Worried about keeping your job during hard times?

"Work your tail off," keep a high profile, and find a mentor, veteran job coaches say.

While it is uncertain times for the job market in the US, are cutting staff as financial pressures mount. And while the U.S. unemployment rate has held steady at 5.5% for the last two months, there are no guarantees that workers—especially those between ages 50 and 60—will be able to avoid further cutbacks.

Older workers have experience and knowledge they can leverage to keep their jobs. But with staffing budgets increasingly under scrutiny, it may pay to be proactive. The first and most important move workers should make: Look for new experiences with their current employer.

Some tips:

"Be Visible"

Employees can raise their profiles when they make the effort to join special committees or even help organize a companywide social engagement.

"Cultivate a Mentor"

Workers who are more engaged with the day-to-day operations at their companies have a distinct advantage over those clock-punchers who focus solely on the tasks in their job descriptions. But staying in a job is also about building relationships. While it's advisable to work well with your peers, it never hurts to develop a close relationship with a mentor, particularly with someone higher up who can help keep you out of harm's way when the axman cometh.

"The main element in your career plan has to change from doing what you have to do to impress your superiors to doing what you have to do to impress yourself," says Haberfeld.

Article Source BusinessWeek, Image Source Dreamstime.
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