HOW TO MAKE YOURSELF INDISPENSABLE IN ANY ECONOMY

We are in a competitive market. It always has been. It becomes profoundly so in tough economic times. With layoffs in vogue, it is wise to consider your role in the company, the importance it has to the company’s ability to be profitable, and the likelihood of being retained when your company determines who they must keep, and who will go. The real indispensable people are those who consistently deliver win/win solutions for their customers and profits for their businesses. So how do we make ourselves indispensable?

First of all, it would make sense to be the one making the decision about who stays and who goes wouldn’t it? Rarely does the person responsible for that decision choose to part with themselves. Naturally we all answer to someone, whether boss, customer or shareholder, and must perform to be rewarded and retained. Positioning oneself where your personal contribution to the company’s financial health is overwhelming is essential to indispensability.

The definition of indispensable is “not to be dispensed with; essential, necessary”. Just as there are foods indispensable to good nutrition; funds essential to completing a project; necessary tools and materials; there are people that a company cannot do without. This implies that they are counted and relied upon. Relied on for what? Results that produce profits.

The Pareto principle applies here. Known as the 80/20 rule, in this instance, we find that 80% of the work is actually done by 20% of the people—often closer to 10%. Now, all of the people are “busy” and working on the duties and responsibilities assigned to them, but in terms of the results that truly matter for the company, a minority of employees in the firm will create those results which produce profits through their own accomplishment. We want to make sure we are in this minority.

To do so, it is important to have a relationship in place with your boss where you know what she expects of you and what you are doing to meet these expectations; making sure you are meeting with your boss frequently enough to insure neither of you have surprises down the line. The importance of this cannot be overlooked; you initiate.

It is also important to be able to outline your accomplishments, to know what you have done that impacts profits in a measurable and positive way. It’s an interesting thing, after seeing many thousands of resumes, that most staff level people, up to the lower side of mid-management have resumes that focus on their duties. While people from the higher side of mid-management up to executive level have resumes that focus almost exclusively on accomplishments. Adding value in specific measurable accomplishments and being able to communicate these effectively, will do more to make you indispensable than simply getting done the list of duties you have been asked to do.

By the way, it is your responsibility to make yourself indispensable. This cannot be done by others. Indispensable people will always spend their time working from cause where those “struggling” spend their life in effect. True indispensability transcends employment with one company. You should position yourself within your industry as a “go to” specialist, with earned credibility and respect. You make yourself known through your accomplishments. You get yourself involved.

Finally, an attitude of continuous personal and professional development is vital to becoming indispensable. Those who do the most at work are often those who are doing the most away from work to improve their performance at work. Top Producers in business and any endeavor are constantly working to improve their knowledge and skills and thus their performance.

So how do I make myself indispensable in this market?

Position yourself where your personal contribution to the company’s financial health is overwhelming.
Communicate with your boss; outline your objectives clearly.
Know what it is that you do that produces profits and then produce.
Be able to outline and communicate your accomplishments.
Take personal responsibility for your career success—cause vs. effect.
Attitude of a lifelong learner—commitment to continuous personal and professional development.

“Keep interested in your own career, however humble, for it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.” --Max Ehrmann, Desiderata

Steve Francisco is a senior consultant with Marshall Career Service, joining our company in 1990. Steve is consistently one of the top producers in our profession; specializing in operations management positions for our client companies. Steve would welcome the opportunity to assist you in your career.


Steve Francisco, CPC can be reached at:
Marshall Career Service, Inc.
6500 West Freeway, Suite 200
Fort Worth, TX 76116
(817) 737-2645
sfrancisco@marshallcareerservice.com


http://www.hireopportunities.com/ is a career resource written by Rick Marshall, president of Marshall Career Service, Inc. located in Fort Worth, Texas. Marshall and his staff are recognized as one of the leaders in the placement and recruiting profession specializing in career opportunities located in the North Texas area. Client companies and qualified candidates working with Marshall Career Service enjoy a true level of personal service not found in today’s resume driven times. To learn more about our areas of expertise please follow this link to our website. http://www.marshallcareerservice.com/

Creating Compelling Career Goals- Part 2

You have often heard that timing is everything; well, I can’t think of a better time to get yourself tuned into a solid plan for your career. As I have shared with you in the past, a surprising number of seemingly well educated, experienced professionals allow themselves to go through long periods of time without the benefit of clear and compelling career goals. What effect do you think the current “bad economy drumbeat” is having on people in the workforce? Do you think there will be more people taking action like you are to get a solid plan pulled together, or do you think more will take a “wait and see” approach to their career? My work experience at Marshall Career Service tells me that in times of concern and worry, many people do exactly the opposite of what logic and common sense would tell them to do. Taking a “wait and see” approach is clearly not a good idea when employers get concerned about the economy and their workforce. Who do you think is most likely to stay in good graces at work; those who are well planned and goal oriented or the employee waiting to see what “might” happen?

Each of us has areas of responsibility for which we are paid to successfully complete. These responsibilities also support directly the responsibilities of those we report to and those reporting to us. An analogy of what you want to do in Part 2 of “Creating Compelling Career Goals” is to completely understand where you are now in order to best determine where it is you want to go in the future. Now is the time to breakdown in detail on paper all of the responsibilities making up your job. It becomes habit to lump multiple responsibilities into broad categories such as “production forecasting and budgeting”. The truth is that this one “responsibility” actually has numerous other essential “responsibilities” that must first be completed successfully. Think of this task as doing inventory; you want to look at everything you do down to the individual part or component level. What are the individual steps you take to accomplish each of your responsibilities? Build a detailed look at every aspect of your job.

As you to look at these responsibilities you can more clearly see what you are best at and what areas need some work. Continuing with the example of production forecasting and budgeting; you may see that you are really skilled at accurately predicting changes in raw material costs on the overall budget. What are the “sub skills” that you must also exercise successfully in order to consistently make solid predictions? Pretty good chance you are skilled in sitting down with the purchasing department and gaining their buy in and cooperation. Does this mean you are a good listener? Does it show skill in communicating needs and expectations? Are you beginning to see your skill in asking questioning to get to the heart of the matter? Does it demonstrate a clear ability to make and keep agreements? I know you can think of your own examples of sub skills you take for granted yet are a critical component to your overall success. You want to look at the details making up the broad tasks of each of your responsibilities. This is how to best understand your areas of responsibility.

Much of our success at Marshall Career Service can be attributed to our approach to understanding the depth of the position we are being hired to fill for our client. Our consultants are well skilled at building the level of trust and rapport needed to help our customers think of their needs at the “component level”. Continuing with our previous example; who would we recommend for hire if our client asks us to fill the position responsible for production forecasting and budgeting? Is this a job for a “numbers guy”, a crusty old manufacturing type or an agile rapport builder clear of purpose? It is a guessing game at best until our staff spends time exercising our skills with our clients. What I am telling you is that companies know what they are looking for, but have no idea what that looks like. Make sense?

Now let’s put this exercise back in the context of creating career goals. Within the company you currently work for, or for that matter any company you will ever work with, there are numerous sets of unique “sub skills” needed to succeed. Whether your company has 150 people or 15000 worldwide, the products you sell, the inherent nature of the business, the attitudes and belief systems of your leaders along with the background, experience and thought processes of each and every person shape the “sub skills” you utilize to get things done. No two companies and no two positions within them function the same way. Every position within every company is unique to that company. This is what makes successful hiring or conducting a successful job search so dog gone difficult. All of you accountants carry the same titles and job descriptions, yet none of you utilize the same set of “sub skills” to get your job done. If you will make the investment of time in yourself to “inventory” each of your responsibilities you will be taking an enormous step forward in positioning yourself for long term career success.

Remember “timing is everything”? Think within your current company; how many of your co-workers do you think will actually exercise the self discipline needed to accomplish this task? Who do you think will be best prepared for the upcoming evaluation or review? Who will be most likely to sell themselves in the next interview? And finally, who do you think will feel a huge shot of enthusiasm and self confidence that comes from inventorying your skills and successes? I will also just bet that your family and friends will also appreciate your “well timed” lighter attitude and smile on your face.

In a few weeks I will update this site with Part 3 of “Creating Compelling Career Goals”. In the meantime, do your homework, lighten up and focus just a little more clearly everyday on what you want and where you want your life to take you. You have a much better grip on the steering wheel than what you might think!

www.HireOpportunities.com is a career resource written by Rick Marshall, president of Marshall Career Service, Inc. located in Fort Worth, Texas. Marshall and his staff are recognized as one of the leaders in the placement and recruiting profession specializing in career opportunities located in the North Texas area. Client companies and qualified candidates working with Marshall Career Service enjoy a true level of personal service not found in today’s resume driven times. To learn more about our areas of expertise please follow this link to our website. www.marshallcareerservice