How to Recession-Proof Your Job

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Something I've been wanting to talk about for a while now is how to recession-proof your job. There are no guarantees in life, of course, but there are some relatively stupid things you can during or right before a recession — as well as some smarter moves you can make. So let's discuss. 

(It should be noted that there's room for debate whether we're in a recession right now, or whether the recession is already over — or even whether we're heading for a global recession.)

(I 1000% agree with the comments that layoffs are about the economy, not you — if you are laid off, don't let it derail your confidence. You can do everything right and still be laid off; you can do everything wrong and still keep your job if your company is strong or you happen to be working on an essential matter.) 

Five Smart Things to Do To Recession-Proof Your Job

1. Stay visible… to the people that matter. Especially if you're working from home, like a lot of you still are, you want to make sure you know who has the power if your company or firm were to be talking layoffs — and make yourself visible to that person or those people. CC them when you've got a professional win, just as an FYI. If there's a pet project or client for the powers that be, try to work on that project. 

{related: how to make the most of face time at the office}

2. Stay busy. The more you hear about a recession in the news, the less it is the time to say, “Man, I've been working so hard this year, I'm going to take it easy for a little while and give myself time to breathe,” particularly if you're taking that time to do something personal and entirely non-career related, like, say, planning a wedding. As much as you can, make sure that at least some of your work is affecting the company's profits and losses. 

3. Make sure your skillset and work is diversified. If you are in a niche practice or corner of your business (particularly for lawyers who may be swamped with work from one partner — who is not one of the Powers That Be at your firm), it's time to start looking at how you can diversify your workload and your skills. This requires a hard look at your career — maybe even looking at job listings or thinking about where you would go for your next step, even if you're not yet job-hunting. What skills should you add to get to the next level in your career? What skills are only useful at your current job?

4. Keep your network strong. This is harder to do since social distancing is afoot — there are fewer opportunities to bump into people at conferences and other networking events, let alone to schedule meals or drinks — but do what you can. My go-to move has always been to pass along great articles that my contacts might otherwise miss, and then to check in via email — but I'd love to hear what readers have done!

{related: here are my three best networking tips}

5. Keep your resume up to date. It's unlikely that in a layoff you'd lose access to your company files, but if you haven't done it recently, it's not a bad time to go through your work projects to remember what you've done, as well as pick your best writing samples or other projects you would be allowed to take and use for job hunting purposes. (Looking at your resume may even mean that you see some holes in your skills that you'd want to fill.) Here's all of our best resume advice.

Readers, what are your thoughts: Are you worried about layoffs or reductions at your company? (Have layoffs already happened?) What are your best tips on how to recession-proof your job?