> If it's useful for you to be around and they find you useful to be around then you have a job.
I do this as well, although I tend to put in in starker terms: the only reason that anyone is giving you a paycheck is because they are getting value in excess of the amount they're paying you. Your job will vanish the instant that value proposition changes. This means two important things:
1) There's no such thing as actual job security. Always have an escape plan.
2) Whatever amount of job security you can wrangle comes only when you consistently appear to be providing value in excess of your compensation.
Also, although I don't usually say this in relation to holding down a specific job, I try to make newcomers understand that nobody will care about what you did 20 years ago. It's what you did yesterday that matters.
What you say about HR is spot on as well. It seems obvious to me, but I'm frequently surprised that it's not obvious to everybody.
I do this as well, although I tend to put in in starker terms: the only reason that anyone is giving you a paycheck is because they are getting value in excess of the amount they're paying you. Your job will vanish the instant that value proposition changes. This means two important things:
1) There's no such thing as actual job security. Always have an escape plan.
2) Whatever amount of job security you can wrangle comes only when you consistently appear to be providing value in excess of your compensation.
Also, although I don't usually say this in relation to holding down a specific job, I try to make newcomers understand that nobody will care about what you did 20 years ago. It's what you did yesterday that matters.
What you say about HR is spot on as well. It seems obvious to me, but I'm frequently surprised that it's not obvious to everybody.