Best effort: Stretch yourself that extra bit to make sure that your boss wants to keep you at any cost

No more wishful thinking — it’s time to prepare yourself for a grim job market.

Even a top-notch performance may not be enough to save your job. The layoff lists are full of people who turned in first-rate work yet didn’t survive the cut.

Though job security may be unattainable, resiliency can be yours. Become the employee who’s kept on despite layoffs. Or at least make sure you have the skills and contacts necessary to make a pink slip your springboard to a better job.

You’ll need to build a foundation of cutting-edge skills, personal likeability — and, not least, a well-nurtured network of contacts.

James Thomas is a master of the art of networking. He has worked in the human relations field for about 30 years, most recently as executive vice-president of human resources and administration for WebMethods, a suburban information technology company.

But not even a background in HR can vaccinate you against unemployment. When a German company acquired WebMethods in 2007, Thomas lost his job. He turned to his extensive network, which has provided him with consulting work as he remains open to the possibility of other employment.

Thomas’ strategy: “Seek people who have truly strategic network connections with you, who clearly understand how you have branded yourself.”

By “strategic network”, Thomas refers specifically to people in a position to help with your career.

Thomas builds his network by joining organisations and broadly contributing his expertise. He serves on the boards of a number of business and community organisations, for example. “Non-profit boards are easier to get on,” he said. “And they want professional people to get involved.”

All sorts of organisations can help build your network as you help others. Charity, religious and service organisations such as the Lions and Rotary clubs offer opportunities.

Thomas’ networking extends to the virtual world, as well. “LinkedIn (the business equivalent of the Facebook online social network) is one I’m very impressed with,” Thomas said. “Many search executives are using LinkedIn to contact people they don’t know.”

John Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a firm that companies hire to counsel the people they’re laying off, also likes LinkedIn. “I think of LinkedIn as kind of the Rolodex squared,” he said. “Each of the 100 people I know knows 100 people. All of a sudden, you know 10,000 people, plus you have their résumé, plus other information. It speeds our relationship-building.”

To keep yourself attractive, you need to stay on top of not only the skills required in your field but also your computer and Internet skills. “You want always to be one step ahead of someone else,” said Lisa Stern, director of operations for the MontgomeryWorks one-stop workforce centre in suburban Montgomery County, Maryland.

It’s not only that many job applications are now accepted only online, said Stern, but employers are now much more demanding about the skills expected of new hires.

Consider Carolyn, who last year, at 50, lost her customer-service job to a younger employee who already had the computer and Internet skills in which Carolyn expected she would be trained.

Through MontgomeryWorks, which offers intensive services such as career counselling and free job training, Carolyn received free classes on popular Internet programming tools such as Dreamweaver webpage design software and HTML. She accepted a job in public relations for a non-profit firm in December.

“I could have ended up (dependent) on the public somehow,” said Carolyn, who spoke on condition that her last name not be used in the interest of maintaining her professional image. “My unemployment had run out.” She calls such training assistance “investing in the future”.

Employees need to continually re-invest in their futures, whether they qualify for government help or have to pay the tab on their own. Community colleges offer courses and certifications that can help keep career skills up-to-date.

You can search for community colleges and other training programmes through a website sponsored by the US department of labour, www.careeronestop.org. The site links to a variety of valuable services, including searches for local one-stop career centres and state-run job banks.

You might be excused for thinking up-to-date skills and good performance will keep you employed. But that’s just the beginning of your labours, said Stephen Viscusi, author of the new book, Bulletproof Your Job: 4 Simple Strategies to Ride Out the Rough Times and Come Out on Top at Work (Collins Business, $20). You need to make sure you are the employee the boss most wants to keep.

Viscusi — who runs a headhunting business for the interior furnishings industry — said some high performers are also high-maintenance divas, tolerated despite the headaches they cause. The guy who grouses all the time or doesn’t get along with others? He’s first to go.

In sometimes crude terms, his book spells out the particulars of effective ingratiation. “It’s all about creating the illusion of working hard and getting along with your boss, and a little old-fashioned ... brown-nosing,” he said.

His four-part strategy (be visible, be easy, be useful, be ready) is equal parts mom and Machiavelli. It’s not always what you want to hear.

How to become visible? Give up telecommuting. Note that most of the talk you hear about working from home to save gas comes from people who do not sign your pay cheque. Make sure you get to the office five minutes ahead of the boss and stay five minutes later.

How to be easy? Cut the diva act. Don’t whine about your cubicle. You might even consider offering to accept a pay cut. “Especially if you’re over 40 or earn more than $100,000,” Viscusi added, noting that a pay reduction could cost you far less than an extended period of unemployment.

How to be useful? Offer to take on jobs your boss dislikes, such as training others. “Just be smart enough to be sure you’re not training your replacement,” he warns.

How to be ready? Keep a current résumé, cloaked so your current employer doesn’t recognise you, posted on online employment sites. Set alerts on Google, Yahoo and Technorati (a search engine for blogs) for the names of your bosses, your company and its competitors. You’ll get first word of news that eventually will affect you.

“You have to be on alert in these times. It’s not to say you should work yourself to death, but over the next 18 months, you may not be able to take that two or three-week vacation,” Viscusi said.