Health care communicators: 6 habits for career preparedness

A friend of mine called—her large health care employer was going to lay people off. It was a difficult time for everyone involved. While she remains employed, she is going through normal emotions of survivor’s guilt: why her or him, why not this one or that and so on.

There is no denying that health care organizations everywhere are experiencing unprecedented financial challenges. In December 2013, the healthcare industry lost more jobs than it added, the first time that had happened in ten years (source: Bureau of Labor Statistics).

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As we read all the news headlines and industry forecasts, it does make you pause and question your own career. What if it was me? Am I ready? In deference to Boy and Girl Scouts everywhere—always be prepared. Here are six habits that you must adopt today:

1. Update your resume quarterly. Date it. Rephrase it. Shorten it. It should reflect the best of what you do, not all of what you do.
2. Back up your electronic contact list monthly. This is the first place you will need to turn.
3. Constantly build your own resource file to take with you. At the end of each project, save the initiative form you used to build the project and the key learnings sheet (or post-mortem).
4. Always retain copies of important documents. What is important? Correspondence from people thanking you or praising your work, results of activities, compliments or honors. You may not need all or even some of them, but if you don’t have them, you cannot use them.
5. Maintain relations with network contacts so people remember and like you. If you do not already have a LinkedIn account, get one and use it.
6. Keep personal information off your work computer. If you have valuables in your office that could be considered the company’s and not yours, label them.

Should you experience a layoff—don’t take it personally, cancel the pity party and make a comeback. Remember, you are prepared.

This blog originally appeared here.

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