Staying Employable

The secret to staying employable is to be responsible for keeping yourself skilled and in the know of the latest in your chosen field. If you don't keep focused on your abilities and am not willing to adapt and grow with the changing workplace, it will become tough to find a "good job."

So how do you manage to be employed and on track for continued success?

1. Keep your definition of a "good job" reasonable.
As we progress professionally, we acquire skills and experiences that often afford us greater opportunities in terms of salary and benefits. The problem lies in making the assumption that once we are offered a larger compensation package, it becomes the starting benchmark for any job we take in the future. The result is the "golden handcuff effect" - a sense that we are held hostage by our current job because there's no place else to go. Smart workers know each job opportunity provides criteria that must be weighed differently against our wants and needs. Staying employable means simplifying our list and planning for the day when we won't have the same level or type of perks. This keeps job options more plentiful and movement to new positions easier.
2. Use the "3x3x3 rule" to create and implement your own professional development strategy.
Forget about waiting for your annual review; smart workers take the review process into their own hands. Assess your professional strengths and weaknesses. By building a game plan to leverage the first and minimize the second, you can identify how you plan to stay employable. I encourage individuals to follow the "3x3x3 rule" for skill development:
A. Choose three skills you want to enhance.
B. Identify three ways in which you could learn and grow each skill.
C. Articulate three examples of how you can demonstrate your enhanced skills in this area to your employer. By taking professional development into your own hands, you remain focused and in control of your employability.
3. Be the "go-to" person for something employers need.
Like depositing into a retirement fund, employees use the early part of their careers to develop skills to accumulate professional wealth. Sadly, after a decade or so, some employees believe they've earned the right to live off of the interest accrued from their efforts. Midlife often brings about changes in how an employee wants to allocate his or her time (ie. wants more time with a spouse, family, home, hobby, etc.). Smart employees know this doesn't have to diminish the quality of the time they put into their careers. To stay employable, focus on being the "go-to" person for a particular problem, task or technique. Building subject-matter expertise in a specific area that's in demand within the workplace will create a personal insurance policy that ensures you'll always be the "go-to" employee who's in demand.
4. Create a board of advisers for your company of one.
Smart individuals don't do surgery on themselves, pull their own teeth or represent themselves in legal matters. They defer to professionals who have the training and expertise that gets the best results. Smart employees do the same with their careers. In an age where employees are in essence a company of one -- responsible for keeping the services they deliver in demand -- doesn't it make sense to seek the counsel of those who can help you make the best career decisions? Smart employees solicit the advice of individuals they think approach career success in a manner they admire. Whether it's a relative, co-worker, former manager or even a professional career coach, seeking advice from those who know more than you will give you the perspective needed to be proactive and successful at staying employable. Career paths are full of twists and turns; they're rarely straightforward.