Job security no longer exists

The good news on the job front is that companies are beginning to hire again.

The bad news is that companies are still downsizing and laying off employees.

At the end of July we heard news of the U.S. Postal Service was considering closing 3,700 branches throughout the country within the next year.

More locally, we heard of Office Depot closing its Lansing, Ill., distribution hub, which will affect about 100 people.

The same day this was announced, Bank of America broke news of plans to cut 30,000 jobs in the next few years. Their stock rose by two cents that day because the job cuts will save about $5 billion per year.

The fact is there is very little job security today.

Years ago a wonderful woman worked for me and I recall telling her how much I appreciated the quality of the job she did.

She replied that she always believed, “If you take care of your company, the company will take care of you.” I thought her comment was rather naive back then in the ’80s and she was in her 50s at the time.

That was the work ethic of long ago. Now there is no such loyalty.

Employers have to make business decisions that may mean the loss of jobs.

Most employees know that the company they work for or their jobs may not be around forever, or even next year or next month.

This is the current reality, however, and many employees are not ready to accept the fact that there simply is not the job security that there once was.

It is a mistake to hide your head in the sand, or live in denial that downsizing could ever happen to you.

I was told of a well-known national banking company that laid off a man who had been their employee for more than 30 years.

When he heard the news, he spoke words of disbelief, “I never thought this is what my last day of work would be like.”

He wept; the person terminating him held back tears and then went home and sobbed all night over his pain.

This loyal employee of 30 plus years ended his career with his box of his work tools in his arms.

He walked slowly, seeing every crack in the sidewalk on his way to his vehicle, wondering what he was going to do tomorrow morning when he awoke and did not have a job to go to.

It is so important to keep your eyes and ears open looking for the next job opportunity, while you are employed. Be aware of what is happening in the market place in your field. Here is how you can be proactive with your career, so if you lose your job, you have connections to immediately contact.

• •Know what your company’s competition is doing. Are they cutting back, or are they expanding?
• •Never see the competing company as your enemy. Get to know some of their employees. That company could be your next employer.
• •Network on-line through sites such as Linkedin. Connect with as many people in your industry as you can.
• •Join networking groups that are in your career field.
• •Join local groups in your community that have many members from different fields. You may need to change your career one day.
• •Keep yourself up to date with technology so your skills are current.

These proactive tips will help you when you need to look for a job. If you are just beginning your career, expect that you will go through three to seven different careers in your lifetime.

If you have been in the workforce for many years, you too may completely change your career, through your own choice or the demands of job market.

In either case, apply the scout motto and be prepared. Always be looking for your next job, until the day you can rightfully declare, “I’m retired now.”