So, what is job security? And what can we expect in today’s job market with regard to what very well should be placed in our history books as a primitive job term?
Forgive me, but I must be “blunt” on this topic because of how often it is mentioned in our early interview discussions with potential candidates. I am often troubled when I hear a candidate’s response to the generic question, “What kind of a job are you looking for?”
Too often, and much to our dismay, a portion of their answer is, “job security”.
OK, great I say. But what does that really mean nowadays? And who really has job security today?
What the imprudent candidate is referring to is a job in which they can potentially ride out their careers and enter into retirement. I have to admit, I chuckle even at the thought of this.
They so strongly desire a stable job much like, perhaps, their parents had where they may have worked for a company for 25-30 years accumulating pensions and not having the stressful tasks of shifting through multiple jobs through their mid-life years.
In the modern era of our job market, we have to think differently, and more cautiously. While these very rare jobs may still exist, the probability of finding and getting and keeping the job is about as high as winning the lottery in my humble opinion. And if you are lucky enough to land this job and retain it to your retirement years, you still have to hinge your golden years on the management and overall financial health of the company.
Look at Bear Stearns, and Enron just to name a few more recent tragedies that we may want to keep on our minds as a recollection of how much we can rely on job security or job stability. Thousands of loyal employees at these very companies worked hard for decades preparing themselves for retirement. They were “set”. They had stable and secure jobs for decades. They put in their time. They built up their pensions. And then… just like a real-life nightmare the proverbial rug got pulled out from under them and changed the course of their remaining years in ways that would set many into downward spiral depression for years.
And what about corporate buy-outs or corporate realignments? Why not call it what it really is when employees are about to get screwed out of what they worked so hard for, for so many years?
When I was in my early 20’s my father was told that he should take a package to leave the company he was working for because the company could no longer guarantee him a job. So at the age of 57 he took an early retirement package and was told that this particular package was the best that the company had ever offered and that they would never offer one like this again!
A few years later the same company did come out with a better retirement package. However, for him it didn’t matter because he was stuck with the package he got. And this was a company where job security was the backbone and each employee gave everything they had. I won’t say the name of this company but the initials’ were IBM.
So again, when a candidate tells me that their looking for job security, I cringe. I tell them to get out of the bubble they climbed into and look around them. Today, you have to stay sharp. You have to change with the times. You have to keep your skill-sets up-to-date and keep your resume polished. Most importantly you have to prepare.
We’re living longer and social security benefits are dissipating right along with job security and right before our eyes. Don’t ever believe that your job is a secure one because that rug may get pulled out from you some day! Don’t set yourself up to rely on a company as the only variable determining your retirement financial stability.
Take charge and learn how to prepare for your financial retirement as a separate entity. Don’t confuse the two items here – job security and financial health. Sure we need a job to earn an income and grow our nest egg. But there are so many ways to do that and a job alone is not the best way anymore. You know what they say about putting all your eggs into one basket…?
For more job advice and information, please visit http://www.jtlservices.com/
Greg Angelillo
Online Editor
JTL Services, Inc.
725 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike
Southington, CT 06489
Phone: (860) 426-0583
FAX: (860) 628-5008
216 East Chatham Street
Suite 101Cary, NC 27511
Phone: (919) 465-7289
FAX: (919) 465-7281
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