted to do nothing, but that's the wrong approach.   So, come on managers, let's talk about managing your career during a recession.

Whew, you haven't been laid off. Better just sit tight and make no mistakes. Wait for the moment to pass, right?

That's one way to approach your career during a recession: it's the lame duck, waiting for something to happen tactic.

To create opportunities for yourself, consider 3 best practices.  

#1: Don't assume your job is safe.

No matter what your manager has told you or what the tea leaves are saying, no one knows if we've hit rock bottom. Even if we have, it's going to be a long road back. Dust off the resume and consider what you would do if you were made redundant.

#2: Ask for more to do-more of what you love.

Realistically, most of us are being asked to do more. Turn the idea of additional    work    upside down and ensure you are assigned the tasks you excel at. Which responsibilities expose your talents to executives, to top customers, to influential peers? Ask for them. Make your talents even more essential to the business's success.

#3: Negotiate when it comes to cutting your salary or benefits.

Think about exerting control where you may not think you have some wiggle room. If your salary is being cut, ask that the decision be reviewed in 6 months. Ask if you can receive additional equity instead. Inquire if you can adjust your hours-or telecommute.

The big aha here is that we all have a choice when managing a career during a downturn. We can sit back and wait and see what happens. Or we can adopt a more proactive approach and carefully maneuver through this fog, eyes wide open, asking questions, looking for places to go.