January was a terrible month for Canada's labour market. According to Statistics Canada, the economy shed 129,000 jobs - most of them full-time. That's the worst one-month showing ever.

Over the past three months, 213,000 jobs have disappeared. That wipes out all the job gains that were made in 2008.

The manufacturing sector has been particularly hard hit. Other sectors less so.

Worried that your job may be in danger? Marty Parker, a staffing recruiter with Waterstone Capital - a company that recruits executives for its clients - offers these tips on making yourself indispensable in your workplace.

Become an industry expert

Most people think that's the job of marketing or a research group but if you become the portal to information and use all the available tools accessible to you people will begin to come to you with questions both officially and unofficially as they gather their intelligence. You will be really one of those indispensable sources of information within your own organization.

Provide 'value added' beyond your own role

If you're a receptionist and your job is mainly answering the phone, there are steps you can take that will make you stand out. Do you use people's names when they call, do you ask specific questions? That's a good example of someone who's going beyond the call of duty by using available information and really improving the context and the quality of the work that they do. That's an indispensable example of adding value.

Project a positive attitude at all times

This might sound obvious but people like working with others who they enjoy being around. They may not be someone you'll have a drink with after work but if you bring a positive approach to things, if you spend time with people and get to know them on a personal level, more and more people will find that you're the kind of resource that they'll want to surround themselves with.

Understand and then drive your boss' agenda

The person who actually sits down with their boss and asks 'what else can I do that might help us or you be successful?' Or, 'is there something I can take off your plate?' That person is absolutely indispensable.

What not to do

Don't manage up

Don't spend the majority of your time "managing up." By that I mean, spending time telling your boss what you've done well, how you've done it. What's much more important is to perform and do well and be a resource across the organization. That will get communicated to your boss, that will get noticed and the myth of having to tell them everything is only a timewaster.

Presentation over information

You hear that often in, "that person got to the top or got to that job because they really know how to talk to people." It's really not the case anymore. Instead, be a portal of information, know what to do and how to do it. An example could be someone on the IT side who is a fount of knowledge who saves a company thousands of dollars because people can go to them with questions about their BlackBerry or their computer. Knowledge is power today.

Watch the video (2:37).