Job Security: Getting it right.

What is your dream? When it comes down to it, most students want the same thing after graduation: a good, steady paycheck. Many graduates are even willing to sacrifice other career goals, such as challenging work and a variety of assignments, in favor of stability. Just come to think about it, what will you go for? Is it your career goals or job security? A good unstable job is not anywhere near their options. If there can be a combination of all these factors, the better but if there are a few, then job security will take precedence.

So how do you know whether your job will be or is secure? If you are a fresh employee or old guard, determining whether a potential position and company will offer security can be tricky. It can also be a touchy topic to directly address in an interview. If this is the last thing to do, do not ask about job security in the interview.

Here are some tips that can demonstrate job security or that you can do to ensure that a prospective job is secure:

1.   Do your research: Start by figuring out whether a company is doing well financially. Do some basic investigative research: Has the company’s revenue and workforce increased in recent years or slumped? Do they have a long, prestigious history or are they a fly-by-night operation? 

2.   Have faith in the product: Look at the products or services a company is selling and ask yourself if you’re confident in their portfolio. If it’s a company with one product, it’s a one trick pony and it may not be secure over the long term. For other products, some questions to ask yourself are: Is there depth? Will it appeal to consumers? For non-consumer goods companies, find out what industry experts and analysts have to say.

3.   Do your due diligence: Perhaps most important, make use of word-of-mouth networking. Talk to customers, venders, current employees, and competitors about your potential employer.

4.   Be wary of start-ups: Jumping on board a start-up can be an exciting and rewarding springboard for your career or a disappointing and regretful experience. It’s more difficult to research start-ups because they lack a track record. Look to the management team and their past successes or failures.

5.   En vogue status: Evaluate whether your target company can benefit from emerging trends, which tend to create jobs and jumpstart profitability. If a company is capitalizing well on a trend, it’s more likely they can offer a secure position with room to grow.

6.   Get close to the core: What you actually do at a company can determine your staying power. The closer your position is to the core mission of the company, the more secure you are. In times of cutback, companies will look to eliminate positions not related to the core, so accept a position in which you are integral to the central mission.

7.   Grill your interviewer: If background research has raised doubts, you might want to inquire about job security during an interview. Keep the questions neutral and don’t reveal any negative information you may have gathered.

If you are applying for a job or you are already in one, some questions to consider include:

1.   Will you be filling a time-tested or recently developed job function?

2.   Will you be working with an established product line?

3.   Has turnover for the position been high (which could indicate unrealistic expectations or high stress)?

4.   For nonprofits: ask if the position is subject to annual grant proposals or continual funding.

If you handle the questions well in an interview, you will demonstrate you’re a calculated decision maker. Although be careful because this is meant to benefit you directly in making a decision whether to take the job or not. Do not make the interview about you but rather about the job.

All the best from HCC

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