Following the down turn in the financial markets, the London job market saw a marked slow down in the final quarter of last year. Across the city companies implemented recruitment freezes and the terms "downsizing" and "rationalising" became all too familiar. In this environment role security has become an increasing concern for employees and recruitment consultants are often asked for advice.

The best way to safeguard your role is to ensure that your Manager believes that you directly contribute to the success of the organisation every day. In reality this often means that you make their role easier.

Grow your role
Asking for more work sounds pretty stupid. But that's how jobs grow, one responsibility at a time. Someone who actively seeks additional responsibility in effect promotes themself. If you have to lose someone in a department who would you choose?
Candidate a) Mr Always-go-the-extra-mile Candidate b) Mr That's not in my job spec.

Inform them before: not afterwards
Get into the habit of regular informal communication with your manager. It keeps them up to date with your situation and contribution. It also allows you to alert them to any potential problems before they detonate! This kind of rapport gets "buy in" - once again you are demonstrating interest in the department/company outside of your job description.

Do your job without bothering them
The ideal person to manage is someone who doesn't need managing. Get on with your job with the minimum of fuss and deliver the results they need!

Give them solutions not problems
In business "changes" happen "issues arise" and "challenges" cannot be avoided. Stop and think before you harass your boss! There's always the option of solving a problem yourself - go to them with solutions not problems. Ensure you are associated with solutions not crisis.

Help them to do their job
Find out where your job fits into theirs, what are their key tasks and priorities? What are they assessed on and what is your part in helping them achieve it? Don't waste time doing things that don't matter to them.

Ask for help when you need it - acknowledge their expertise
Learn from them - ask something specific and relevant to the business. Demonstrate a willingness to learn and a real interest in how to improve your performance.

You cannot directly impact the performance of the Money Markets, or the strategy of your organisation - so don't waste energy worrying about what you can't influence. The key is to focus upon what you can control - YOU.

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