How to avoid being retrenched

THE current recession - albeit a 'technical' one - could spell bad news for novices in the workforce, especially if you believe the ominous adage: 'Last one hired, first one fired.'

Lest you think it was coined by older workers trying to protect their positions, take it from business management lecturer Sarah Lim, 46, who says: 'With Singapore sliding into recession, the first people to go will be youth because they lack experience, skills and qualifications.

'In general, with all businesses, they will be the first to go.'

This is also true if history - worldwide - is anything to go by.

During the 1998-1999 recession, a fallout of the Asian financial crisis of 1997, surveys showed that young job-seekers could expect a drop of between 10 and 20 per cent in starting salaries compared with their cohorts from the previous year.

That is, if they had a job at all, given that the overall employment rate for 1998 university graduates fell to 83.4 per cent, an 11.5 percentage point drop from 1997.

In Japan, in 2001, the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 logged in at double the national average - 9.7 per cent, against 5.4 per cent overall.

Before that, in 1989, before the recession hit in Canada, 62.3 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 24 were employed.

By November 1992, the number had fallen to 50 per cent.

The good news is, you do not have to be a sitting duck.

Sure, a recession is a legitimate reason for bosses to start targeting deadwood, by asking who is worth their salary or who is contributing to the future of this company. Or even just, who do we like?

But with such a captive audience among decision-makers, it is also your time to shine. With everyone gauging your value, it is the perfect opportunity to make yourself 'recession-proof'.

So, become invaluable.

One way, say reports from CNN and The Times, is to be more of a 'flexible generalist'. Pick up tasks that fall outside your role, do not rock the boat.

Another way is to get to your company's core, says Ms Nancy Collamer, founder of LayoffSurvivalGuide.com.

According to the career expert, whose advice appears in multiple media outlets, including Fortune, Newsweek and Time, you should get involved in a project that is at the heart of your company's mission: making money.

Last but not least, when in the office, stay there.

Mr John Challenger, chief executive of job placement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, says: 'Those who have a daily presence and are seen before and after regular hours will be the ones who stand out as indispensable.'

And while you are there, do not just sit. Make your time count because when the axe falls, it is what you do not do that will hurt you most.

If nothing else, you will be able to breathe more easily, having done what you can to prevent your career from being short-circuited during hard times.

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