Tips to Best Prepare for a Layoff

Step One Work hard and work smart. This is NOT a time to be slacking off. Get to work on time. Leave a little later if needed. If your company is considering layoffs, they will want to keep the hard workers around. Step Two Make sure your contributions are seen by management so that come layoff time they know to try and keep you. Step Three Talk to your boss, find out what you can do better, and do it. During times like these, you should be in really good terms with your boss because upper management may ask him to recommend which of his reports should not be affected by a layoff. Step Four Stay attuned to rumors and gossips about layoffs. They can be a good indicator of when you should start looking for a new position. Step Five Start polishing your resume and asking around about what kind of positions are open. Step Six Learn a new and basic skill that you will be able to utilize if you are affected by a layoff. Skills like plumbing are always in demand (a leaking pipe needs to be fixed), whereas graphics designing is probably not a field that will have much prospect during a recession. Step Seven Try to be as self sufficient as you can. For example, start growing a vegetable patch in your front or back yard. Step Eight Cut expenses and put the savings in a safe savings account:
* Now is probably the time to get rid of those pesky subscription services like cable TV, XM/Sirius radio etc.
* Eat out less. One restaurant meal (depending on the restaurant) can buy upto one week’s worth of groceries.
* Brown bag your lunch. It takes me around $1.5 to make the sandwich my office cafeteria sells for $5.
* If possible, take the bus or carpool to reduce how much gas you use. With gas prices on the increase, if you can cut down on driving to work, you can save a bunch.
* Spend carefully. Now is perhaps not the time to buy that beautiful $150 cashmere sweater you saw at Nordstrom. Step Nine Don’t be completely dependent upon your job for your survival - start an alternative source of income. Some ideas I have include:
* getting a second job
* creating a website/blog and monetizing it
* nvesting in a rental property that generates income
* investing in high yield bonds, dividends from stocks/mutual funds etc.
* selling hand crafted items on ebay
* writing for eHow