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“Your people have lost respect for you. I see no other alternative except for you to resign. Take a day to think about it and then get back to me with your decision.” Those were the terse words delivered to me on the eve of my departure from a firm that I’d spent more than 12 years at. Toiling as a manager and executive, I’d always thought that my last breath as a working man would be spent at my desk for XYZ Securities. I believed in the corporate credo of placing our customers first. I championed our principles of inexpensive investing for the small investor. I wore the company logo proudly across my chest, and engaged anyone who expressed even an iota of interest, in a conversation about our corporate values and tradition. Sound familiar? We watched our fathers (in the previously male-dominated work world) spend a lifetime walking through the same doors in the morning, and the same doors at night, pledging allegiance to a paternalistic industrial overlord that showed little mercy but “guaranteed” a paycheck and job security that seems foreign today. Funny how we carry some beliefs forward from generation to generation, and how hard it is to break away from those beliefs. How you manage your own job security today is far more than toeing the company line and trying not to tick off the wrong people. Rather than job security, today’s worker needs to consider their “employability security” first. How are you adding to your skill set each day? Beyond thinking about what makes you successful in your current position, what are you actively doing to ensure that you are successful one job or three jobs in the future? Three key areas of personal development can give you the edge you need when you go shopping for a new position, or when a position comes shopping for you! *Communication skills. Sounds relatively straight-forward, but if it were that simple, everyone would be a tremendous communicator! Try this exercise in your next interaction. Focus intently and listen to the person you’re speaking with. Ask questions from a position of curiosity rather than judgment. “Tell me about that?...How did you do that?...What did you learn from the experience?” Imagine you have just reached the pinnacle of your career, and ask the questions you would want an interviewer to ask you! *Be accountable. The young man who took my order recently at a fast-food restaurant had a tongue piercing, tattoos up and down his arms, and earrings the size of half-dollar pieces. When I received my food, I’d received fries instead of a side salad. Content as I was to settle for the fries (the calories don’t count if you don’t order them), within a minute the teenager raced to my table with a side salad and the low-fat dressing I’d ordered. He’d simply placed the order on a keypad; I knew he had done his job correctly from the receipt I’d received. Instead of blaming a co-worker, or allowing me to eat what I didn’t order, he made it right. I thanked him for his service, and told him how much I appreciated his prompt action to correct the mistake. “That’s okay, Mister, just doing my job. Besides, the money I make here helps me make ends meet during the semester at Colorado State University.” First time I’ve ever tipped at Burger King! *Let it go. I grumbled and griped about the “raw deal” I’d received at XYZ Securities. Until I’d left the anger and hurt behind, the emotions weighed on me like an anchor. Sometimes you do have to hit the bottom before you can begin to rise again. There’s a reason we root for the underdog at a sporting event, or cheer on the badly out-manned hero in a movie. It’s because all of us respond positively to people in real-life situations who simply saddle up and soldier on. It’s hard to move forward when that anchor is dragging you back. Showing a prospective new employer how you’ve overcome an obstacle or setback is a tremendous way to showcase your mettle and determination. How much do we learn about ourselves from success? How much do we learn about ourselves from failure? Job security is about building skills and talents that are specifically targeted at one particular role or employer. Employability security speaks to our individual responsibility to learn and refine key attributes that make us attractive in virtually any line of work. In the age of shifting demographics and technological breakthroughs that create whole new industries seemingly overnight, focus your self-development efforts on your employability security. You’ll feel better about yourself, create opportunities in fields you may never have considered before, and give yourself the best chance at success every day! Learn how to super-charge your Employability Security. Call Faber Communications at 877-262-2402 or sign up for our newsletter at www.FaberComm.com. The first 50 people to respond to this article win a free 15-minute phone coaching session on business communication and the art of becoming tremendously employable!
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