Re-Imagining Your Post-COVID19 Job
Two months into this COVID-19 national shutdown and you still don’t know if you will be re-hired when the country opens back up. A genuinely difficult existence for millions of Americans. Organizations will be investigating, analyzing and scrutinizing whether they indeed will reopen after this business-destroying virus runs its course. Some positions will be excised like a tumor as the financials are examined to determine the company’s future profitability. It’s time to rip the bandaid off and accept that you may not have a job. Like so many others, the bad hand you have been dealt can be turned into a winning hand if you do the hard work now of re-imagining your employment possibilities.
The mourning of “what-was” quickly needs to be converted to the healing process of acceptance, assessment and changing the way you think about your employment opportunities. The loss of the previous position had nothing to do with you. This pandemic was unexpected and unprecedented in our lifetime. The future is uncertain but remember that this was not your fault, so continue to believe in yourself, your skills and competencies.
Career reinvention demands a mind that is open to any and all possibilities. It’s a daunting task to reinvent yourself in the best of times. Adding a global pandemic while gazing into an unknown future is downright scary and has us all saying, “what’s next?” The crowded competition in the post COVID-19 job market requires malleability of self regarding what different types of positions to consider. An attitude of assertive boldness is needed to make forward, positive movement in actively looking outside your “box” of comfort.
Recreating your professional career can be achieved during this quarantine period. Below are 6 tips to reinvent your career.
1. Identify your transferable skills
Being in quarantine is the perfect time to let your mind wander into the arena of all the careers you have previously considered but never truly treated as a viable option. Allow yourself to dream and imagine the types of jobs that will give your life more meaning and purpose. How do your experiences, skills, expertise and proficiencies crossover into a position never before considered plausible? Force yourself to investigate the job requirements of these positions. You will be surprised to see that you are qualified for much more than the small “box” you’ve previously inhabited! Don’t hone in on just one option. It’s always good to have a backup plan.
2. Speak to a trusted person
This step requires a vulnerability that may at first feel awkward. Speak to a mentor or trusted friend who knows you, your vast qualifications and work history. Discuss openly your new plans and ask for an unvarnished opinion seeking their genuine advice. Your mentor may offer alternate avenues to achieve your goal. An honest conversation laying bare your thoughts on a career change may yield even more options than you had first considered.
3. Skill work
After investigating the new job options as well as the specific job requirements, seek out the tools to become competent at those positions. Learn skills to enhance your current position and the position you most desire. The downtime forced on you during the quarantine is a perfect time to receive advanced or continuing education. The quarantine provides the opportunity to learn at your own pace and honestly evaluate your current skill level. Where can you improve?
4. Try it out
The global pandemic caused an unprecedented remote-work explosion. Companies quickly sent employees home with their computers and the baptism-by-fire-work-from-home frenzy began. The result is a blast of remote gig work that is prevalent online. Multiple sites offer temporary gig work in a vast number of professions. The quarantine allows you time to try out different “gigs” determining which one fits “just right”! When you begin to interview, these gig jobs on your resume demonstrate to the interviewer your flexibility, industrious nature, ability to quickly pivot and learn new skills as well as remaining relevant in your old and new fields.
5. Start networking now
A sure way to activate your new career plan is to fire up your network system into overdrive. Networking events are plentiful both locally and nationally. Currently networking functions utilize a video platform instead of the loud bar or restaurant traditional atmosphere. I actively network and prefer the new video format. Mine your current active network. It is crucial to speak with people outside your industry. The gig work you may have tried is also a source of networking, so don’t forget those contacts! Think back and contact people you haven’t spoken to in years. The Harvard Business Review refers to these people as “dormant ties”. It describes a study of more than 200 executives who reconnected with past ties to solicit help on their current projects. These executives noted “the advice they received from these dormant sources were on average more valuable and novel than what they received from their more active relationships.” Reinventing your professional career requires that you reconnect with your past colleagues.
6. Embrace change
Dig deep to determine exactly how much change you are willing to accept and adapt to. Is it a total career change or a slight pivot to a new position in the same industry? Are you willing to move across the country or to a state you aren’t familiar with? Recreating your career may involve a cut in pay. Will your finances allow this? It is important to remember that taking a financial step back can quickly lead to the step you truly desire and in many cases be even more financially rewarding. I have clients who have done this and are better off than they had ever imagined despite having to budget a bit tighter for a short period of time.
Entrepreneurship is a career change that will be seen in post COVID-19 times. As organizations cut back on redundant positions some employees will decide to use all of the knowledge and expertise they have in their field to consult and advise new start-ups that will also prosper in a post COVID-19 world.
The time to re-imagine and re-invent your professional career is now. No more procrastination. The massive disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic to the business arena has organizations restructuring and evolving at lightning speed. Employees need to evolve and change with it. Searching for a new position will top the agenda for a multitude of Americans. The clock is ticking. The post COVID-19 “change train” is leaving the station and your re-invented career has a front row seat.
I offer a completely free 30 minute introductory job interview coaching session. Contact me today to prepare for your tomorrow!