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Heed the “Don’ts” for the Good of Your Career this Recession

You might think you are valuable to your company and your career is on the fast track–unaffected by the recession. You might command a high salary and have an opinion that a layoff probably won’t happen to you. However you should be careful not to have so much confidence that you ignore the “don’ts” for protecting your career and surviving the recession. Let’s look at a few of these “don’ts.”

Don’t make a career change unless you are reasonably certain that there is a high chance of future success. For example, one of the first operations a company will trim in a recession is its information technology (IT) department. This is because IT departments are typically very expensive to maintain and outsourcing usually is much more cost effective. So it would not make much sense to go to school and change your career to IT when future opportunities are questionable at best.

If you are approaching retirement age, don’t throw money at education. Institutions of higher learning will pitch education during a recession to convince people that they should go back to school and better their prospects for the future. However you should seriously consider your age and how many productive years you have left in any career. It is hard to face it but if you don’t you could end up throwing away good money on an education where there may not be enough time for the payoff.

Don’t throw your weight around at your job. Sometimes what happens is a few get laid off and the rest have to do double the workload. During recession times like these, it is not a good idea to demand more money because you find yourself doing the job of two. Your boss has enough to deal with let alone listening to your complaints. He or she might think you don’t like your job and want a career break during the recession too.

Don’t focus only on the money. You may find another job that offers promising opportunities but the pay is a little lower. Don’t stay at an employer with a risk of layoff just because of the pay. Remember that the highest paid are targeted first. Also understand that if you make a career change that you will more than likely start at the bottom of the pay scale. It’s something you have to deal with but it is much better than being unemployed.

Don’t ignore the warning signals at your job. Remember that it is easier to find a job when you have a job. First of all, if you pay attention to the news, you’ll know that there is a recession. And, if you evaluate your career, you can determine if it is a recession-proof career or not. One early indicator that you might be a target for a layoff is when you are not getting new project assignments. During a recession, companies will cut back their future planning until they see how things go or come up with new recession strategies. Other indicators include your manager getting laid off or other department heads jumping ship. You may find that any annual pay raises are put on hold as well.

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