The Inside Out Forehand

I used to love watching Steffi Graf play tennis. She had an impeccable shot, a winner every time. The inside-out-forehand is hard to describe but essentially it's a fantastic shot in tennis. The opponent doesn't really see it coming and if you play your cards and positioning right to deliver the angled shot, well, you may just end up with a cross-court winner.

As I interviewed sources for a piece last week on outsource-proofing your career I came upon an inside-out shot, a secret power play if you will, and simply have to share. I talked to a variety of people such as professors, career counselors, and people who have been there done that as to what to avoid and what to do to bolster your employmentability (ok, this is so not a word - my bad!). Let's go with job security instead.

Sure, they gave me the obvious: network to make yourself more valuable. Earn another degree. Become indispensible by working with other departments and volunteering for task forces. Sure, we know at the end of the day we're all replaceable but we don't know is by bolstering our own shots we can pull them out of our pocket at any time. On our turf so it's going to be played to our advantage, not our "opponents" (insert word for employer here).

Like the one source who, interestingly enough, was downsized THREE times. Despite this harsh fact and the uplifting way he said every opportunity after the downsizing ended up being better than his previous job, I wanted to find a hidden angle, an even better inspirational silver lining, an encouraging parting thought. Here's the kicker: he made himself so valuable that despite his job losses, people sought him out. He became so indispensible to himself instead of the fleeting employer. By attending industry events and becoming an expert in a niche field, well, he technically insourced himself. As the tables turned he noticed companies were outsourcing departments and hiring him as an expert.

He started his own consulting biz and realized the knowledge just goes with you when you leave jobs and start new projects. The connections only build and get bigger and your reputation and referrals are priceless. As he mentioned jobs have been created for him all as a result of knowing people, it became crystal clear: while we aim for job security we need to always think of the bigger picture.

By outsource-proofing our jobs to the best of our ability by becoming more recognizable, visible, and knowledgeable in our current jobs, essentially like Steffi's kickin' shot down the line, you become your best asset. Honing and practicing, working and networking, well, you can ultimately own it and turn the tables inside out.