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The Great Stay Put
Welcome
A few months ago, I wrote this column describing "The Great Resignation." Now, I think I must write this one as "The Great Stay Put," because things have changed so rapidly since then. I had real wide-eyed optimism about the IT job market, but all that has changed. Now, just as was seen in the early 2000s, you might be lucky to have a job in six months. I hope that's not the case, but you need to prepare yourself. One way to prepare is to change to a safer position, and by "safer," I mean one that is essential to business operations. The other way is to stay where you are and ride this thing out.
There's no way to predict accurately what's going to happen six months from now, but that doesn't mean you have to sit around and just wait for it to happen to you. You can act now to be sure that you decrease any negative effect from a downturn in the economy.
Whether you decide to stay or leave your current job, you must position yourself to show that your presence is important to the ongoing health of the business. The best way to do this is to examine the business, its strengths, its weaknesses, its assets, and its value to customers. You must find ways to improve production, cut costs, increase revenue, and resonate better with your customer base. What are you doing right? What are you doing wrong? Are you leaving money on the table by not cross-selling, upselling, or enhancing the customer experience with better service and new or upgraded products?
You must find some way to contribute in a more meaningful way to help solidify your stake in the company's success. I guess that's a fancy way of saying that you need to participate actively in increasing your company's bottom line.
Be aware that not every idea is going to be great. It's likely that your management will reject most of your ideas. Don't allow rejection to discourage you. Brainstorming is how people discover great things, so keep at it. Also, remember
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