Cure: You need to get quite a bit more paranoid about your situation, and fast, before it's too late!
Why it Works: You and you alone are responsible for increasing your value to the company. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. And you need to be a bit paranoid about this, a bit concerned and edgy that you might be falling behind. Because guess what--you probably are.
Here's why: As your career advances, so does your pay. It's rare for any company to give people an annual decrease in pay to correspond to decreasing output or effectiveness. So you really can't afford to become less valuable, or stay equally valuable, year after year. Otherwise you will become both overpaid and obsolete, and will eventually find yourself looking for work!
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Do your job profitably to stay valuable to your employer. |
But now you've learned your job, you're doing it competently, more-or-less earning your salary, and your employer seems basically happy with your work.
- Your company faces competition from companies with lower-cost labor.
- You face competition from younger people entering the workforce.
- Your company may be acquired by a competitor, with the resulting "elimination of redundant positions" that may affect you.
- Your skills may be getting rusty due to inactivity.
- Your energy level and drive may have tapered off a bit.
- New methods and tools have evolved that you are not familiar with.
If you want to advance your career, or even stay employed and continue your career, you need to provide ever-increasing value to your employer, even in the face of the external factors described above. Don't expect anyone else to do this for you! Take responsibility for this yourself. It's not too hard to do, just look for the nearest mess and take charge!
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