Speak Up to Stand Out in a Challenging Economy

As rising unemployment makes headlines nationwide, job security is on the mind of many young professionals. Making matters worse, this is our generation’s first major economic downturn. Older generations have weathered this storm before and know that the economy will eventually turn around. My generation, Gen Y, does not have that personal history to fall back on. Instead, we forward the stories of our friends who were fired through a generic e-mail or who learned their employer was going out of business while watching late-night TV. All this leads young professionals to wonder how they can improve their job security.

Let’s start with the big picture. My experience consulting with corporate executives shows me that they generally view young professionals as favorable to employ in a challenging economy. Executives often see young professionals as being outcome driven, comfortable with technology, and embracing of change. Even more important, young professionals are at the beginning of their career, which means they are usually one of the lowest paid employee groups at a company. This is a huge economic incentive as companies are forced to reduce overhead to stay competitive.

While the big picture might not give you the comfort you seek, there are ways to directly increase your job security without marrying the boss’s daughter (although I hear that works, too). You can build a stronger network within the company, because people get creative to keep from firing a friend. You can quantify how much money you make the company, so you can show you have a positive affect on the bottom line (if you come up with a negative number keep it to yourself). My personal belief is that you should continually strive to increase your value to the company. One straightforward way to highlight the talent you deliver is to get in front of your company’s decision-makers. The easiest way I know to get in front of decision-makers is to make them an audience…

Here are four ways to Speak Up and Stand Out In a Challenging Economy:

1) Find a reason that requires you to make a presentation. You can do this by taking on a project that culminates in a presentation or joining a team that gives presentations regularly. You can even sign up for outside training with the caveat you will have to share what you learned within the company.

2) Prep for the speech as if it were an interview for your dream job. The three things you must know ahead of time: your major points (never more than three if you can help it); who will be in the audience and their reasons for being there (besides the obvious “leave your office” motive); and how you will deliver your message for it to be most actionable (drink a Red Bull beforehand).

3) Practice the speech at least twice. This is where most professionals fall short. They read their notes over and over, go through their PowerPoint until their clicker is numb, and re-do the margins on their handout five times, but they don’t actually talk through their speech. Practicing your speech allows you to see if it flows well, makes you more familiar with the material, and will show you how to pace yourself correctly. I suggest practicing once without an audience and once with a friend-even if that is by phone.

Give your speech like you rehearsed. Arrive early, check any equipment you plan to use, and have water at the ready. Afterwards bask in the glow of the compliments you receive…and take the rest of the workday off to celebrate. We are young professional after all!