Take Away

5 important elements for your career emergency preparedness plan

Read Time: 2.5 minutes

Are you prepared? Not just emotionally but strategically?

Smart organizations spend a great deal of money on emergency preparedness.  If there is a disaster or some other form of business disruption, they want to be prepared to continue serving customers and generating revenue.

Our economy is booming at the moment but right below the surface there is a wave of market and financial instability forcing changes to business models in a number of industries.  Not a week goes by without new reports of corporate mergers, restructurings and layoffs.   There are human, career casualties.  

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An astounding number of executives across the country who know how important emergency preparedness can be in protecting the integrity and financial stability of their businesses have no such plans for their own careers. 

Are you prepared?

Here are 5 important elements for your plan:

  1. Focus on our your  performance.  Deliver results in every job you take on.  Nothing is more protective during a layoff than being considered a star performer, essential to the company’s future.  
  2. Build your cash reserves.  Many organizations are curtailing or eliminating severance payments for all but their most key senior executives.  Create a cash reserve that will afford you the time and resources to look for your next better position.  That is a full-time job.  Having adequate cash reserves will allow you to avoid credit card debt or eat into your retirement account.
  3. Engage a career advisor.  Begin by developing a longer range career plan and then support that work with a transition/job search strategy you can activate in the event of an unexpected termination.
  4. Define your professional brand now, not when the ax falls. Establish it in the marketplace and then execute on your plan to keep it front and center of your strategic network.
  5. Build and sustain a robust professional network.  Connecting with people on LinkedIN is nice but it is just that:  connecting.  Convert your relevant connections to members of your strategic network, executives with whom you enjoy a deep sharing relationship.  This can take years to accomplish.  If you haven’t started, if you do not have a plan, now is the time.

At JohnGSelf + Partners, we offer our clients one thing:  career guidance that will enhance your success.  From career planning and intensive job transition programs to monthly check-in sessions, we provide you the security of career preparedness backed by a depth and breadth of experience and personalized attention. We are there for you.  

For more information on our affordable personalized career management support, email us at info@JohnGSelf.Com.