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What should you do if you have a reasonable job, in light of the coming financial crisis?

You may think the answer is two words – Keep It. That is certainly the most important thing to achieve but there are many more actions you must consider to ensure that you do and to equip yourself with the information you need to negotiate your next pay increase – or reduction. The signs are that there will be massive lay-offs in the New Year. That could be delayed by printing Euro 3Tr. Even if it is delayed by such feckless irresponsibility the time lag will be short.

Many people are going to be asked to reduce their pay. It is happening already. They will be the people in the middle and at the bottom of the employment ladder. The top people have prepared themselves to take a small cut by pumping up their wages over the last few years – by 49% this year alone. Gestures will be made. They will not impress the protestors who will escalate their demonstrations with increasing violence. In certain parts of the world their will be civil war – Syria and Egypt are already there.

Nearer home you need to know what you are worth. If possible ask a good Executive Searcher; they are the people most switched on to the market. Find out what peers doing comparable jobs are getting and, equally importantly, what their terms and conditions and lengths of contracts are.

Get your personal financial picture clear, even if you don’t like the results. A Terrific Mentors Future Financial Needs Analysis takes about fifteen minutes. You can look at it and complete it free but if you want to discuss it I charge you a little for the time. It will not solve problems but it highlights needs and that puts you in a stronger position to negotiate. You may be doing a lot of that in the near future so if you are not clear how to, get busy and learn.

Organise yourself to work more from home, even if there is ‘no question’ of your losing your job. I have helped several people save their jobs by moving some of the workload away from the office. Home working is widely accepted for many people now; it requires special disciplines and some disruption to the household.  Rather that than lose your job. If you don’t know how to reorganise your work around the home, get busy and learn now.

Help your employer reduce his costs and he will be better disposed to keep you in a job.

Examine your job to see what real financial contribution it makes to the business. Those who bring in the cash are better placed to survive than the admin team. That doesn’t mean that admin is not important, just that it is more dispensable. If you work hard, look at how productive your hard work is. Many people are working hard at working hard and that butters no parsnips.

Get your contact lists up to date. They are in a mess, more than likely. Use some of your spare time to bring them into a usable state. He who moves fast when the axe falls loses fewest limbs. Haven’t looked for a job for some time? The labour market at all levels is so different today from three years ago that you need to understand how to present yourself well. ‘HR record’-type CV’s don’t attract employers anymore than sloppy, thoughtless interviews. As for CV mailings, forget it. Push $100 dollar notes down the drain instead, it will have more impact.

There are many more things you can do to prepare for the upcoming financial tsunami. Preparing won’t deflect it – but it may keep you afloat.