Note from Rob Sullivan: RIF Proofing For Individuals

More About RIFProofing^SM For Individuals:

Dear friend,

I have a few questions that require thoughtful and honest answers: 

• Are you concerned about the stability of your current job?
• Do you wish you had more control over your job security?
• Do you feel you should be doing more to promote yourself, but aren't sure what?
• Does it seem that any effort to promote yourself at this point will either seem like bragging or come across as a desperate attempt to one-up your colleagues?
• Would you like to feel confident knowing your can protect and keep your job in any economy?

If you answered yes to even one of these questions, you've come to the right place. You are about to learn how to avoid being part of a layoff or Reduction In Force (RIF) as some companies euphemistically refer to it. These strategies, which most people never consider, could mean the difference between employment and unemployment.

RIFProofing^SM Your Career is based on what I have learned over the past 18 years as a corporate recruiter, interviewer, headhunter, outplacement trainer, and professional development coach. In each of those roles, I have witnessed the mistakes people make from a different perspective.

If you are like most people, you may THINK you have done a good job quantifying and communicating your accomplishments, but I would bet my last dollar you haven't done it in a way that is meaningful to your employer. If your company decides to reduce staff, that is likely to be a serious problem. 

From a fairness perspective, it would be wonderful to imagine management using some magical scale that weighs your relative contributions against the investment they are making in your salary. But, I'd bet my second-to-last dollar that's not how they are doing it. The process is far more primitive and arbitrary than you might ever expect. What you may not realize, however, is the degree to which you can tilt that process in your favor.

As an outplacement trainer, I worked with an incredibly wide range of companies that all had one thing in common:

They had NO IDEA who was working for them.

Time and again, these companies let stellar employees walk out the door because they didn't have a process in place to effectively assess the true contributors.

When forced to cut payroll expenses by 40% across all departments, one large Fortune 500 company simply started with the people who were making the most money. In the bloodbath that followed, one of the people jettisoned was Andrea, a woman who, when asked about her accomplishments, insisted, "I just did the job I was paid to do." That's how she saw it. And, unfortunately, that's how the company saw it as well.

But the truth was a bit different.

By using the techniques in RIFProofing^SM Your Career, we were able to uncover the gold in Andrea's background. For example, we demonstrated how, in her eight years at the company, Andrea had saved $1 million by coming in at or under budget on all of her projects. She was shocked when she discovered that her average annual savings of $125,000 worked out to be $50,000 more than her salary. In other words, Andrea was an INVESTMENT not an EXPENSE.

But guess what?  Neither Andrea, nor the company, had any idea she had done that. Why? Because didn't know how to quantify her accomplishments in a meaningful way.

Now here's the really important question:

Do you think the company would have eliminated Andrea's position if they had known that? 

Of course not. It would be too much of a risk. No matter how cheap and short-sighted the company, it wouldn't want someone like Andrea working for its biggest competitor.

But finding ways to quantify your accomplishments is only part of the story. You also have to know how to communicate your track record while avoiding the pitfalls so many people seem to fall into when layoffs loom on the horizon. That's what RIFProofing^SM Your Career is all about. In it, you will learn: 

• The 3-part RIFProofing^SM Process and how it could help you save your job.
• The 4 biggest mistakes people make when layoff rumors begin circulating.
• The 5 steps it takes to create a track record that could make your position more secure.
• A tool to communicate your experiences that is so powerful, it caused a hiring manager at a Fortune 500 company to exclaim, "I am going to my internal recruiters and telling them, 'No more résumés. THIS is what I want!" This, by the way, is a GREAT tool to communicate the depth and breadth of your experience as part of a formal or informal performance review.
• How you may unknowingly help your company decide your fate in a layoff.
• Why it's dangerous to view your colleagues as competitors in the game of corporate musical chairs-and steps you can take to avoid this.
• The 3 most valuable qualities you should be demonstrating at all times, but especially when layoffs are being considered. More specifically, you'll learn what these qualities are, why they are important, and how you can demonstrate them.
• Why companies unintentionally fail to acknowledge the impact of your accomplishments-and what you can do to keep that from happening.
• 3 questions you can ask yourself everyday that will help you make a positive impression and impact from your first day on the job.
• 10 questions you need to ask yourself every month to make sure you are adequately capturing your experiences, skills, and accomplishments.
• 9 questions you need to address at least annually to maximize the value of performance reviews. 
• How tracking experiences from previous employers as well as your personal life can directly impact the projects and opportunities in your current position.
• 3 ways to communicate your accomplishments without feeling like you are bragging.

What RIFProofing^SM Your Career is NOT

RIFProofing^SM is not about bragging, sucking up to management, or doing anything else that would compromise your relationship with co-workers and business associates. The world has enough people like that already. Instead, it is a process through which you take control over those aspects of your professional development you have either taken for granted, haven't considered fully, or left to the company to manage.

• Is this process achievable with a reasonable amount of effort? Absolutely.
• Could everyone do it?  Most definitely.
• Will everyone do it? Not even close.

I'm not going to lie to you. RIFProofing^SM your career requires initiative and hard work. Not everyone has initiative. Therefore, not everyone will RIFProof^SM. But, then again, maybe they aren't that fired up about keeping their jobs either.

The fact that you are reading this, however, strongly suggests that you do have initiative. The only question is this:

Are you willing to invest a few hours to save your job?  Or would you rather trade it in for the unknown risks offered by another company where you won't have tenure or a track record on your side?


People Who Would NOT Benefit
In the spirit of full disclosure, it is important to point out that some individuals may not be a position to realize the maximum benefits of RIFProofing^SM.

For example, RIFProofing^SM will not achieve its full potential for any person in an organization in which raises and promotions are driven by tenure and/or union guidelines. Under these circumstances, the process would still help you develop a better understanding of the depth and breadth of your talent and it would help you communicate more powerfully. However, the relative value of the process would be limited if your company or organization is bound by rules and guidelines that value tenure over performance.

Do You Need This eBook?

• If you are tired of feeling powerless and dread every time you get called into an impromptu meeting with management
• If the thought of keeping your current job is more inspiring than competing for a job with a company that may have bigger issues than your current employer
• And you are willing to do what it takes to gain control over this area of your life

Then, you need to buy a copy of this eBook.

But let me be very candid about this.
This eBook will not lead to an effortless transformation simply because you read it. So, you have to ask yourself: 

Am I willing to spend a few hours of my life working through the step-by-step strategies that will help me communicate the scope, depth, and breadth of my accomplishments that could potentially save my job, or would I rather take the severance package and hope for the best?

Only you can answer this question.

From all I have seen and experienced, it wouldn't be a choice for one simple reason:

Hope is NOT a strategy.

In short, the investment you make, which will continue to pay dividends long after you implement the strategies, could easily make the difference between the company looking at your file and thinking:

• "That's a good employee and I hate to see her go." Or
• "Well, she is one person I definitely don't want to see working for the competition. Let's do everything we can to keep her." 

For a fraction of what a single one-on-one coaching session would cost, you can learn what I learned through years of work as a recruiter, outplacement trainer, headhunter, and professional development coach. So, if you are ready to get this area of your life handled and learn the secrets most employees will NEVER uncover--or even fully understand, this will be the best $149.95 you ever invest!

Buy your copy of RIFProofing^SM eBook For Individuals Today. You'll be glad you did.

Your friend,
 
Rob Sullivan
P.S.   This EBook is available via IMMEDIATE download. If you have questions or we can help in any way, just send a message to us using our Contact Form.

Buy Rob Sullivan's new RIFProofing^SM eBook For Individuals Today.