Do you remember a time when you were going to work and thought that it could possibly be your last day? Maybe the day before you did poorly on a presentation, had a poor performance review or even got into an argument with your boss. Regardless of the situation, you now feel the fear that your job may no longer be secure. I want to discuss several ways that you can overcome the fear of losing your job.
1. Diversify your skills
Think about your current job situation. Maybe you are in the Information Technology (IT) sector and do not have much skill in giving oral presentations. On the other hand, you might be in Public Relations but when it comes to Information Technology (IT), you are clueless. No matter what your skill set is, there are always areas that you can improve on and educate yourself in. The more diversified you are, the more valuable of an employee you become. There are two main types of skills: hard and soft skills.
- Hard skills. Hard skills are teachable abilities or skill sets that are easy to measure. You typically acquire these skills through various formal education and training programs. Examples of hard skills include: Accounting, Web design, Computer programming, Finance, Legal and many others.
- Soft Skills. Soft skills are different from hard skills and relate to the way you interact with people. Soft skills are referred to as “interpersonal skills” or “people skills”. Examples of soft skills include: Communication, Critical thinking, Leadership, Teamwork, Work ethic, Problem solving and many others.
Having both hard and soft skills are extremely important in order to diversify all of your skills. You could consider expanding your list of hard skills by taking a class in Computer Technology or learning a new language. Soft skills take time to build and lots of practice. You must be willing to dedicate time and effort into improving your soft skills. There are numerous resources out there dedicated to helping you with soft skills like podcasts, articles and online videos.
2. Always continue to learn
When you first started your new job or got that new promotion, you were hungry to learn as much as possible. But for many people, as the months and years pass by, you become comfortable and complacent, and your drive and desire to learn fades. The world is constantly changing, and learning new concepts and trends will help keep you relevant and a valuable asset to your company.
If your company offers resources, take full advantage of them. This could be online or classroom courses related to your job or just related to the company, in general. Consider applying for developmental programs if your company offers them or even go so far as approaching your boss to ask for more opportunities to learn. If your company does not offer any learning opportunities, then look to books, articles, forums and podcasts to begin getting educated on the world around you.
3. Stay focused and learn how to prioritize
One of the best ways to overcome the fear of losing your job is to become the best employee that you can be. It starts with staying focused. Distractions are everywhere and they take many forms, from a chatty co-worker to your text messages and social media. You must determine what distractions are breaking your focus and then do something about it. Not all distractions are negative, but if it is interfering with your work and making you a less desirable employee, then change is necessary in order to make yourself more valuable.
Work can also be overwhelming and cause you to lose focus, especially if you are dealing with several different kinds of workloads that you must balance. Prioritizing is key and it starts with beginning to get organized. Categorize your projects and assignments based on urgency and importance. Once you are able to prioritize, you will become more productive and not easily replaced.
4. Put a safety net in place
What if you lost your job tomorrow? Do you have an emergency fund established to help with immediate expenses until you find another job or source of income? You can create a sense of security if you begin saving for an emergency like this. Your emergency fund can buy you precious time while you begin your new job search. Having this account to fall back on is very important in helping you overcome your fear in losing your job.
5. Network and build relationships
Have you heard the phrase, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”? Networking is probably one of the best ways people can land a job. You can actually begin to network even before you are forced to. Make it your goal to be open, friendly and honest with those around you and those who come in contact with you. You never know what impact you can leave on a person.
Through networking, you can begin building relationships. These relationships can be key to helping you get in the door of another company if something were to happen to your current job.
6. Update your resume
When is the last time you looked at your resume? Has it been a year, five years, ten years or many even longer? This is the last thing you want to do if you lose your job because you will be on an emotional roller coaster at that point. Always having an updated resume can help in your fear of losing your job because you will be ready for the next opportunity when it presents itself. Remember to add any major projects, assignments, job experience and even pertinent volunteer work.
7. Check out other job options
It never hurts to keep your options open, especially in the job market. According to a study done recently by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person changes jobs around 12 times during their career. This means that people are spending around five years or less in every job.
Because job changes happen so frequently, successful individuals are ones who keep up on market trends in their industries, along with looking for opportunities in case they lose their current job. By being prepared, you can overcome the fear of losing your job because you know what qualifications are required from other jobs and you have done your due diligence to meet those requirements.
8. Help others achieve their goals
When fear of losing your own job consumes you, you forget that your coworkers may be feeling the same anxiety or going through their own personal crisis. Channel the fear that you are feeling, and focus that energy on helping others. Not only will you be achieving more work goals, but you will no longer be focusing on your own fear. Your supervisor or boss will want to keep more people around that are team-focused versus someone who only worries about themselves.
Summary
Fear of losing your job is something that only you can overcome. Utilizing even one of the steps listed will go a long way into helping ease your anxiety. Ultimately, you have the power to control how you are feeling, but it starts with taking that first step.