There are a few steps that employees can do to make themselves known to employers to hopefully be promoted one day. Those same tactics are now being implemented by the workforce to not be fired when the next line of lay offs comes their way.

So what’s the secret?

According to BusinessWeek here are a few of the tips from the magazine:

1) Focus on the company’s success rather than your own. Most employers don’t have the time (or money) to deal with any potential problems you may have. When you’re at work, you are there to work and not create drag for you or your team.

2) You have to be more than willing to change. I don’t just mean use blue pens instead of black pens, you have to be ready and willing to change direction at the drop of a dime and be ready for it. If the company is looking to mix up the product lines or create a new mission statement for the company, its time to be the “yes man” and learn how to cooperate with the change.

3) Be great at your job and be useful in every aspect of the company. While this is a lot of work, it shows your employer that you have a commitment to the company by going above and beyond your own responsibilities.

4) Social hour should be after work, not during. The last thing a company needs is for its employees to be negative and do a lot of gossiping while on the clock. “No complaining, no blaming!”

5) You have to follow the rules, even the ones that may not have been written down. An example is to be at work early and be at least willing to stay late. When looking at this tip, now would be a good time to quit smoking and start bringing your lunch to work with you to avoid smoke breaks and long lunches.

6) You need to solve problems before they happen. If there’s a way to make the company more efficient (or make it more money), tell your supervisor. Of course, this means there will be some time away from the workplace and in your home where you may have to do some research about competitors and what they’re doing. Doing this ensures that you are seen as an asset to the company

7) Get to know people outside your department, especially those in human resources.

8 ) Social networking is important, if not crucial in today’s workplace. On the BusinessWeek article this tip is titled “Start Tweeting or Start Packing.” I think that this tip is more important to those in the marketing field than those in, say, the accounting department. Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are easy to set up and use. Here’s a warning: Don’t “Facebook” too much at work.

Do you think purchasing a home is still a good, solid investment?

Question:

Home prices have been hitting new lows all year and people are losing their shirts in real estate. With sub prime lending, maybe, behind us, do you think that going back into home buying is a good investment?

Answer:

Sure. Once this recession is over, homes will once again be a safe investment. Historically, homes have always been a good investment.

Right now the market is low and it is a buyers market. If you were looking into getting into the real estate market, now is the time to do it. Some markets are down far less than others and it would be a good time to get into any of the markets that have experienced a lot of decline like Phoenix, Arizona.

If I had the money to get into real estate right now, would I? Probably, but I am not really willing to be tied down to one place right now.

Analysts are predicting 3 million more job losses between now and spring 2010.

Not that any time of the year is a good time to lose your job, but especially around this time of year. Many families will have to scale down the holidays this year, or skip the gift giving altogether.

You have to really dig around to find the good news in all the economic bad news. Even experts are saying the economy is in a free-fall.

Half-million jobs vanish as economy deteriorates

So, go out and have tomatoes, eat them to your heart’s content. They’re OK!

This is a good time to say this…Remember kids, wash your fruits and veggies before you eat or cook with them. It may not get rid of everything but it may get rid of something that will really be unpleasant later. Salmonella poisoning is not fun. If you look up the symptoms…you’ll quickly realize it is worth it to wash your produce. Also, cook your beef and chicken until it’s done. Don’t eat rare hamburgers.