How do I retain my job?

Question

With the pandemic wrecking havoc all over a lot of companies are being hit with layoffs, furloughs and retrenchments. Many are of the opinion it is still going to get a lot worse, economically.Some of us have been through this before.What is some general advice on how to retain your job for those that are still lucky enough to have jobs?

jppope · Accepted Answer

Here's my $0.02 but most people won't like it.
1) Start by doing an extra 5-10 hours of work for your job. The good news is if you were already doing 60+ hours this is probably unnecessary. I don't have a reference to the study but people that work a lot tend to get paid more and are also usually last to go.
2) Start getting prepared for if were to lose your job. Start studying "Cracking the Code Interview", start running leet code exercises in the morning, and do some practice interviews with friends/family. Two things happen when you do this... 1) you just get sharper, which makes you more valuable (I can't tell you how many times I started prepping to leave and got a promotion from it) 2) you will be back on your feet faster.
3) Grab responsibilities that are available but aren't necessarily directly related to your position. Usually, but not always, when layoffs are required managers recognize the utility of someone that can cover work from someone that they would prefer to get rid of. I.E. if you can do some Devops, and dev, you're more useful than the person that can only do dev. This especially becomes a factor when people are overpaid. Axing 1 high salary, when theres someone that can cover the work makes good business sense

ThrowawayR2 · Answer

1) "You don't have to run faster than the bear to get away. You just have to run faster than the guy next to you." Make sure you're continuing to finish your deliverables on time and visibly so. Make sure that you're helpful and useful in a way that your managers can see.2) If you're on a project that isn't delivering a profit or isn't viewed as important by your leadership, heaven help you. Try to move to another team that is profitable/important, if you can.3) Brace yourself for a layoff anyway. Look at your finances now, while you still have a steady income, and see what you'd have to do to survive if you were unexpectedly laid off, then start making any appropriate preparations or adjustments.