In uncertain times amid looming job losses, you can fall back on ONLY three things: your skills, your brand, and your network. Everything else can vanish overnight — especially your business card.
Then how does one navigate this world? Here is a way to think about it.
Take all the major projects and initiatives you work on in your job and ask yourself — if, hypothetically, your company were giving out these as contract jobs, would you have won them on your merit?
Furthermore, would your network and personal brand have given you access to these contract jobs at companies like yours?
If the answer to these questions is yes, you need not worry too much about layoffs and job losses — you will do just fine.
If not, find the time to build those skills, reputation, and network.
None of this needs to be done overnight — even if it takes a few years, it is completely fine. However, we must do this because I suspect that regular jobs will become increasingly uncertain.
No point complaining about the corporate world or free market capitalism. Let us focus on what we can do as individuals.
The waters may be turbulent. But the ship is still in our hands.
– Rajan