Employment

Job-Keeping

Klaus Kneale, 12.09.08, 06:00 PM EST

Job security is a skill.

In Pictures: Seven Tips For Keeping Your Job

As we head deeper into what promises to be one of the worst recessions in living memory, there is certain to be less hiring and more firing. In this job market, it is no longer enough to be good at getting a job--you have to be good at keeping it.

According to a recent survey by Dice Holdings, a New York-based creator of career Web sites, two-thirds of companies are hiring fewer people and one-third are expecting layoffs in the next six months. Not too surprising. There have already been 120,000 layoffs since Nov. 1, just among the 500 largest American public companies, tracked on the Forbes.com Layoff Tracker.

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What's one to do? Being great at your job isn't enough--after all, no one is indispensable. All you need to be is more indispensable than the next guy.

In Pictures: Seven Tips For Keeping Your Job

Forbes.com Layoff Tracker

Take on extra responsibility. Run extra reports or volunteer for special projects. Consider organizing the office holiday party or other events (blood drives, volunteer programs). These activities will make you valuable even if your job no longer exists, says Jo Prabhu, chief executive of placement firm International Services Group. You don't necessarily need to work more hours; you need to diversify what you do with the hours you do work.

"Find your expertise," says Darryl Sample, who teaches managerial and business classes at University of Alaska, Anchorage, and Central Texas College. He suggests finding something missing in your pool of coworkers. Learn a few things about, for example, green energy, corporate social responsibility programs or the next big industry trend, then make a suggestion in line with your company's goals. All at once, you'll show forward thinking, an alignment with company objectives and skills or knowledge above the guy next to you.