How to Save Your Job?

If you look around in your professional life, you will realize that most of the people after getting their job feel completely relaxed. They feel that once they have impressed their employer for a job in the interview the battle is won. But what they fail to understand is that the fight is still on. Getting a job is one thing whereas holding on to the job is completely a different thing. In today’s professional environment, no job comes with the slightest assurance of lifetime commitment. There is no guarantee at all.

There is one simple rule every employer implies: till the time you are useful to the organization, you are more than welcome to work with them. If by any chance you don’t come across as an asset, the employer will not hesitate to terminate your services. One should always be prepared to handle this situation. I am not saying that be prepared to be fired but you can always work on the idea of sustaining your job. It is never too late. In today’s world, there is always a person waiting for an opportunity to replace you in the organization. Competition is always good. It helps in bringing the best out of a person.

While looking at this problem from the employer’s point of view, you would realize that there is nothing wrong with this policy. It is not like the employer is waiting for you to make a mistake so that they can terminate you. Every employer understands that they have invested training, money and time in an employee. They would never like to waste this but at the end of the day, it is business.

The key requirement of any business is to make a profit. They are not in the market for charity. If any employee is not able to fulfill the requirements constantly even after being provided support by the senior management, they are left with no other option but to terminate your services. There is nothing personal about it. The senior management is just doing their job. Remember, they would always prefer to give you a warning or a hint that improvement is required. It is not like the first mistake you make will get you fired unless it is a complete disaster.

There is always a scope of improvement. So if you feel you are perfect, think again. Nobody is perfect. We all have our share of flaws. Confidence is good but over-confidence can cause disasters. Understand your flaws. The solution can never be traceable if a person does not know what the problem is. Whatever the flaw might be, the first step towards solving it is acceptance. Be absolutely honest with yourself. A lot of you might feel that there is nothing wrong as you always fulfill the requirements of the job profile. Do you actually believe that the employer will be pleased with your performance as you are simply good with following instructions? You are required to prove your importance. The only way you can do this is with being innovative. When was the last time you developed a new trend of working for the growth of the organization.

Think it like this, you are never thankful for the remuneration, it is the extra incentive that motivates you to put in the extra effort. If tomorrow you are told that there shall be no incentives will you truly feel motivated? Incentives are not only in form of money, the paid leaves, medical benefits and the gifts during the festival season are also counted as incentives. The same way the extra you do besides the required is the incentive for the organization. If you can feel disheartened, the organization also has the right to feel disappointed. So the next time you think you’re a perfect employee, think about this fact and then come to a conclusion.

Captivating the Competition for Success

There is no doubt that the competition is tough. It is not impossible to beat the competition. If one is capable of getting the job, it is absolutely sure that he can sustain it. You just require a positive attitude and the capability to adapt to the changes in your professional world. Remember, there is always an option. All you need to do is pay attention to certain requirements. Always keep in mind that it will only be the lack of energy to fight back for your job that will cause the problem. If you are able to follow the required procedure, not only you will be able to sustain the job but definitely the success will also be yours.

It is absolutely crucial for you to understand your job and the work environment. When you analyze your job, keep in mind the job profile and the scope of improvement. You need to understand the importance of your job in the organization. Make it a point to study what the options and the growth pattern in your job are. The reason why a person is required to understand each and every aspect of his job is to relate them with his personality.

One needs to understand his personality, what are the weaknesses and strengths in him. Till the time you will not be able to understand if you have the required traits, there is no scope of improvement. Think how can you use your strengths to improve the outcome of your job and how can you tackle the weaknesses so that they do not effect your potential. Before you make any decision, make sure you have studied every minute detail of your job and personality. You do not need to talk about your weaknesses to any of your colleague or the senior management.

One should always be diplomatic in a situation like this. If you discuss your flaws, there are two things that your employer can think. Either he might think that you are not capable to handle your problems and are looking for support to solve them or you simply are not capable of improving your personality. He might also think that the reason why the problem is discussed as you expect the employer to manage with your flaws.

Always try to work on the flaws on your own as you are the only one who can solve them. There are a lot of people who are not familiar with their strength. It is only when they are under immense pressure that they are able to realize the benefit of the trait possessed by them. It is possible that you would have also gone through a similar situation. Think about how you managed to use your strength at that time to resolve the problem. Once you have analyzed the affect of your strength and weaknesses on your job, you would clearly able to conclude if this is the right job or not. There is no problem if you are absolutely sure that this is the right option but if you feel that your personality clashes with the job it is time to explore other options.

It is not necessary that you are required to find an option in a different organization or field altogether. Look at the different options available in the same organization. For example, if you like a job which is target-oriented and your job profile includes basic filing and maintaining records, then try and explore the option of sales and marketing as it will provide the needful.

Making the Importance Felt

Make your importance felt by your colleges and the senior management. It is extremely important to make them understand that you are the perfect person for the job and it is you and only you who can do the job in the perfect manner. You should make sure that everybody relies on you for the job. If by any chance you are not available or are on a leave, everybody around you should fear your absence. The reason why this is important is because when the employer will understand your importance, he will not even imagine terminating you. When you are making your importance felt, make sure it does not make other employees feel insulted. You do not want to leave an impression of being rude, as no organization likes a rude person.

The trick is to handle the situation in such a manner that everybody agrees to you being important and a perfect gentleman. When you solve a problem, never discuss the procedure of solving the problem. Let that be your trade secret. If by any chance anyone starts the discussion, be smart and move out of the discussion. You can always give the excuse of being busy at the particular moment and give an assurance of discussing the solution later. This is a perfect example of being diplomatic in case you notice the answer has helped in keeping the trade secret without offending anybody. Planning is also required when one is making his importance felt. For instance, there is a presentation required to be shown on the projector. Hide the cable required and then arrive as the savior of the show and provide with the alternate solution so that the rest of the staff can proceed with the presentation. While trying this trick, be extremely careful.

There Is Nothing Personal About It

Always remember that it is a mean world out there. Do not trust anyone no matter how nice they are to you. In the work environment, betrayal is the most common trait. People can go to any extend to win your trust. Do not fall for the emotional and friendly behaviors. Remember the word trust should not exist in your professional word. You can never know who is working as a spy for the senior management to make his points. Trust me people do this all the time. A lot of people believe if they spy for the senior staff, they can manage to be in their good books. This is one of the most common ways used for success. You are all by yourself in this professional world. Never discuss your plans, career or remuneration with co-workers.

It is a professional world and there is nothing personal about it. Everything done and said around you is a result of a carefully planned move. What you need to understand is that the higher you get the lesser are the options of a job. You can see it for yourself. In your organization, there will be more of the junior staff when compared to the supervisors or managers. Also, there will be even less vacancies at the senior management level. So in a situation like this where there is a scarcity of options on the top, everybody has his own ways to reduce the competition. They would always be looking for the flaws in you so that at the right time they can use it against you. Be smart and never disclose any information about yourself. During the breaks, talk about the most general topics like the latest movie or any sport liked by you and your colleges. There are certain co-workers who will keep pushing you to give out your professional secrets, tell them clearly that you do not like discussing work during your breaks. Do not fall for their trap. Never take part in the office gossip. This is the worse thing you can do.

There are people who would initiate the gossip only so that make you take part in it. What they will do is that once you have contributed your share to the gossip they will make their move. A person like this will present only your share to the gossip to the senior management to ruin the impression. If by any chance you will try to confront them, they will clearly deny their role in the office gossip. Avoid such kind of a colleague. If ever due to an unavoidable circumstance you have to stand around them during the office gossip, quietly listen to what they have to say. Never agree or disagree with whatever they say. Do remember what they talk about as it can be used to dominate them in future.

The Importance of Labor Law

In a lot of organizations, the employer will manipulate your rights in every possible way. To handle a problem like this, it is always better to study the labor law. There is an extremely justified reason for suggesting this option to you. It has been seen in a lot of organizations that an employee is harassed or even terminated for all the wrong reasons. There are certain etiquettes of working. Surprisingly a lot of people do not believe in following them. It is for this category of people the labor law is made. When you will study the Labor Law, it will not only help you escape the manipulations of the employer but also help you deal with a lot of unwanted problems given by your colleges.

You will be able to understand what is permitted and what is not so that the next time your employer or colleagues cross their limit you can ask them to stop by informing about the law. Use this option only in extreme situations. If by any chance you have to use this option, do it in a subtle way. There is a reason why studying the Labor Law is good but threatening with it is not advisable. When you threaten your employer or colleague with reference to law, he/she will get offended and if ever you make the slightest of mistake, it will positively be used against you. It is never a good idea to make enemies at the place you work as it will make the entire environment extremely apprehensive.

Know Your Way Around

Do a lot of research in the basic functioning of your office. You should have the detail of everything in your office. Be it the coffee powder of the favorite stationery of the senior management you should know exactly where they are kept and how to order them when not available in office. The details like the contact numbers and address of the vendor should also be known. The benefit of this research is that eventually everyone will be depend on you for very small little thing.

The next time any of the senior management staff is not able to locate the special paper for the presentation you can act like his savior and get him the papers. This will not only leave a positive impression on the senior management but also help him understand your importance. He might also be able to realize how your co-workers depend on you for their every need. You should also know the location of every file in your office. If the responsibility of keeping files comes under you, keep changing their position. By doing so you will be the only one who can locate a file with ease. Make sure the files are placed in a manner that everyone besides you should find it absolutely confusing. This is one more way of making your employer feels that you are indispensable and the entire system will collapse in your absence.

The Importance of Being Selfish

It is good to be a nice guy but only in your personal life. In professional field, make sure that people do not take you for granted. You should not be the person doing your colleague’s share of work. It is fine to help a colleague once or may be twice. Do not allow them to pass the work to you on a regular basis. Even if you manage to finish your share of work early, don’t do their work for them. You should be using your spare time in developing and implying your strategies. A lot of people have a tendency to transfer their responsibility on others. It can be out of two reasons, either they too slow in their work or they feel they are over-smart. Whatever the reason might be you should not be the one paying for their incompetence.

Remember it is a selfish world. Everyone has to take care of themselves. If someone is not capable of handling their work, they do not deserve to be part of the organization. Do not even make an attempt to be the nice guy and solve their problem. The nice guys have always been the easy target. Everyone will use this as your weakness. And in this harsh professional world the last thing you would want to do is show your weakness. One should always be prepared to push others away when required. There is nothing wrong in doing this as this is the natural survival instinct. If you will not push others away, somebody else will definitely push you away. There would be times where you might feel guilty. There is no space for guilt in one’s professional life. Do not let your guilt rule you as it will only cause complications for you. Keep this in mind that this is how the professional world works and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. There have been numerous people who tried to move against this rule but have achieved nothing. Either they were asked to resign from their post or they decided to quit on their own. It is only the ones who had decided to change according to the requirements and trends of professional world have been able to sustain their job.

Maintain a Calm Head

One is required to maintain a clam mind in every situation. If you ever face a problem in professional life do not panic. It is absolutely important that you do not leave an impression of being a person who cannot handle pressure. Never show that you have panicked no matter how big the problem is. The best way would be by remaining quite. This is one way you would be able to use other persons confusion in your favor. What happens is that when a person is quite nobody can judge you over your intelligence. For a person to show his lack of intelligence, he is required to speak as one can only judge you here by your words. Confidence is what can help you sort out the biggest problem. During the difficult time if you manage to show that your confidence, the success will be yours. Every employer wants his employee to be calm in a situation of complete chaos and confident enough to solve the problem faster than others.

There are certain things every employer wants in his employee. He should be able to achieve targets, work independently and as a team, good leadership qualities, innovative with ideas and is always working for the growth of the organization. You need to make it a point to help your employer understand that each and every quality he desires is part of your personality. You can support your point with an example. The employer should know that not only you have what he needs but you also have certain specialties. Theses specialties will be the main cause helping you keep your job.

When you are talking about yourself, make sure it does not sound like bragging. Nobody likes a person who blows his on trumpet. It should be done in a way which feels honest and genuine. Never lie about you achievements. If by any chance anyone in the senior management decides to get it checked the entire effort you have put in to make an impression will go for a waste. And you should know that when it comes to impression and trust there are no second chances in the professional world. It is because of this you are told repeatedly to be extremely cautious in the professional world. You need to analyze everything before you speak. One needs to know every possible aspect his conversation can be portrayed. Nobody will ever leave a chance to misuse your conversation for their benefit.

Misuse of Professional Assets

Never use any resources provided to you by the organization for a personal deed. There are numerous employees who would use resources provided for a professional purpose to do something which is absolutely personal. They believe that there is nothing wrong in doing this. What they do not understand is that eventually everything boils down to money and no employer likes spending extra money on resources that were not used for the working or improvement of the organization. Things like taking out printouts or using the office phone to make a personal long distance call is not at all acceptable. This will make the employer feel that you are cheap enough to misuse resources and not at all a professional person.

Timing Makes the Difference

It is important for every employee to understand the importance of timing. One should always know when he should talk and when to stay quiet. In a lot of situations, we do not pay attention to the mood of the employer and simply start talking our heart out. This is like leaving the entire battle on the shoulders of luck. If by any chance our employer is not in a good mood or has just received news about some loss to the company, a small thing said by you can do the damage. Before you interact with the senior management, make sure the mood is right. You do not want to be highlighted for wrong reasons. There have been cases where employees where terminated because they said the wrong thing at the wrong time. To be on a safe side, always stay updated about your employer’s mood.

If you ever realize that someone is not happy with you, make it a point to resolve the problem he/she has with you. Even if you do not like the person, solve the problem. If it required, apologize to him/her. Being diplomatically correct is extremely important in the professional world. Your personal likes or dislikes for a particular person do not matter. Always keep in mind that you are there to do a job and not to make friends or enemies. A person who is mature enough to understand this is the only person who can achieve success in the long run.

The Importance of Appearance

The way you present yourself is also very important. Make sure you go to work adequately dressed. Apply the right amount of deodorant and perfume. You do not want to be the person who is avoided because of hygiene. Every industry has it own decorum to be followed. Do not try to push your limits here as it will only leave a negative impression of yours. Understand the importance of presenting yourself in a neat and clean way. A lot can be judged of a person from his clothes. It is not only about the kind of clothes. The way you wear them is equally important. Make sure the fitting of your clothes is proper. Do not wear excessively loose or tight fitting clothes.

If by any chance an accusation is made on you, do not panic. If the senior management calls you for a meeting in regard to the accusation, be absolutely honest. Defend your case with facts. Do not hesitate to bring up all the points required to set you free of the accusation. Make sure that just to prove your point you do not start blaming everyone and start talking about the problems with the senior management and the organization. This will make the employer feel that you are not loyal to the organization. Loyalty is one of the prime requirements by every employer. Stick to the accusation and get rid of it with absolute brilliance.

At the end, always remember the value of time. Be punctual for office. Do not vanish from work in between to fulfill personal needs. If there is an emergency, do not leave the office premises without informing the relevant person. Inform your colleagues about you absence in advance and if there was any scheduled meeting, do remember to apologize and reschedule the meeting. If there is an approval required for your absence, ask for it kindly instead of commanding the seniors. Once the approval is given, always remember to say thank you. If by any chance your absence will be prolonged than the scheduled time, inform everyone required.