Six Ways to Protect Your Career from Offshoring

By Larry Buhl
for Yahoo! HotJobs

First it was manufacturing. Then it was call centers. Then, in the early 2000s, coding and programming jobs went overseas, making other professionals worry that that their jobs would be next.

Fortunately, the reality is not quite as dire as some pundits have predicted -- and for people in jobs or sectors that may be vulnerable, "career insurance" strategies can help.

Keep in mind that "offshoring" and "outsourcing," though the two terms are often used interchangeably, are not the same. Outsourcing can be done domestically by shifting jobs and departments to US companies or individual contractors. Offshoring is outsourcing to the extreme -- and it means, basically, "these jobs are gone." If your job is outsourced domestically, it may not kill your career. "There is no question that when companies outsource jobs or departments or functions domestically, some people continue to work in their same capacity but under a different company name," says John Challenger, president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement consulting company.

For people who want to stay in the US and maintain their career viability, offshoring is a greater concern. Employment experts recommend several ways to protect your career.

Show That You're Indispensable

You can't stop your company from moving a job or a division overseas. But if you can prove that your value extends beyond your list of job duties, you can save your career, according to Challenger: "If the company recognizes and values your expertise and appreciates the things you bring to the organization, even if your job goes, they will find another place for you," he says.

Work on Teams

Brett Good, Southern California and Arizona district president of staffing firm Robert Half International, says volunteering to work on a team will boost your experience and exposure, which can help make you indispensable. "Working on a team keeps you from being a one-trick pony by giving you exposure to other departments and adding value to them," he says.

Keep Expanding Your Skill Set

Teamwork helps, but it may not give you the deeper skills you'll need. "You have to keep adding to your skills all the time so you are not so specialized, and have options," says Tom Dezell, career-development expert and the author of Networking for the Novice, Nervous, or Naïve Job Seeker.

"You have to be proactive about education and show the organization you're constantly learning new applications and ways to add to productivity, cost savings or new revenue," Good adds.

Get Closer to the Customer

The closer you are to direct care or service of the customer, the less vulnerable your job is to being offshored, according to Dezell. "This isn't true only for the obvious fields like healthcare and education, but for sales or account management," Dezell says. "Teleconferencing is a cost-saver, but companies know that it can't yet replace person-to person interaction, especially where things are brokered, such as direct sales or higher-level customer-service functions. Face time saves jobs."

Be More Creative, Strategic and Culturally Aware

It's hard to offshore jobs -- like advertising copywriter -- that depend on creativity and an understanding of American beliefs and values. But if you're a coder or a help-desk worker -- two tactical and routine jobs especially vulnerable to offshoring -- find avenues within your company or your profession to reinvent yourself as someone who uses creativity, strategy and cultural awareness. "Even in accounting jobs, if you know how things are done in the US and understand the SEC rules very well, you'll be more valuable right here," Good says.

Consider New Companies That Value Training

If you're thinking of changing employers, you can focus on ones that may be less likely to send your job away. "Companies that have a strong professional-development policy may be safer because they are investing in you to keep your skills up-to-date," Dezell says. "And newer jobs in newer industries may be safer, at least for a while, because they haven't yet found out a way to do your job cheaper overseas," he adds.

Experts add that while offshoring is here to stay, it isn't always a losing proposition for workers. "What should be encouraging is that overseas companies are also coming here and creating jobs, and that US workers are still in great demand for their knowledge, work ethic and entrepreneurial skills," Challenger says.