You once were the rising star in the company. You arrived that first day with the right education and the right track record elsewhere. Not only that, you possessed more drive and ambition than what was typical of the early 2000’s. Last Friday, though, you got your pink slip. What happened? How could you not have known? Weren’t there any warning signs? Now that you think about it, yes, there were warning signs – you just failed to notice them until it was too late.
The economy is flat yet investors demand increasing values. How that is achieved is often by slight of hand. Companies “appear” to be more productive when they use one or both of two popular methods. The method most often used? Companies simply appear “more productive” by letting people go while giving that work load to others with no raise in pay. Just get more work out of fewer people. The second method? Replace existing persons with others who promise more for less. Typically this means “contract work minus benefits” or “part time work with no benefits.” Either way, today’s worker has a target on their back! Once you’ve been “targeted” for elimination there will be very distinct signals given that make it more than clear that it’s “time to fire up the resume!” Here are 5 of the most obvious:
· People stop talking when you enter their space – they can see the “target on your back” before you do. · Your manager quits asking for your viewpoint in group meetings – He / she is wondering just how and when to “pull the trigger.” · Your “group” starts going to lunch without you – they are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with your presence, though they are all reluctant to tell you to your face. · Your administrative staff treats your needs with increasingly lower priority – they, too, can “smell blood in the water.” · Your manager is increasingly critical of your efforts in both private and public settings – he / she is hoping you will “get the message” and just quit, sparing the difficulty of official separation.
Remember, turn up your defensive radar in these turbulent times. Be keenly observant of how others treat you and act in your presence. When you sense a change, “it’s time to fire up the resume!”