As the recession slogs on and everyone worries
about keeping their jobs, it's tempting for workers to retreat to
the "hunker down" mode.
It's the tried-and-true "nose-to-the-grindstone"
approach. You know the drill: show up on time, get your work done,
don't cause any waves, and hope to heck that you can ride out storm.
That's not what I recommend to my clients.
You can never afford to put your career on the back
burner. Even when companies are cutting back, re-trenching or re-structuring,
there are opportunities to be had.
And when the economy finally steadies itself and begins
to improve, you'll be in a better position to capitalize on the upswing.
That time might be now.
I encourage you to read the article below. It's yet
another argument to discard the "hunker down" approach and
proactively take charge of your career.
Good News on the Salary
Front:
More Companies Plan to Open Purse Strings
I've got some
good news for those of you who have been working longer hours and
haven't been rewarded with a higher salary or bonus.
That might be
changing, according to Mercer, a worldwide consulting firm.
In their annual
"employee attraction and retention survey," Mercer found
that more companies plan to focus on money - that's right, cold, hard
cash - as a way to retain and engage the right talent.
Because budgets
have been tight during the recession, many employers relied on so-called
"non-cash incentives." These were such things as communicating
the value of total rewards to employees, work-life programs, formalized
career paths and special project opportunities.
But as the economy
recovers, 25 percent of respondents say they'll rely less on these
types of rewards.
Instead, they
will focus on base salary increases, short- and long-term variable
pay and training and career development to retain and motivate their
best people.
So as your employer's
purse strings begin to loosen, now is the time to proactively demonstrate
your value to your organization. I recommend doing the following.
Make yourself
indispensible.
Volunteer to high profile projects that have the potential to affect
your company's bottom line.
Align your
priorities with key company goals.
Focus on things that matter - to your boss, to his or her supervisor,
to company executives and to your shareowners.
Eliminate
or reduce your time spent "non-essential" work.
Write down your top 10 priorities. Develop strategies to free up
more time to spend on the top three and less on the bottom two-thirds.
Quantify
and communicate your accomplishments.
At the end of each week, write down your key accomplishments and
try to assign a dollar amount to your specific contributions.
Capitalize
on training or personal development opportunities.
Continue to develop your skills and capabilities. That way, when
your company begins to expand, you'll be in a more competitive position
(and your resume will be stronger, too, if you decide to venture
outside your organization).
Don't shy
away from self-promotion.
Think of ways to promote your personal "brand" at the
office. There's a difference between grandstanding and presenting
the facts in an objective way.
Someone is going
to benefit from this shift in employee compensation and it might as
well be you!
"Opportunity
is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks
like work."
~
Thomas Edison
"There are a lot of things that go into creating success. I don't
like to do just the things I like to do. I like to do things that
cause the company to succeed. I don't spend a lot of time doing my
favorite activities."
~
Michael Dell
"If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work
on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work
on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us."
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