How to Save Your Job
By leadership author and keynote speaker Ross Shafer
Thank you for finding the Relevant Leaders Club where each week I post a new video to help you grow your business or your career. This week I’m going to give you some tips on how to SAVE your career. This is not a joke. YOUR job is at risk – because over 30 million Americans are independent contractors, freelancers, temps, consultants, and moonlighters. These part-time workers can be hired to do specific tasks or complete short term projects – you know, like the ones you’ve been doing. According to an MBO Partners study, these independent workers generated $1.1 trillion in revenue over the past year. That’s nearly 7% of the entire U.S. economic growth. Maybe you have friends who’ve decided to work with companies like Uber, Lyft, Alfred Butlers, Homejoy, Washio, BloomThat, Shyp, Postmates, Spoonrocket, TaskRabbit, DoorDash, and don’t forget, Handy House cleaners. These part timers love the freedom of working for themselves, they make good money and they don’t have to depend upon ONE employer.
The demand for moonlighters is exploding. MBO Partners and Emergent Research project that by 2020, the independent workforce will grow to nearly 38 million workers. That may sound scary to YOU… but think about it from an employer’s perspective. These workers have no minimum wage constraints. No overtime pay. No paid vacations. No worker’s comp. No unemployment insurance, and no health benefits. So, how do you compete against a consultant or a contractor who will do your job, for less money? Here’s how: (1) Don’t allow yourself to be replaceable. Don’t think of yourself as simply a convenience for your company. Think of yourself as someone who can generate revenue; (2) Learn skills that are impossible to replace. It should be easy for you to convince your boss that everything you do can’t be duplicated by a part-timer who doesn’t know your company; (3) Be able to make a case that your past performance has proven that you to be more reliable, more trustworthy, and better focused on your company’s goals than a stranger who just walked in off a website. With those three arguments, you can generate revenue, your job can’t be duplicated, and they know that you are reliable and know the company. Every boss has to think twice about eliminating your job because he or she won’t want to risk his or her own career by taking a chance on an unproven newbie who doesn’t have actual skin-in-the-game.
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