Can a job be recession proof?

(CNN) -- A recession can make a mockery of the very notion of career planning, as the hordes of executives laid off in recent years can attest.

"I don't think anyone's immune," Derek Walker, director of careers at Oxford University's Saïd Business School, told CNN. "We all know sometimes people lose their jobs who are perfectly competent, while others are retained who aren't. Sometimes it's just bad luck, but if you're a strong performer, you're in a much better position than those who aren't."

With the unprecedented downgrading of the U.S. debt rating, rattled management executives -- traditionally vulnerable to restructuring in times of austerity -- are looking to safeguard their positions. But is there such a thing as a recession-proof job? When the crunch looms, is there anything you can do to stave off HR's knives?

Given the myriad reasons that companies downsize, there's no such thing as a truly secure position, said Angela Baron, engagement adviser at the UK's Chartered Institute of Personnel Development. "If they're trying to cut costs, often they'll look at the backroom first, but if it's a downturning business then they'll look at frontline staff." Initiating a little belt-tightening yourself -- volunteering to downgrade to a budget airline, for example -- might be a nice gesture, but is ultimately unlikely to make a difference, "except in a badly-managed company," she said. "The way to keep your job is to be a top performer. Even when they're shedding, organizations are keen to hold on to their best talent."

For those reasons, said Walker, even picking a career in one of the "safe" professions -- those that tend to do well during lean times, and are sometimes perceived as being "less than exciting", such as auditing -- was not a good bet if that was not where your strengths lay. "Ultimately, if you're not competent, you may find it harder to retain your position."

The key, Baron told CNN, was "not to recession-proof your job, but to recession-proof yourself". She added, "with a bit of forward planning, people can make themselves more marketable by thinking about where the jobs might be in the future, and what they need to develop to do them."

Whether through networking sites like LinkedIn, professional associations or occasional coffee meetings with old colleagues, it's not hard to keep abreast of industry trends. And with the employment market changing rapidly, there's no excuse for complacency. "You can't just think I've done my degree, I've done my professional training, and that's it," said Baron.

Equipping yourself with the skills and experiences to adapt to changing realities might also require occasional moves sideways -- a significant paradigm shift for many executives accustomed to thinking of their career trajectory as a steady rise to the top.

But take heart: opportunities always exist, even during a recession. Mark Sheldon, managing director at recruitment firm Hays, said he saw many companies looking for agile, innovative appointments who could bring a fresh vision. "People are looking for new employees to have an impact, rather than simply continuing along the same path."

Dr Jonathan Trevor, lecturer in human resources and organizations at the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School, agreed. His research has identified a new set of leadership qualities prized by organizations, as we transition from an industrial economy, whose bureaucratic model of workplace organization was "no longer fit for purpose", to an information-based one.

The first critical asset is the ability to collaborate horizontally, forming coalitions of interest with employees from different departments across the organization.

This type of "cross-working" -- integrating the company's knowledge, people or other resources under a broad vision for its potential, rather than a narrow bureaucratic one -- will help the organization to succeed by allowing it to meet a greater variety of needs in the marketplace, and producing better products.

The second is the ability to innovate. "Unless we make these transitions, we will get persistent economic underperformance," said Dr Trevor. "But if you have these capabilities, you'll have a job for life -- more work than you could possibly do."

This model polymathic employee, he acknowledges, is currently a "one in a million talent", so in the meantime, for the rest of us, Walker's take on redundancy might prove more relevant. "Planning your career is often really difficult, because the world is so volatile," he said. "But if you always do what you do really well, chances are that there will be something else for you to do afterwards -- whether it's when you decide when your time's up, or somebody else does."