You want to make yourself indispensable at job? You want to duck the tide of lay offs during the time of recession? We are passing through hard times and instead of hiring, firing has become the norm for companies. So How to protect your job at this time? How to make yourself indispensable? Try to follow some simple steps.
Take Account of Your Strengths and Weaknesses: Making yourself indispensable at job requires you to make some analysis of yourself, your strengths and weaknesses. Taking stock of your strengths and weaknesses will help you narrowing down your area of expertise. And you will know for sure where you can excel and others can notice you too. Devise two plans for yourself, long term and short term.
Look for Broader Picture: If you are working for a company, make some changes in your attitude too. Instead of seeing things from a narrow perspective try to take into account the overall picture of your company. That will help you in taking right decision for the company. It will increase your understating and you can come out with right kind of solutions to your problems. Update Your Knowledge Base: You are responsible for your career advancement. No one else come to do so during recession time. Develop your knowledge base that might prove beneficial for your company. Take part time courses to update your skills and knowledge base.
Develop Problem Solving Skills: Every company requires this skill. Normally employees fret and fume over problems or suggest ways how this problem can’t be solved. But instead going for this self indulgence, try to gather materials regarding the area you are working in. Read how other companies have faced similar problems and how they solved it. This will enrich your problem solving skills and you might find completely new solutions to the problems your company is facing.
Suggest Ways to Cut Down Expenses: This is an endearing quality of employees. Every company wants to minimize expenses and maximize profits. If you know of some ways to cut down expenses don’t keep it to yourself. Suggest it during meetings and give it in written to the concerned person.
Don’t Encroach on Others Rights: While enriching your knowledge base and self improvement you should not send out signals that you are out to do two peoples job. This will create negative feeling for you among your peers and rumor mongers can unleash their full force against you. Instead of sending feelers that you can do others jobs too, try filling the gaps that nobody is looking at or even aware that these shortcomings. If you deals with data, try to arrange it in such manner that even non-technical person can be able to find out what he is looking for. If you deal with recruitment, find out the efficient pool of candidates in less expensive manner.
Good Salesmanship: This need is required by everyone, be it an artist, self employed entrepreneurs or the president of a country. Don’t expect that you keep on providing excellent services and others will naturally take notice of you. You have to show the results of your hard work to the concerned persons. If your policies resulted in cost savings prepare a balance sheet and show it to the concerned person.
Be Good at What Your Boss is Weak At: Think of your boss’s weaknesses. He/she might be good at something but not at other things. Pay attention to his weaknesses and try to do that work yourself. Your boss might not be good at writing proposals but he might be good at pointing what is lacking in a proposal. To speed up the work, you can draw the first copy of the proposal and your boss will finalize it by pointing out what else should be incorporated in the existing copy. That will save time of the both.
Develop a Brand for the Company You Work: It doesn’t mean that you take over your brand manager. It simply means be your company’s spokesperson whenever the need arises. But your superiors too should know of your efforts. Making yourself indispensable at the job is not difficult at all. You have to keep your eyes and ears open. You have the knack to sense opportunity and making the most of it.
