Layoff Survival Guide - Do You Have The Career Management Horsepower It Will Take To Survive?

In a recent survey of over 662 career seekers, some disturbing trends identified that MOST career seekers don't have a clue what career management skills they have or what those skills are! As a result, it will be difficult for these career seekers to succeed.

In fact, only 71% of the respondents recognized they had any career management skills at all! That's why they are particularly vulnerable to future layoffs

Before skipping to the answers, try your hand at identifying YOUR career management skills.

List your Top 3:

1)______________

2)______________

3)______________

Now, let's compare your answers - and your survivability - to these respondents.

Simply by reading this, you are gaining horsepower versus your competition! You'll begin honing some competitive edges - and hopefully, it may be enough to survive through (and possibly avoid) future layoffs.

What are the real career management skills necessary for success and how does your competition stack up?

Let's check out the facts:

Top 5 Career Management Skills

1) NETWORKING (internal): - Always building contacts and relationships within your chosen profession and in your industry these may turn out to be your very best source for new possibilities especially to stay in the industry where you are. SPOTTING OPPORTUNITIES ahead of your competition through these contacts is a critical career management skill.

Only 10% of respondents had networking as a career management skill. Leaving 90% missing the boat and on the block for future chops.

2) NETWORKING (external): - Always build relationships outside your profession. These may serve as the entree to new possibilities. Just think, these individuals may PROVIDE CLUES to upcoming opportunities.

No one differentiated the distinct differences between internal and external networking?but it is critical in survival strategies.

3) HAVING A CAREER PLAN: How can you arrive at a destination without having the course charted? A careening career is a "career by coincidence". Not the way to survive in the current economic and business realities.

Only 1% of the respondents recognized identified having a roadmap or blueprint for their own career as important. Many thought business planning was a critical skill but not necessarily for charting their career.

4) KNOW THYSELF: If you are to market yourself, then you must be able to objectively view the assets and liabilities you have. It must not be blinded by rosy glasses or dark ones, but you must sustain inspection with a powerful microscope. In fact, because we humans possess so many personal filters, this process is nearly impossible without the aid of some professionals who can view you objectively. These professionals will invariably see things in you that you can't see in yourself - both plusses and warts.

Again, only 1% of the respondents got this one. If you don't know the details of the product you are marketing, how can you effectively market it internally (or externally if you don't follow the steps above)? An objective third party that is trained and sensitized will make sure you don't miss any "key features" in the unique product you are marketing named "YOU".

5) KNOW YOUR COMPETITION: If you are to market yourself - you must realize that you are not competing in a vacuum! Your skills and capabilities will be stacked up against many others in the company and it's not always the most qualified who stays or who gets promoted. It's always the one who markets themselves the best!

No respondents got this one but it is critical to success.

How did you do? Did you get those career management skills correct - or did you struggle? Are you vulnerable or are you on track? Awareness of these skills will help you chart a course through potential layoffs and keep you way ahead of your competition.

The final score:

YOU - WIN!

Everyone else - second place and off the field.

Bruce Benskin is a regioinal manager for R.L. Stevens & Associates Inc. For over 24 years R.L. Stevens & Associates (http://interviewing.com/) has been the Nation's most successful privately-held firm, specializing in executive career searches generating quality interviews through both advertised and unadvertised channels.

CAREER TOPICS

Dynamic Pre-Hiring Practices
The pre-hiring process can be a challenge. Much time and energy can be invested and in the end, wasted, if your approach is not focused, deliberate, and specific.

Five Fabulous Resume Tips for College Grads (or Anybody)
Fluffy clouds. Chirping birds.

Success at Work : People Skills : Networking
Getting along with your co-workers is critical to yourhappiness and success at work. You may find yourselfspending more time with your co-workers than with yourspouse and family.

Sawbones
I was rushing through the white-tented terminal building at Denver International Airport when my attention was diverted - as if often is -- by a storefront massage business. Checking my wristwatch, I calculated I had just enough time for a 20-minute chair massage.

Great Interview Skills
Going for a job interview can be a harrowing experience. The reasons are varied: A job applicant may not have the necessary relevant working experience or may be worried about the inability to answer difficult questions.

Get Off Your Butt and Out of the Rut
It's amazing to see so many people who are prepared to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their careers.I'm sure you know of someone like that.

Work Is A Four-Letter Word
I can hear the jokes already and most of them are not politically correct. Let me throw out a word that we often don't attach to work and yet I think it is a word of redemption, of contribution, of achievement, of community, and ultimately, of legacy.

Job Interviews: Succeeding with Panel Interviews
These days, job interviews often consist of a panel of three-to-six interviewers.A "team approach" to finding the best candidate can be beneficial for the employer.

How to Answer The Most Difficult Interview Questions
The following 'difficult' questions are common to most tricky or adversarial interviews. In order to convince the interviewer that you are the best person for the job, you must prepare and rehearse your answers meticulously.

Becoming A Home Inspector: What the Home Inspection Schools Dont Want You To Know
Chances are if you're reading this you've thought about becoming a home inspector. You may have even seen the ads that say you can make hundreds of dollars a day as a home inspector.

How to Choose Your Ideal Career
They say that most people do complete and total career changes at least once often twice in their lifetimes. Very few people chose the ideal perfect career for themselves when they're in high school and blissfully happily work those same jobs for the rest of their lives.

Nine Ways to Tell Youre Ready for a Promotion
So you noticed the new job board posting on your way back from lunch. They finally decided to fill the assistant manager spot in your department! Trouble is, you've only been in your current position for about eight months.

Telephone Phobia: Make the Phone Your Job Search Friend
You're pretty comfortable using the phone. It's something you do every day in your working routine; so why is it that as soon as you need to use it for career change or job-search it becomes too difficult?Your reluctance to use the phone in your career change or job-search probably stems from anxieties about what might happen.

Chicken Soup for Job Seekers
Do you want to change your job but don't know the right way to go about it? Are you vacillating between waiting for your dream job or accepting the first one that comes your way? Or are you a fresher falling in line with what your parents wish you to be rather than what you wish to be? If this is the kind of situation you find yourself in, then the next few minutes will help you get a clearer picture. Here is our bowl of chicken soup for the job seeker's soul.

Tips To Survive A Layoff
The following eight tips will help make sure that recover from a layoff sooner than you think.#1 - DON'T PANIC: You may have lost your job but you have not lost everything.

7 Steps to Effective Communication
The success of any business or organization depends largely on how effectively the members communicate. The ability to speak well is a minimum requirement of some businesses when hiring.

Resume That Effectively Promotes You!
Imagine for a moment that you have created a wonderful product. You are excited at the possibilities of attaining name, fame and wealth marketing this product.

A Day in the Life of a Freelance Copywriter
Ever wanted a job where you could spend all day, every day, writing clever and inspiring prose? Yes? Well don't become a freelance copywriter!Don't get me wrong, it's a great job, and for some of us it's a calling that won't be denied. And you definitely do get to write clever and inspiring prose.

Start Working Before You Get Hired
What if there were a way to *prove* to any sane employer that you alone were the one to hire?Would learning how to do that interest you? I thought so.I call this the "start-working-before-you-get-hired" job-hunting method.

Job Interviews: Succeeding With Panel Interviews
These days, job interviews often consist of a panel of three-to-six interviewers.A "team approach" to finding the best candidate can be beneficial for the employer.