For the past several years, we've thrived in a workplace that encouraged us to take responsibility for managing our own careers. Even so, many people remained content to sit back and hope for the best, to let their careers just "happen by accident.” They plunged into the job market with no other goal than to find a "good job with a good company.” When the crisis hit, they scrambled to find another "good job with a good company" until another crisis hit. In a continual state of high-risk, their careers became a chain of "accidents waiting to happen."

With layoffs up, today's tenuous workplace makes it imperative that you gain control of your career, minimize your risk and do all you can to make yourself as valuable to your employer as possible. If and when the time comes for the ax to fall, it will be too late for you to prove you're vital to the company's performance. No one is going to save you simply because you need a job, but they will protect you if you bring value to the organization.

To appreciate the significance of this value/need proposition, think of yourself as a "product.” As the "seller" of this product, you are equipped with a portfolio of skills, training and experience that you want the employer to "buy," or at least "lease," for a period of time. You want money, right? You also want such intangibles as work/life balance, free time and generous perks among other things. And as long as the economy was booming, employers responded to your needs with creative programs and plans, like flextime, sign-on bonuses and sabbaticals, to name a few. Such benefits became commonplace as "employers of choice" vied for key talent. It was a seller's market.

By contrast, our current economic downturn has created a "buyer's market," one where the focus is on the employer's needs, not yours. Now it's your turn to become an "employee of choice," by adapting your skills and experience to the needs of your employer. No one is indispensable, but you can reduce your risk of being cut by adjusting your mindset to more accurately mirror the realities of today's business climate. Just doing your job is not enough; your value will be showcased by such intangibles as attitude, energy and enthusiasm.

To reduce your chances of being laid-off, observe a few simple rules: 

Don't recoil from change.  Resistance only increases your risk of being cut. Embrace the change -- look for new opportunities to grow and learn.

Build a web of contacts throughout your organization.  It’s difficult to survive on skills alone -- you need a network of "rescuers" who know and appreciate your value. Join committees and task forces. Make yourself known.

Learn to wear many hats. The most indispensable players are those who can play several positions. Know your job and know other people's jobs. Diversify your skill set.

Look for short-term projects and suggest to your boss that you take them on.  While tackling an unmet need, you'll also gain new skills, which will further reduce your risk.

Listen to the talk around the watercooler.  Most of it is gossip, but you'll learn a lot about the politics in your organization. Focus your attention not so much on what gets said, but rather how it gets said.

Adopt the old adage, "work smarter, not harder.”  When change occurs, your energy is better spent on trying new things, not putting extra effort into old ways. And most of all, don't waste time complaining about the change.

Reorder your work priorities to meet their needs of your boss and co-workers first.  Treat them like customers. People may not always notice what you do for them, but they are well aware of what you don't do. Balance the various demands on your time selectively.

Be a giver, not a taker.  Reciprocity has long been standard practice in the business world. Look for ways to pitch in and help others get their projects completed. By helping others get what they want, you'll have a better chance of getting what you want.

Toot your horn.  It’s not always the most qualified who get the recognition; it's the ones who best know how to market the qualifications they have. If you've learned a new skill or made a workplace improvement, get the word out.

Develop a contingency plan.  Keep your resume up-to-date. Practice some informational interviewing, internally and externally. Know what you'd do if your job disappeared tomorrow.

Nothing is worse than being unceremoniously told that your services are no longer required. Even if you plan to leave anyway, you want it to be on your terms, to be firmly in the driver's seat. It’s hard to drive away with your head held high when you're escorted out of the office with your personal belongings stashed in a cardboard box. This I know.

I also know that surviving the cuts doesn't necessarily mean that you've won either. Sure, you still have a paycheck but, saddled with additional work and an uncertain future, you're left wondering what you can do to protect yourself from further cuts -- but your risk of being cut later often goes up, not down.

In the end, the best survival strategy comes from knowing how to bounce back, to market yourself effectively, to land quickly in a new position. Your "resilience" can serve as a catalyst to spark a new beginning, a second career, or the fulfillment of an unmet goal. Things often do happen for a reason. Sometimes it's best to just go with the flow.

© 2008, Career Planning and Management, Inc., Boston, MA.  All rights reserved.