A good tool is to maintain a personal list of your accomplishments in a running document. Include major successes, and the essential summary information you might include when describing your job to an outsider. Update this list at least once a month to ensure that it's current and your memory of events is fresh.

Update your accomplishments regularly

Regardless of your layoff risk, keeping your résumé up-to-date is always good advice. You'd much rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.Keeping your résumé current can help you not only weather the looming storm, but it will give you confidence that you can bounce back regardless of your layoff risk.

Keep your résumé updated regardless of your layoff risk

The basic rule is the closer your job is to the most profitable activities of the company, the lower your risk of layoff.If you're an essential part of building the most profitable product for your company, your layoff risk is low. When retreating to the core business, companies turn to the quality products that make money.

No. 1 most safe: Profit-making employees

Those areas run quite lean in most companies.There is usually little excess to cut. In addition, HR is essential in the layoff process, and finance is often relied on as the financial status gets more scrutiny.As such, these areas are rarely the source of major cuts in most layoffs.

No. 2 most safe: HR or finance employees

More risky are the activities considered luxuries, like generous benefits and employee perks, and so on.If you are involved in planning events, for example, those are some of the first things that companies cut when times get tight.

No. 3 most at risk: Event planning or benefits employees

If, when times were flush, the company recently decided to explore new lines of business, or expand into new territories, those are tenuous places to work.Unless the company is making a concerted effort to pivot entirely to these new areas, these kinds of new initiatives are often the first ones cut when times are leaner.

No. 2 most at risk: New initiative employees

At the extreme end of the risk spectrum are contract employees. One of the main reasons companies use temporary or contract workers is for this very contingency.Contract employees are usually the first out when the tide turns.Beyond these areas, most jobs fall somewhere in between these poles.

No. 1 most at risk: Contract workers

Many are seeing layoffs in the news and wondering about their own risk of being laid off. Every industry, company, even department has a different risk, but some areas are more vulnerable than others.

The 3 types of employees most at risk during layoffs — and the 2 that are safest.

There are news everywhere about tech companies announcing jobcuts and layoffs due to the ongoing recession. Here is some expert opinion on this topic.

Chris Williams is a former VP of HR at Microsoft and podcaster, consultant, and TikTok creator. Microsoft, like many other tech companies, recently announced