In a recent post, I shared some of my personal secrets in career growth, focused for the web professional.

The first one was “Pay yourself first”. This could mean a lot of things, such as reading that book to get new skills, writing that blog post, going to those user groups and events, or any other career enhancing moves. Or it could mean spending time at the gym, with family, quitting those cigarettes, or just eating more healthy. It’s so easy to get caught up in the never ending email chase, or office politics, with ought ever enhancing and growing yourself.

I’ve worked at a large companies before my current job, and I’ve got to tell you, there’s no such thing as job security at large corporations. Large corporations just make it easier to hide, but after time, people notice. At a previous company, there were people that were proud that they had worked there for 20+ years. Well when new management came, this could have been the reason to get rid of the fossils (in their eyes, not mine) and clean house. I’ve seen large scale layoffs that have nothing to do with performance. Lastly, you never know when your shareholders and board want a payout and the company gets acquired, you can almost guarantee layoffs, so pay yourself first.

The clever person will do the things that benefits both oneself, as well as the employer, so do as Daniela does, and pay yourself first.