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Prepare to Get Laid Off

We all know the pros and cons of operating independently versus working for another company. No factor more clearly illustrates the difference than income stream; freelancers control their own financial destiny, but their corporately employed brethren are tethered to a regular paycheck.

Being independent carries a built-in element of risk. Income can only be projected so far, and the fat times are irrevocably tied to the lean times, instilling a survival mentality and a non-stop hunger for work. Being employed by a company comes with a steady paycheck. Income can be projected indefinitely; salary is defined on a yearly basis as opposed to a project-by-project basis.

Complacency, Not Job Security

Working for a company is comfy. You know you’ll get paid on Friday, and then another Friday two weeks later, and then another Friday four weeks later, and sometimes you even get a bonus. Inevitably, this soothing repetition leads to what some might call “job security” — but what is really complacency.

This world has continually shown the concept of job security to be a dangerous fantasy. Companies who think they are doing well can lose everything in days. Industries that are considered recession-proof continue to tighten expenses. And no skill set — no matter how difficult or unique — is immunization against CFOs looking to cut costs through personnel reduction. In today’s modern jet-setting utopia, layoffs are the rule, not the exception.

Shaking the Snow Globe

As someone who was laid off during the dot-com implosion and who recently had to execute layoffs in my own creative department because of the current recession, I have seen both edges of that blade. Both are painful.

What is interesting, and rarely discussed, are the reactions of the survivors. Suddenly, “job security” loses all meaning. The financial complacency that so warmly covered everyone like a dreamy blanket is ripped away like a morphine drip, and the withdraw is instant and feverish. People continue to work hard — head’s down, no bullshit, thank-you-sir-may-I-have-another hard — but every time the manager’s back turns, a resume is getting tweaked, a portfolio is updated, personal business cards are getting designed, Twitters are flying and Facebook profiles are in utter, paint-the-roses-red bedlam.

Then, all of the sudden, life goes on. The second round of layoffs never comes. The CEO sends a memo saying things are gonna be alright. People start hearing about how their affected colleagues find other jobs, and maybe this recession isn’t so bad and we’ll all be OK after all. The resumes, portfolios, business cards, LinkedIn recommendation requests, and 30-panicking-Twitters-an-hour state of distress simmers down, eventually cools, and ultimately disappears, smoothed back into an opiate haze by the comforting rhythm of the bi-weekly paycheck.

This cycle of behavior is like shaking a gigantic corporate snow globe. It’s also class-A madness. Right now, the need to stay acutely conscious of potential layoffs never diminishes, and neither does the need to prepare for the worst case scenario.

Stay Sharp

There’s no sure-fire way make your job recession-proof. Designers and developers are often seated in marketing or IT, which take brass-knuckle beatings from economic downturns. Once management has set aim, there is no salvation — there is only mitigating the pain and moving forward as quickly as possible. So stay sharp. Follow these tactics to make your escape from “redundancy” as smooth as possible.

• Save money.
  Retain three months of salary in an accessible savings account. When you get laid off, you’re probably eligible for unemployment, so this might be contingency money anyway. I can hear a lot of you blinking in disbelief at the amount, but just try.
• Keep an active social life, both online and in meatspace.
  This enables you to keep connections fresh at all times, not just in moments of crisis. People are far more likely to respond positively to a regular contributor of the social circle — not to someone who just pops their head in the social door every time they need something, like, you know, a job.
• File contact info for trusted colleagues.
  Over time, you develop trusted friends and colleagues at work. Make sure you have both professional and personal contact info. (Some companies strictly ban their employees from communicating with those who have been let go, so the latter avenue of communication may be the only one.) These may be your best start for the inevitable new-job networking circus.
• Sharpen the resume.
  In this miracle age of technology, the idea of maintaining a resume seems incredibly pedestrian. But it’s important. Job sites and recruiters do not ask for LinkedIn profiles or the name of your Twitter account. These online places require different formats, so make sure you have the following locked and loaded:
  • PDF, although almost no one excepts them anymore
  • Word
  • Plain text, full version
  • Plain text, less than 3,000 character version
• Retain an online presence.
  This does not necessarily have to be for freelancing. You just need a URL to give people; ideally, this has your resume and work samples, if applicable. A vanity URL is best (demonstrates personal style), but a professional site like LinkedIn or Creative Hotlist can work.
• Treat every paycheck as if it might be your last.
  Read that again and think about it.
• Have a plan.
  There’s a good chance you’re not going to follow through on some of the stuff I highlighted earlier. Not everyone has time to develop their own website, and three months of salary is hard to come by. Nevertheless, have a plan. Play out the scenario in your head — “if I get let go this week … what will I do?“ This is like having an escape route from your house in case of fire. No one wants to use it (duh) but you’ll get to safety a lot faster if you already know the steps.

You’re Not Safe. Really.

I have met way too many people who consider themselves irreplaceable. They think their talent, tenure and process knowledge are so critical to the company’s day-to-day operation that the idea of getting laid off is as preposterous as removing a corner of the Eiffel Tower and expecting it to remain standing.

Let’s be lucidly realistic for just a second. Every one is replaceable. Really. From the mail room guy to the CEO. There simply is not a position on earth that management can’t figure out a way to assimilate into the job responsibilities of the poor sap in the next cube over who didn’t get fired. The people at the top of the food chain are always thinking about stuff like that. That’s their job. Arrogance just makes the target on your back bigger.

So don’t be stupid. Don’t be lazy. And don’t believe management.

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wrote the following on Tuesday February 9, 2010

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