All too often I hear people talking about “job security” when the reality is there is no such thing as a job for life anymore and the concept of job security is often an illusion (or delusion for some). In this article I’d like to share four sure signs that your job may be at risk and what you can do to ensure you are prepared in the event that you ever get the, “It pains me to say this but, your services are no longer required…” speech.
In my twenty years experience as a business owner and business consultant, there are four sure signs that your job is at risk:
1) You are not getting regular feedback or reviews from your manager – lack of communication is a sure sign that you do not have a strong relationship with your manager. Sometimes, it can be that they have never learned how to give proper feedback, in other cases it can be because they see it not being worth investing any further time in you as they are already looking elsewhere for your replacement.
2) You are not clear on how your job performance is measured – you can’t score goals if you don’t know where the goal posts are. It’s not your managers job to know your numbers, it’s yours. If you can’t measure it, you can’t control it and if you can’t control it then your job will always be at risk.
3) You are not delivering value over and above what you are paid for – doing “just enough” is a fatal mistake that many employees make. When push comes to shove, you can easily become the target of a cost reduction strategy if business gets tight. Always look to add value and “go the extra mile” and you will become indispensable to the business..
4) Something just doesn’t “feel right” – trust your intuition, it’s usually right. If this happens, don’t panic, be proactive. Request an informal meeting with your manager to ask for feedback and what you can improve on.
As an employee of any enterprise, you get the benefit of a regular paycheck and the ability to “learn while you earn”. In any job, what you learn is of significantly more importance than what you get paid as skills are easily transferable to a new company. It is important to not just focus on learning for your current role but also to be preparing yourself for your next promotion or role. Don’t expect your learning to occur during work hours, successful people know that after 5pm is the time where your learning really begins.
If you focus in your career on being a leader at what you do, consistently growing your knowledge, business and leadership skills and professional network, it is unlikely you will ever struggle to find employment. LinkedIn is a powerful tool for any career professional to engage in learning and discussion, keep track of career achievements and build an amazing network to leverage or to seek out future career or business opportunities.
