Mergers, Acquisitions Lay-Offs Knowing When to Dust Off Your Resume - CareerAlley

Mergers, Acquisitions Lay-Offs Knowing When to Dust Off Your Resume - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Statistically, experts claim the worst recession since the Great Depression is over, however, it definitely doesnt feel that way for many Americans. While political factions are going wild, pointing fingers and trying to find the magic formula to make it all better, millions of people are still out of work, out of unemployment and just doing what they can to hang in. Mergers, acquisitions and company downsizing continue to squeeze an already choking job market. There was a time when having a government job meant you were safe from such economic downturns, but not anymore. Nevada is one example of how the recession is impacting even the safest of jobs. That state recently implemented a new mandatory furlough plan for its employees. This is not the first time since the recession began in 2007 that Nevada employees had to take furlough time. A forced fur-lough means that every affected employee must take 96 hours a year off work, without pay. This is in addition to any vacation, sick time etc. the employee has accrued. This was done in the effort to reduce salary overhead, and prevent a massive layoff. The furlough period ends in June 2013. Changing Times For years a union job afforded protections that non-union jobs did not, including loss of jobs without reason. Today, that is not the case, as companies are taking part in union busting activities with flourish. Companies are hiring consultants that specialize in how to legally prevent a union from starting as well as how to weaken an already established union presence. These consulting firms exist to prevent unions, thereby, removing the safety of a union job. Additionally, non-unionized jobs are being to subject to unofficial union busting as companies lay off more senior employees with bigger paychecks and greater benefits such as vacation time, and force lesser salaried employees to pick up the slack. Perhaps the true fiendishness of this is when those companies are ready to hire again, they hire workers at entry level salaries. If you are at a job where the company is undermining your union, will you work harder and do more than ever before to maintain your job? This is not exactly the time to be out of work, right? The companies practicing union busting of some form or another count on that fear. They can smell it and they push harder with each passing day, ultimately ending up with employees who do not quit, but are instead doing double and sometimes triple duty in the effort to maintain employed. Even if you are not in a union position, your company may be in the process of a merger, or it may be downsizing on a weekly basis. How safe are you? Subtle Hints You Are About to Go If you have a job, do you tie a rope around your waist and hang on? Or, do you look for an-other job and get ready to jump ship at the first sign of trouble? The answer is probably some where between the two. Obviously, if you could look into a crystal ball and see the future, that decision would be much easier. Since you dont have that ability, the next best thing is knowing the signs that you are about to be terminated, and if so, you can dust your resume off and hopefully say to your employer soon, You cant fire me, I quit! A sudden increase in email criticism could be a bad sign. Whether its being done because your supervisor is irritated with you and doesnt want to discuss issues with you in person, or he or she is creating a breadcrumb paper trail to use to fire you later, more frequent written criticisms are not to be ignored. Respond to each one in writing with your defense and word it in a way that you can use later in a termination dispute. For example, if the email reprimands you for doing something incorrectly, but you were only following another supervisors directives, state in your reply the name and position of the individual that gave you the directive, the date it was given and the date you complied, basically creating your own paper trail to use as a defense if need be or as ammunition if, in fact, you are let go and your former employer tries to deny you unemployment benefits. If you used to get a lot of positive feedback and it has stopped, you might want to unearth your resume. Be sure to send out an updated resume and dont forget to include any business degrees or certificates you have earned. Some managers dont normally praise employees, and if that is normal, it wont change. But if your supervisor used to lay it on thick and suddenly goes quiet, the company may have layoff plans with your name attached to them. Decisions you used to be part of are no longer discussed with you is a red flag. This could mean the decision to unload you has already been made, they are just waiting for you to find out and they are carrying on as if you are already gone. In addition, your supervisor may suddenly start micromanaging you. If tasks you previously did with little supervision are now scrutinized closely, the ax may be poised and ready as soon as they gather enough evidence to let it drop. Hard economic times can mean a job loss even if you do everything right. While a recession is not the best time to start hopping from job to job and see what is out there, keeping ahead of the game to maintain employment is a good idea. If you company starts to act like it is not as stable as before, or you get the feeling you are about to get the pink slip, dont feel guilty for put-ting out some feelers and seeing who bites. Do you think your company will think twice about letting you go if it becomes necessary? The company wont skip a beat; make sure you keep pace. more Lost your Job? Karen Boyarsky has worked as a copywriter at major advertising agencies in NY, SF, LA, Sili-con Valley and Las Vegas. She often blogs about business. Follow her on Twitter @BoyarskyKaren. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search. Visit me on Facebook