There are many ways to make one’s job recession-proof. Being a better-than-average worker is an obvious advantage, assuming your facility’s owners tend to give pink slips to employees in the lower 50% of capability, likeability, productivity, and the usual criteria.
There are, however, many ways to boost the probability of your surviving a round of foreseeable and unforeseeable calamities: They boil down, quite simply, to leveraging your job skills.
For example, suppose you are an operator on Biggylube Corporation’s one-liter canning line. Since Biggylube has not invested in upkeep and maintenance, its stock prices have fallen to the point where anonymous investors are about to purchase the business.
Fortunately, you’ve paid attention for the past four years and have watched how an outside contractor has lubricated the weight-feeders and can sealers. You have observed the outside contract personnel use different grease and oil types. They’ve mentioned reasonable versus excessive pressure dispensation, lithium and polyurea, and sealed bearings, and so on. Now you’re ready to apply at AmpleFood Inc., which also has canning lines and is delighted to grant an interviews to former operators of such machinery who know how, why, and when to lubricate an entire line. You get the picture.
But there are other interesting (and innovative) ways of setting oneself apart from the crowd.
I recall a shop mechanic who had placed dozens of articles, instruction sheets, and procedure write-ups in individual sheet protectors. He then put those documents in a three-ring binder with a few divider sheets separating the collected material categories into different sections.
This mechanic displayed remarkable thinking and powerful reasoning as he explained to me how he would use the material. His plan went like this:
He would ask to briefly meet with a Human Resource (HR) person at a potential employer’s facility and introduce himself with an acknowledgement that the company probably didn’t have job openings at that particular time. But, he would then show the HR representative his three-ring binder before handing over a calling card with his name and phone number. On the reverse side it stated: “Doing my job dependably and with forethought.” What a great way to point out why he should be considered for the next opening.TRR
EDITOR’S NOTE:
For sources of suggested reading on
reliability topics and best practices,
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for a list of Heinz Bloch’s 22 books.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Heinz Bloch’s long professional career included assignments as Exxon Chemical’s Regional Machinery Specialist for the United States. A recognized subject-matter-expert on plant equipment and failure avoidance, he is the author of numerous books and articles, and continues to present at technical conferences around the world. Bloch holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and is an ASME Life Fellow. These days, he’s based near Houston, TX. Email him directly at [email protected].
