Adapting to tough times

EMPLOYABILITY: The global recession has resulted in extreme uncertainty in the workplace. In many fields, there is no such thing as a “safe” job any more. How should workers react to changing conditions and make sure that they remain employable? Here’s what the experts have to say.

Futurologist Ian Pearson works at the consultancy Futurizon. “Get used to the idea that what you know has a shorter and shorter lifespan,” Pearson told the Financial Times. “Spend 15 per cent of your time learning about fields adjacent to yours,” he says. “It’s a bit like the ecology of a rainforest — you don’t want to be the animal who is so fantastically well adapted to one tree that they will die if that tree is cut down.”

Take training courses to keep your skills up to date, advises Miranda Kennett, founder of First Class Coach. “Rewrite your CV every year. If you can’t find something new to add to it, then look at yourself,” Kennett says.

"Focus on the positives and be optimistic." Steve Viscusi

Steve Viscusi, author of Bulletproof Your Job, says it is important to build good relationships with the people you work with — particularly your boss. “If you make your boss happy, they will keep you on,” says Viscusi.

Be flexible and willing to accept change, Pearson advises. “People get very loyal to companies and very upset when they collapse or shed jobs. You need to be someone who lands on their feet and who is psychologically ready to move,” he says.

A positive attitude is vital, according to Viscusi. “At the moment, a lot of people who’ve come through the recession are in a real funk — they’re like damaged goods. Don’t moan about how bad it’s been. Focus on the positives and be optimistic.” But optimism alone is not enough, Miranda Kennett warns: “Always have a plan B for if things go horribly wrong.”