Layoff Season is SIX MONTHS Away!

Did you know that more people quit their jobs during the month of August than any other time of the year? On average 3.5 MILLION people quit their jobs every August. FORGET ‘quiet quitting’- these folks just leave. Perhaps for a new position, maybe to be a solopreneur, but that is a LOT of job movement.

You may read that fact and think that is the most chaotic time for a workplace for the year. If you think that, though, you would be wrong.

The most chaotic time is January.

That’s because January is the month where the most layoffs, job eliminations, firings, and redundancies occur. In fact, January has averaged over 10 MILLION layoffs over the past five years. That’s 10% of all involuntary job loss for the entire year occurring in January.

‘Happy’ New Year, here’re your separation papers.'

Is The Writing on the Wall?

It could be. 40% of Americans have been laid off from their job at least once. 47% of employed Americans state they do not feel prepared for the possibility of a job layoff.

Given those numbers there is a fair chance that it could happen to you, too, one day.

How Do I Know?

I have worked for three companies before my present non-profit job: two companies over 50 years old and one start-up. All three folded spectacularly, destroying hopes, dreams, and plans of their employees.

I am qualified to help you prepare for the worst while planning for the best!

Keep your eyes open for these 12 classic signs that a layoff may be on the way in your company.

1. Dire earnings reports or missed revenue goals. This should be at the top of your early warning list. Companies are, at the very basic level, coin operated. No money coming in? Then they can’t afford payroll. Something has got to give and most often that means employees, which are the highest expense for most places.
2. Meetings at odd times. Suddenly the execs have early morning meetings. Or you hear of after hour meetings. A conference room is suddenly off limits for a special unnamed project. Closed doors become the norm.
3. Executives leaving in droves. A fish stinks from the head down and news in companies usually trickle down, too. Pro Tip: When the HR department starts to lose employees to wonderful new opportunities keep your head up for more clues!
4. Risky pivots or strategic gambles. Just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks is a child’s game, not a company strategy. Frankly; it starts to smell like flop sweat and that’s no good.
5. Hiring freezes. Beware the cost cutting by attrition. This leads to ‘expanded roles’ for everyone else… and at the same pay.
6. Bad press. Yelp reviews killing your credibility? Creditors aren’t getting paid? Suddenly supplies of the newest whatsit is stuck in an embargo? Dissatisfied employees send a multi-page manifesto on their last day, spamming everyone’s inbox? Bad bad bad press.
7. Budget cuts. Employees are encouraged to bring in coffee for the kitchen, paper towels run out on the weekly, matching contributions to 401k plans are halted, the cleaning staff goes to one day a week, supply orders now have tiny allowances and reduced order days.
8. HR weirdness. Your job description needs to be updated right away, showing how you spend your time. Your review is late. Infractions of standards are commonplace and rigidly documented over and above what has been the norm for your company.
9. Your boss is being evasive and a loner. Of course they are- they will have ‘the talk’ with their team and tell them their job is gone. They are afraid you can read minds, have frequent sessions with HR to review the script they will use.
10. Your email volume and meeting requests start to taper. Of course they do. The leadership is deciding who will go and they don’t want to assign projects to people that won’t be present to do the work.
11. Sudden push to document ALL the processes. A massive loss of corporate memory, skills, experience, and passwords is looming. Documentation for the souls that are left to carry on through survivor guilt is needed.
12. Consultants and corporate speak. Money that disappeared is suddenly available for consultants. They will interview ‘key players’ for ‘process improvement’ and ‘time management’. ‘Overhead’ isn’t a place on the plane for your carryon- it’s the money the company spends, and employees are a huge expense. ‘Restructuring’ is usually a way to ‘position the company for increased profits by concentrating on the essential offering/functions/projects/ with fewer employees.’

Be Prepared: Your 8 Steps to a Mid Year Tune Up

Even if you are SURE you aren’t heading for job loss in the new year, it makes sense you schedule a regular career tune up. These next six months are ideal for doing that each year. These steps are a good starting point for your tune up list.

1. Assess your LinkedIn network. LinkedIn is still king for networking. Review your LinkedIn profile. Update your job description. Write recommendations for your coworkers and any direct reports. Send connection requests to people that may have left your company, those that are in places you may want to work, and start to follow interesting companies. Write an article. Join a group. Update the email to your personal email, not your company contact information.
2. Update your resume. The time to add your current job to your resume is while you are still doing it. Be precise: what are your best accomplishments? What new skills have you mastered?
3. Gather your passwords. What websites would you lose because you have the password saved on your work computer? Invest in a program like LastPass to corral your passwords.
4. Clean your ‘Personal’ files from your office and computer. That photo of you and Dad? How about the birthday email Mom sent you? That baseball on display or autographed photo? All too often workers find they are leaving the company when their computer is locked out of the system or bricked. Don’t lose the items you’ve meant to keep. Do routine saving to the cloud, email them to yourself, of put on an external drive.
5. Add to your portfolio. What have you created, collaborated on, or completed? What results were possible because of you? This is an excellent time to gather information for your portfolio of work in time for your review… or your exit from the job.
6. Download information from your company phone, corporate directory, or email contacts. These are your people and you won’t remember that vendor, person from Payroll, or even your second cousin’s phone number once these devices are gone.
7. Assess your benefit usage. Do you have a balance in your Flexible Spending Account (FSA)? Unused vacation that won’t roll over? Vision or dental benefits that expire at the end of the year? These next four months are your chance to get the use out of these items in your total compensation package.
8. Stay in tune with yourself. This will mean something different to everyone. make sure that you are in peak condition- no matter how hectic things may be or how worried you may be. Get enough sleep. Work out and feel your best. Eat better. Drink water. Pack your lunch. Stop crazy spending. Take a course like public speaking, social media marketing, Excel secrets, communication, or any one of the topics on LinkedIn Learning or Udemy or Coursera. Join Medium and start building your brand.

Sure, sure, sure- you can wait until January like everyone else, but don’t. It could be that your job is safe; there’s no downside to you getting a jump on your resolutions and entering the new year refreshed and on point?

Now What?

The Mid Year Tune-Up can prepare you for career bumps, and it can also do much more.

Taking the 8 Steps will streamline your digital footprint, refocus your attention on your accomplishments, enhance your interaction with your coworkers and extended network, prepare you for an informed yearly review, and build your personal confidence.

Build it into your routine and spend the time every year to propel you into the new year aware and in control.

~~~~~

Now, you might be a new employee and this could apply to you more:

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You can find me on Medium, where a version of this was first posted.