Career tips

In order to get ahead, there are some key areas you should focus on to stay competitive and to grow your career during a turbulent economy. To help you with this, we've created a list of top tips for managing your career in a downturn.

1. Communication skills:

Strong communication and interpersonal skills are essential, including the ability to work closely with a variety of stakeholders within, and outside, your department.

2. Technology expertise:

It's critical to stay up-to-date on the latest technological innovations. Being able to maximise the use of new technology not only makes your job easier but also increases your value to a potential employer. If you need to learn how to make best use of a new application, consider taking a computer or software class through a college or university programme, or participate in a local software users' group for the product you would like to learn more about.

3. Global perspective:

There's a strong demand for certain professionals (such as accountants and IT specialists) with international business skills. Indeed, organisations are seeking professionals who are not only familiar with global trends, but possess an understanding of practices in other countries. For example, in the accounting field, many firms have for some time been interested in hiring those with expertise in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to meet new industry regulations.

4. Never stop learning:

Continuing to build your professional skills and knowledge is a key way to increase your marketability. How? Businesses actively recruit candidates who've taken the initiative to further their education, from obtaining an MBA to pursuing a relevant regional certification program. And here's another bonus to additional education: research from Robert Half shows that a graduate degree or professional certification can increase your starting salary in a new job by up to 10 percent.

5. Recharge your network:

That next big break might come from your network. To evaluate how active your own contact list is, ask yourself when the last time was that a colleague or industry peer asked you for advice or information. If nothing comes to mind, it may be time to recharge your network. One key tip is to pick up the phone. Call one of your contacts and invite him or her to lunch; face-to-face meetings can do a lot to build your future efforts. And if you're worried about lay-offs, networking becomes essential. Now is the time to reactivate your network. Attend industry events, update your LinkedIn profile, and get in touch with recruiters who can give you a sense of the job market and keep an eye out for you.

A final piece of advice:

You'll have a hard time achieving your full potential unless others are aware of your expertise and accomplishments. Pursuing new challenges, such as volunteering to participate on special project teams – particularly those that save the company time or money – will help you steadily build visibility and better position you for future advancement opportunities.

Are you concerned about your job security in the current economy? To assess whether your job may be at risk, we've put together a list of six signs that may indicate that you're about to be made redundant:

1. Cost-cutting measures are being implemented.

The "paperclip memo" that describes the need to reduce expenses, for example, could be a tip-off that personnel expenses are also being considered for cuts. However, it's important to note that many companies that are belt-tightening right now aren't necessarily looking at staff reductions, so this alone isn't necessarily cause for concern.

2. Your workload is lighter than usual.

If you have less work to do or find that projects are being redistributed to other co-workers, this could indicate that there isn't enough work to justify keeping all of the staff, or the company is redistributing the workload in anticipation of staff cuts.

3. Your work is slow and cyclical in nature.

Not having enough work to do is a sign that your function isn't as vital as it once was. Companies that are looking to trim personnel expenses often focus on departments or positions in which the work is cyclical and the day-to-day workload could be supported with fewer people.

4. You aren't considered a revenue generator.

Do you contribute directly to the generation of revenue or the reduction of expenses? If the answer is "yes," you may be in a fairly safe position. If your department is viewed as more of a "nice to have" than a "need to have" in the current environment, you could be on shakier ground.

5. You are no longer included in meetings.

When a company is preparing to lay people off, they may not include them in strategy sessions or other meetings because they feel it's unnecessary.

6. Your boss is showing more interest in the status of your projects.

This could indicate that your boss wants to get a better sense of how things are done and what still needs attention so he or she can reassign these projects in the event of redundancies.

If any of these signs are familiar and you need to speak to someone for career advice, feel free to contact a consultant in your local office.