No matter how well you do your job or how many years you do it, there are only two tiny words that separate you from the street. Those two words are "You're fired". It recently happened to me (downsized) but I'm not alone.It has happened for millions and will continue to happen for a multitude of reasons. The cause could be from an oil shock, financial meltdown, a change in a workplace business model or in my case, office politics. This post isn't about what can be done to prepare for such a loss. Rather, the main theme of this post is to reinforce the fact that nobody has a "permanent" job.
Managers have realized that firing people rarely means an end to business. The managers themselves are interchangeable too, maybe more so since their turnover seems to happen at a greater rate. Even owners can be indirectly "fired" by customers. In fact, the "permanent" employee is now a rare find. Keep in mind that any given building can be full of people who were not there twenty years ago and won't be there 20 years from now. They key isn't to be able to resist change, it's to be able to successfully react to it.
So, it's always important to be prepared for an unexpected job transition. It can happen at any time for most any reason. Always try to develop a set of portable skills that can be immediately useful to another employer. Also, try to build enough financial security to be able to shop carefully for another place to use your skills. Also, keep in mind when one door shuts, several more now can open. Choose carefully and today's tragedy can transform into tomorrow's bounty.
