The COVID pandemic has impacted the labor market – and as the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in March from 3.9% in February (according to the INS), job security is probably one of your current concerns.
If you feel you need to strengthen and reaffirm your position at work, the suggestions below can inspire you.
- Be resilient, adaptable, flexible and attentive
In order to meet current challenges, you must demonstrate:
- Resistance
- Adaptability
- Flexibility
- Careful
In times of crisis, the company needs employees to rely on. Great projects, innovative solutions and successful ideas can be initiated by anyone, regardless of the position they work in, so do not hesitate to come up with proposals. It is important for everyone to take responsibility and dare to do a little more. Don’t let the job description restrict your initiatives!
Now, more than ever is the time to demonstrate team management so don’t hesitate to extend that helping hand.
- Be inventive
It’s not just about being flexible and adaptable when it comes to your own role. Think about how you can use your creativity so that your ideas can be put to the benefit of the entire organization. Come up with new ideas to help the company overcome the unforeseen obstacles of the moment, but also the future ones.
If your suggestions help the company bring more clients/projects or reduce expenses, you will be able to save the jobs of your colleagues. And even if you did not directly support the increase in income or the reduction of expenses, your contribution will certainly not go unnoticed.
- Be self-taught
What skills do you want to have, but did nothing to gain them? Now is the right time to develop them. Focus on acquiring them: work at least one hour a week on this goal. For example, if you are a marketer, you can work on your analytics skills so that you can better understand the performance of the campaigns you run and increase their success rate. In addition, you can learn new tools that you can then share with others. Whatever your case, the key is to start with small, safe and consistent steps.
As you gain new skills and knowledge, you will begin to realize how you are learning, you will notice what format helps you retain new information, what time of day is the most productive, and what has become your strengths in the meantime and weaknesses too. The constant investment in becoming a better version of yourself is ultimately the key to long-term success.
- Networking
Whether or not you are looking for new opportunities, the knowledge network is a valuable resource worth constantly investing in. Linkedin, webinars, professional social networks, are all sources and resources to get in touch with people, but also to learn a lot of new things.
- Be empathetic
A warm word, a hand outstretched at the right time… are more valuable than anything else. Periods of maximum load need more empathy than ever. Being there is important so don’t hesitate to do it.
Our contributions and involvement can write a better future for us, for our employers, but also for the community we belong to. Job security is given only by the extent of our involvement.