How do you plan to keep your job while all others around you are losing theirs? According to the Wall Street Journal, approximately 380,000 jobs have been cut in the 6 months between August 2000 and January 2001.

Since January we've watched tens of thousands more jobs cut, with no end in sight. Hundreds of thousands of jobs... gone. However, in most cases the actual decision of who will go and who will stay has yet to be made. The truth is some will lose their jobs while others will keep theirs. So the next question is, how can you improve your odds?

In years past job cuts were triggered by mergers and acquisitions and a desire by companies to streamline after merging. Another motivation was that companies also wanted to lower their cost structure in order to remain competitive. These days there is an added reason fueling wave after wave of additional layoffs... a weak economy.

It seems no industry, no company and no one is immune. Information and communications service providers and equipment makers like AT&T, WorldCom, Lucent, Nortel, Verizon, SBC, Motorola, Ericsson, AOL Time Warner, Amazon.com, Compaq, Gateway, Xerox and dozens of others. Job cuts aren't limited to the high tech sectors either... Daimler Chrysler, Procter & Gamble, Sara Lee, Whirlpool, JC Penney, Sears and hundreds of others have all weighed in and we aren't done yet.

Why some people kept their jobs while others lost theirs has intrigued me for years. So I've spent several years studying the habits, behaviors, traits, mindsets and attitudes of those who win and those who lose.

Countless people have helped by sharing their insights with me on this topic. Senior executives who decide which middle managers stay and which go... middle managers who decide which workers stay and which go... and the workers themselves, both those who stayed and those who lost their jobs.

The good news is there are things you can do to improve your odds. There are real, sometimes tangible, often obvious, but always important differences separating those who kept their jobs from those who lost. You come to the table with some behaviors and attitudes, while others can be learned and adopted.

While anyone can learn behaviors and attitudes that can help them improve their odds, with that said, there are no guarantees. If a whole department is going to be axed, or if your boss hates you, or if there are other extenuating circumstances then these ideas won't make your career bullet proof. However, everything else being equal theses ideas can make the difference between keeping and losing a job. Additionally, it appears the more of these habits and behaviors you exhibit, the better your chances are for a happy ending.

There are too many to discuss in this limited space, but let me share a few interesting ideas I've learned on how to make yourself more valuable so you are among those who keep their jobs as managers decide who to let go.

One of the most important concepts is to 'Dig Your Well Before You Get Thirsty.' Best-selling business author Harvey Mackay wrote a book with that title and I'd recommend getting your hands on a copy. Mackay is the master networker of all time and his advice on building relationships and the philosophy of "its not what you know, but who you know" is timeless. For the purposes of this discussion, digging your well before you get thirsty is a concept that goes beyond networking. It's a life philosophy. The time to put on your bulletproof vest is before someone else pulls the trigger. In the calm weeks, months and years beforehand, think through all the possibilities of what can go right and what can go wrong with your company and your career and build the relationships that can make sure you are bulletproof.

Follow your star. There are stars in every company. These are the people who management points to as the model for everyone else to follow. They are the company celebrities usually up on a pedestal. Since they are the embodiment of the desirable worker in whatever division or department they are in, they will likely be immune to job cuts. Cream rises to the top. When managers are deciding who to keep and who to cut, it's logical to assume they see this as an opportunity end up with a team that is full of TOP GUNS... you know, 'the best of the best'. They will be looking to keep the cream and let the rest go. Watch what the cream does. Be the cream.

Make the boss look good. One of the most obvious, but usually overlooked tricks in this ego driven world is to remember the golden rule. You know, he (or she) who has the gold makes the rules. If you give your boss grief or make the boss look bad you will be on the fast track out the door. On the other hand, everyone wants to look good and earn the respect and admiration of the people who work for them and who they work for. Making your boss look good sure helps stack the odds in your favor when he or she has to make the call on whom to keep. Then again, if they don't have the power to make those decisions, never mind.

The right place at the right time. Certain parts of the company are deemed more important or sensitive than others. If you are in a low growth or otherwise lackluster or unimportant part of the business, keep your head down because the axe will be swinging freely. However, other parts of the business are less likely to suffer. Fast growing, more critical or sensitive areas of the business are more likely to survive. Special projects and their staffs are likely to stay intact. Move to a part of the business that is less likely to be lopped off lock, stock and barrel.

Ride 'em cowboy. Riding coattails is a time-honored way of moving up. These days that skill is also a way to keep your job during cuts. Certain managers and executives are more likely to keep their positions than others. Find out who they are and make sure you work for them. Not only work for them, but have a high profile to them. Make sure you become invaluable to them. No one is an island. We all need friends and help to shine. Stars always bring their makeup people and hair people to always look their best. Executives bring their team who know and understand them and help them look good. Get on their team and help them shine.

Be an entrepreneur. Companies are full of warm bodies. Workers. Most make as much of an impact on the company as a hand has when you pull it out of a bucket of water. Those who do make an impact think and act differently. They think and act like an owner, not a worker. They own problems. They serve customers (whether their customers be retail customers, or whether they be other workers in other parts of the company). They don't have a 'doing the job' mentality. They have a 'do whatever it takes to get the job done' way of looking at things. They don't leave customers to steam. They follow up and make sure the customer is satisfied with the outcome. They go beyond customer service. They become customer obsessed.

Job for life mentality. The most successful people at keeping their jobs seem to have the philosophy that there is no such thing as a job for life anymore. They are always keeping their contact list strong. They stay in touch with other companies who could hire them. They know their value. They keep their resume and their knowledge set updated. They never stop learning. Perpetual learning helps them to stay sharp so they can always move to another company when and if the need arises. Funny thing, this mentality seems to have the uncanny side effect of making them sharper and more valuable to their current employer, which perhaps is why they don't often lose their jobs.

Above all, have fun. Almost without exception the people who stay have positive attitudes and really seem to enjoy their work. On the other hand, the people who really don't like their jobs, and who make that obvious to others, usually find themselves on the top of the job cut list. So have fun. And if you aren't having fun, maybe you should do yourself and your co-workers a favor and leave to find something that does turn you on. Life is short. You've got to enjoy your work. Otherwise it feels like work. The most successful people don't thing of work as work. They are passionate about what they do and their passion is infectious.

There are so many more, and each of these ideas deserve their own chapter to more fully explore there potential and value. But I hope some of these brief ideas can help you start thinking more clearly about how to bullet proof your career. Either way, you have more power than you think. Don't just wait for things to happen.

There are three kinds of people in this world... those who make things happen... those who watch things happen... and those who wonder, what happened? Use wisely, your power of choice.

Reported by Newsbytes 2001-04-09