How to Remain Valuable in a Volatile Market [Guest Post]

The job market today is incredibly volatile. People are staying with the same company for shorter periods of time (partially due to many companies’ lack of loyalty to their employees). Well educated employees are coming from overseas, companies are outsourcing certain business functions, and many companies employ the tactic of laying off tenured employees in order to cut costs often under the guise of bringing in young blood. The key to keeping your job–and gaining recognition and promotion–is to become so valuable to the company that they wouldn’t consider moving on without you. The most common suggestion found is to stay up to date with technology which is a given. Here are the top 5 tips on how you can remain valuable in a volatile market. 

1. Be Confident and Positive

Employers value specific personality traits in their employees. They are looking for employees who are confident and capable both during the work day and in public. They also want employees who are positive, no matter the situation. The key to being confident in work has a lot to do with the way that you carry yourself. Focus on your posture and your gestures to ensure that you’re giving off an aura of authority and confidence. Then, even when you’re faced with a frustrating situation, tackle it with a smile.  

2. Have High Emotional Intelligence

In the workplace, those who show emotional intelligence are more valued than those who don’t notice social cues. Having emotional intelligence in the workplace means that you’re able to communicate and express yourself with ease. The term “emotional intelligence” was coined in the 1990s to describe those who were more capable of interacting with others on a mature level. Businessmen quickly came to recognize the importance of having emotional intelligence and made it one of the most important qualities to look for in job candidates.  

3. Admire Your Own Work

It’s often said that we are our own worst critics. In the workplace, this is especially true. We often compare our work to others which makes us critique ourselves and become less confident. This usually means that the future products that we produce are lower and lower in quality as we feel less confident. Instead, you should focus on the products that you are producing and ignore everyone else. Rather than thinking you’re in a competition with the other employees, be in competition with yourself. In the end, you will learn to admire the work that you produce and feel more confident about yourself. 

4. Be Flexible

Change is inevitable. As a business grows, it fluctuates. New positions will be created and scrapped within the same hour. New customers will come and go and the location of the business could be changed. A changing business is part of the market. Employers respect those who are able to change with the business. Rather than acting like a stiff, raw spaghetti noodle, act like one that has been boiled. Move, rotate, and twist with whatever changes your employers throws your way.  

5. Make Others Feel Important

No matter where you stand in the business, you will be more valuable if you can prove that you’re willing to make others feel important and you’re able to celebrate when others succeed. Employers like to have employees who don’t grow bitter when their colleagues are promoted and instead are able to celebrate. Focus your attention on the people around you and prove that you’re the kind of person who reaches outward rather than inward.  

Conclusion  

To show your employers that you’re a valuable asset to their team, get to work on time and show them through your work ethic that you consider yourself a valuable member of the team. Employers respect confidence and passion and if you can show them that you have both of those traits, you’ll prove that you’re a needed member of the company.  

This post was written by Craig Middleton. Craig has worked in health, real estate, and HR businesses for most of his professional career. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing.

 

 

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