| Show up. Show your value. Do more. Don’t complain. And do everything you can to keep your job. That’s the advice I got after calling financial and career experts this week to ask what people should do if they’re worried about the shaky labor market. There’s a lot of workplace anxiety out there right now, with fears of a tariff-induced recession, hiring freezes and layoffs mounting. “Across the board, there’s no guarantee that any job can be ‘safe’,” said Priya Rathod, a Dallas-based career expert at Indeed. “But there are ways you can really emphasize the value that you bring to your job in your company.” How do you do that? And what else should you be doing to prepare professionally and financially for a downturn? You’ve opened up the right newsletter, because all of that is below. A surprising take I was struck when I called Catherine Valega of Green Bee Advisory in Boston. She’s a financial planner, and I was expecting her number-one suggestion to have something to do with emergency funds or unemployment insurance. Not so. “Keep the job,” she said. “Even if you don’t feel it in your blood. It’s not the time to be exploring.” Her rationale is that if executives have to cut staff to deal with a slowdown, the “first in, first out” rule is likely to come into play. Recent job switchers could be vulnerable. But so could any of us. Those worried about layoffs should bulk up their emergency funds, Valega noted. She’s conservative on this front, encouraging some to stash away as much as three-years’ worth of pay. That would give displaced workers ample time to retrain or build up their own businesses. Plus, cash is still earning decent returns in high-yield savings accounts. Three ways to show value The best way to keep your job? Show your value. That’s what I heard in every single conversation I had with a career expert this week. “Show that you’re a high performer, not high maintenance,” Michael Urtuzuástegui Melcher of M2Leaders, an executive coaching firm in New York, told me in what felt like a mic-drop moment. Indeed’s Rathod had three suggestions on how to highlight your value. First, consider showing your bosses ways they might cut down on costs, she said. Most businesses are squeezed right now, and will appreciate suggestions. This might include finding ways to bring previously outsourced work in-house, procuring from less-expensive vendors, or figuring out how to cut nice-but-not-necessary expenses. Second, try to help your firm find new revenue streams. Showing that you can find areas of growth during an uncertain period is a great way to prove that you should be kept around, Rathod notes. Third, think about taking on more responsibilities. The Indeed career expert says the hiring freezes many companies are implementing right now could be opportunities in disguise. Taking on work for roles that can’t be filled could help you advance internally. It also shows superiors the range of your skill set. An excuse to network It’s hard to know how taxes on foreign goods could eventually trickle into the labor market. But that ambiguity helps make one of the most awkward parts about networking — finding an excuse to reach out to people — easier. “It’s an interesting topic” to put to people in your network, said Melcher of M2 Leaders. “Like, ‘How do you think tariffs are going to affect our industry?” Keeping your network “warm” is important right now, because contacts don’t like to feel you only contact them when you need something. Tariff talk could be helpful here. What firms want Finally, if you want to keep your job, it’s helpful to think not just about what you want from your role, but also want your company wants from it. That’s why I wanted a perspective from Ariel Schur, chief executive officer of ABS Staffing Solutions LLC, a recruiting company in New York. “Firms want individuals who have tangible skills and who demonstrate that they constantly have this thirst and quest to stay proactive, who are building their skills,” Schur says. Those qualities show companies you can respond to unknowns. In an uncertain time, quick pivots may be necessary, and employers want to know that you can shift gears if the going gets tougher. — Charlie Wells P.S. Send questions about your own financial dilemmas to bbgwealth@bloomberg.net. We may get expert answers for you, and feature your question and the answer in an upcoming newsletter. Gold hit another all-time high. Warnings from Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell about the impact of the trade war fueled volatility on Wall Street, leading to sharp declines in stocks and the dollar. Bullion rose as much as 0.4% to $3,357.78 an ounce on Thursday, before paring gains. The metal added 3.5% on Wednesday in its biggest one-day gain since March 2023, as the dollar fell to a fresh six-month low. US retail sales jumped by the most over two years. They were up 1.4% in March from the previous month. Auto purchases led the advance with a 5.3% increase as buyers sought to dodge President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on finished vehicles, which he unveiled late in the month. Categories including building materials, sporting goods and electronics that are often imported from China also rose. The biggest gainers and losers on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index over the past week: Amancio Ortega was the biggest gainer in dollar terms. Ortega owns 59% of Inditex, the world’s largest clothing retailer. He gained $10.5 billion, which brought his net worth up to $105.9 billion. Shares in Inditex have recovered from early-April lows. Mark Zuckerberg lost the most in dollar terms, down $28.2 billion on a drop in Meta shares. Zuckerberg is chief executive of Meta, and the majority of his fortune is derived from a stake of about 13% in the company. The net worth of the world’s third-richest man now sits at $178.4 billion. In New York, Real Estate Is Increasingly Something You Inherit  Photographer: Alex Kent/Bloomberg The share of Manhattan home sales involving a trust — a preferred tool for passing on wealth — surged to 28% last year in a sharp rise from 17% three years ago, data from real estate analytics firm Attom show. Behind the trend is a combination of factors — including sky-high prices, shifting tax and transparency laws, and the first waves of a $100 trillion wealth transfer. Of course, not all trust beneficiaries are children, but brokers and wealth advisers all say it’s primarily parents who are using trusts to foot the bill on homes for their children — whether it’s a modest one-bedroom apartment in Murray Hill or a trophy penthouse on Billionaires’ Row. Read the full story here. Dubai’s 70% Property Rally Faces Threat From Tariff Turmoil  Photographer: Natalie Naccache/Bloomberg Over the last four years, Dubai property prices have surged 70% and outperformed other major cities. That relentless boom now faces its biggest threat since the pandemic as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs roil markets. The outlook for oil producing Gulf economies has dimmed, with crude plunging below $65 a barrel on the back of the trade tensions and a decision by OPEC+ to boost supply. Meanwhile, the uncertainties that have hit asset prices from India to China and the UK risk deterring the wealthy foreign buyers who’ve been snapping up Dubai real estate. This week, we’re looking to speak with people who recently rushed to purchase cars given news about potential tariffs, but who are now feeling financially overextended. If this is you, or someone you know, we would love to set up a time to speak. Some of our best journalism at Bloomberg Wealth comes from your own stories and we’d love to hear from you, your friends or clients. Please email bbgwealth@bloomberg.net if you’d like to get in touch. | 
