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Tip #81: “Lost Contracts Happen”
Your employer can lose a contract with a client and not have another to put you on. Now, instead of making them money by charging the client hourly for your services, you are costing your employer money, being on company overhead. Your days are numbered. Always start looking for a job when this happens, and even before, if you know a contract is ending on a certain date and there has been no word of an extension or renewal. Or other contracts. Hoping for the best can cost you financially when you are caught flatfooted and out the door, no prospects in sight.
Tip #82: “Your Manager’s Assessment”
The most consistent threat to your job is your manager’s opinion of you. This can change quickly and sometimes without merit. There is a reason people suck up, the theory being that managers don’t get rid of people they like or who make them feel and/or look good. People can throw you under the bus to them behind your back, which is just one way a manager’s opinion can sour without your understanding or even being aware. Always be on the lookout for disapproval, or a change in the winds, as it may herald a change of job.
Tip #83: “Performance Reviews Are Stupid”
The dreaded performance review is touted by HR as an opportunity to gracefully accept criticism and grow as a person and vital staff member who can better meet the company’s needs, while humbly improving oneself. Instead, it’s often a chance for managers to unnecessarily sow resentment. Trivial things are blown out of proportion, and achievements are tagged as us just doing your job and not worth noting. This can happen because managers do not want to be seen as praising everyone, so they look for faults, offending us in the process. And if there are performance bonuses to be had, they can purposely avoid praising us to avoid the payout (because management wants this).
Tip #84: “Budget Cuts”
These usually happen at a client, especially local, state, and federal governments. But budget cuts can happen anywhere and usually mean that a number of positions must be eliminated. Yours could be one of them, regardless of how critical the work you are doing is, or how well you have been performing it. If you are on a contract, find out when it renews and try to assess the likelihood that the position is safe. Be ready to jump ship if you sense it’s not essential and budget cuts are announced.
Tip #85: “Unacceptable Work Changes”
Sometimes your employer essentially kills your job. Technically you will still have one and at the same pay, etc., but you might be assigned duties that are so different from what you have been doing, and even assigned a physical location or team that is far away, that you basically have a new job. Seldom is this change great. It’s often job-ending, as they will place you somewhere that they need you, not somewhere you need to be. Object and you are not a team player. It may be time to depart.