Always Having a Job Contingency Plan Just Makes Good Sense

I was enjoying a breakfast meeting with a friend recently when the subject of how the current economy was affecting our respective jobs came about. While thankfully we both still have jobs, funding for her non-profit organization is down, as is funding for many agencies. I shared that there had been some layoffs as universities are also vulnerable in a recession. Our conversation then morphed into whether we each should have contingency plans in place.

Frankly, I believe that individuals should always have a job contingency plan whether in a recession or not. I suspect this comes from having parents that lived through The Depression. As long as I can remember my mother supplemented her civil servant salary with income as a beautician. Thus, she instilled in my sister and I the importance of always have a cushion for survival. The importance of always having a contingency plan was also a large part of my military training.

What is a contingency plan? Many dictionaries define it as a plan drawn up in advance to ensure a positive and rapid response to a changing situation. In businesses, a contingency plan is quite often part of an organization’s disaster management strategy. It’s an action to be implemented upon the occurrence of unanticipated events. Likewise, an individual’s contingency plan should also ensure positive and rapid responses to the unexpected.

My job is fine, why borrow trouble, some ask? Believing that any job is secure or thinking that nothing can go wrong within your company can be dangerous. Truth is no job is safe these days. While many of us hunkered down with family, food and other provisions for the feared havoc of Y2K, none of us could have imagined that so many banks would be collapsing; that so many companies would be folding or that so many people would be out of work nine years later.

How do you go about building a contingency plan? A first step would be putting a plan in place while you are employed. For example, why not secure your position by determining which of your skills and expertise may be utilized by multiple departments at your current organization? Additionally, familiarize yourself with your company’s policy on severance pay. Know whether you’ll be able to use accumulated vacation, sick or other leave if you are downsized without warning.

While individual contingency plans should entail building strong networks, it should include reviewing what skills or experience may be called upon if your current position vanishes. Think long term. Determine what skills you have, or what training you can obtain to make yourself more marketable over the long haul. Determine to what other positions your degree(s), trade or profession might translate.

For instance, did you initially go to college to become a teacher? With or without additional training to update your skill set you may be able to parlay your teaching experience into becoming a trainer at some organization. Masters degree holders or individuals with expertise in a specific field are frequently hired as instructors or lecturers at both two-year and even some four-year colleges.

A contingency plan should also include having more than one source of income, as well as the potential to create more. Have experience as a consultant in a past life? Why not use those skills to consult at some company or industry while still employed? It could make a quick transition possible, as well as generate extra income. How about putting aside that extra income to build up cash reserves that you can assess quickly, instead of spending it? Remember to replace that money once you have a cushion or once the crisis has past.

Better yet, use the extra income from consulting, from working part time or from working overtime to pay off ‘short-term’ debt such as small bank loans or small lines of credit. Lastly, consider refinancing your mortgage or restructuring other debts. The end result: lower monthly obligations.

Thinking about a contingency plan when things are going well may hint at paranoia; even overkill. However, having one in place can soften unexpected events as well as maximize your chances of surviving them.

Carol Gee, M.A. has worked in education for 26 years in positions ranging from teaching to administration. Currently she is an editor and business writer at Goizueta Business School at Emory University. She is also the author of books, The Venus Chronicles and Diary of a ‘Flygirl’ Wannabe (Life Lessons of a Cool Girl in Training,) and a contributor to the baby boomer book, Age Smart-Discovering the Fountain of Youth at Midlife and Beyond. Carol is a recipient of the Center for Women’s 2009 Unsung Heroine Award for recognition of her dedication to issues that affect women at Emory or in the larger community.
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