Do you worry that your career could be severely impacted by Covid-19?
If you are – you are not alone.
The coronavirus pandemic has turned the world and the global economy upside down. For over a decade, North America and much of the world, has been riding a wave of high employment and consistent career opportunities for corporate professionals.
Now we are staring at the beginning of massive business closures and corporate layoffs. A very different career landscape.
All things to do with employment and your potential career path will be changed for the foreseeable future.
Do you know how to ensure your career is recession proof?
I have over three decades of experience in corporate/business – surviving (and actually thriving) during recent recessions. This will be my fifth recession.
I know that the face of work and employment opportunities will change as this pandemic continues globally. Yet there are opportunities if you know how to spot them and prepare for them.
- Less globalisation, more TECH
- No face to face ANYTHING – virtual EVERYTHING.
- More change – less normal.
So, YOU have to reestablish your new normal.
Hiring and promotion criteria is shifting
Just like the world pivoted virtually overnight – you need to be able to visibly demonstrate that you can handle change and uncertainty.
Long before death and taxes, change will happen to you.
Yet by the sheer act of being human, we try to avoid all three of these certainties if at all possible.
“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”
― Frankenstein
Learn to anticipate change and to handle it better.
Plan for it.
Surround yourself with others who don’t shy away from it.
Working from home, working with people on different schedules, building trust with colleagues and clients, and even leading from wherever you are during a time of crisis are all key ingredients for career success. they are also key ingredients to recession proofing your career.
I can tell you that training on a technical skill is much simpler than teaching someone how to be proactively productive, collaborate under pressure and be accountable.
You can’t recession proof your career alone
Face to face networking is virtually impossible these days. Yet that doesn’t mean that your ability to influence, lead or connect is impossible. Get creative…
Gather your team for a social ZOOM hour (with or without your favorite beverage). Many teams and work cultures are based around the ability to communicate effectively and empathetically. Some quick suggestions:
- Book that video coffee or online latte with your boss, team member or colleague.
- Take the initiative and lead by example. Suggest a hosting rotation if your team is large or split it up into groups and mix it up.
- Don’t rely on email or texting. Get on video. Get on the phone. Relationship building is not successful without the human connection.
- Give support as well as ASK for it.
- Set a timer if you want to be focused on remaining productive so everyone can participate yet stay within time constraints .
- Ask to speak with recruiters in your industry. They are probably less busy than usual as much of the external hiring is currently on hold due to uncertainty. Cultivate professional relationships with them. Sure, contact them via LinkedIn yet also ask to speak with them so they know more about your personality and communication skills.
When people contact me, I always offer tips on updating their LinkedIn profile for greater visibility and impact.
Transferable skills matter now more than ever
Climbing the corporate ladder or pivoting into a new successful career has long been the norm in the past decade. yet at the same time there has been a lot of corporate burnout. We have also been conditioned to believe our work experience and titles matter more than our relationships and how we produce.
Research tells us that among the values exhibited by strong cultures are collaboration, agility, integrity, people-centricity, innovation, accountability and ambition.
Bain & Company
Yet in reality – the new reality – transferable skills are where the excellence is. How we work through problems, how we handle upheaval and change, deal with roadblocks, additional budget pressures, communicate during conflict, find opportunities due to necessity. These are examples of leadership and excellence.
- Your boss or clients are going to remember when you come up with a creative solution when resources aren’t available.
- Or when you take up the slack in a project.
- If you can afford it, offer a documented temporary timed pay cut to keep your team together and producing.
These are some key accountabilities or capabilities that makes you stand out. Do not blend into the woodwork. Don’t be part of the problem. Be part of the solution.
When AGEISM might be your ace
Professional experience and maturity are in demand.
Just several months ago a very talented, yet younger, financial investment advisor was courting my business. She had come very highly recommended. One of my last questions for her during our discussion, was how did she experience the last recession (2008-2009). She admitted she wasn’t in the industry at that time(!)
In fact, she has never been working during a recession.
Unfortunately, even though I could not predict that a pandemic would cause this slide into recession, I knew we were very overdue. That changed my risk mitigation factor of moving to a new advisor – one who had never produced during a recession.
Experience counts.
Consider the opposite scenario.
My friend and ‘older’ colleague last year landed a lucrative IT related consulting gig. He himself, had faced career burnout and wanted to keep things simple. Yet he was committed to working himself out of his contract by delivering his projects ahead of schedule. Which he did.
Yet during this time of uncertainty and reduced company cash flow, his firm wants him to stay on and even join them full-time! They love him. He knows they are going to be cash strapped (everyone is for a time). He offered to take a pay cut so that another team member could be kept on staff. Yet the executives said he had more than earned his keep and his position in the company. So at the age of 57 he is jumping back into the world of perm employment. By choice, not necessity.
Professionals that have strong experience during upheaval and have learnt the tough lessons that come during crises are in demand. How you handle pressure with maturity is vital in times of uncertainty.
In fact, ageism matters less now if you have proven that you can excel in the job and navigate change and pressure well. Young DOT.comers were begging the old timers to bail them out during and after the 2001 technology meltdown.
Be flexible yet proactive and professional
The term “gig economy” was popularized around the height of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Task-based labour has evolved and became a significant and lasting factor in the overall economy. Outsourcing overseas was also. Both are here to stay. Yet so is contracting / consulting and having access to multiple streams of income.
However, outsourcing to other countries could accelerate. Or many companies may want to retain their supply chain or talent within North America as we have seen the global supply and demand process grind to a halt. The jury is still out. It is not business as usual. There is currently no “usual”.
I am approached by many corporate professionals for career coaching and career pivoting. However, with the sudden shift in economics that this global pandemic is causing, many professionals may have to start to look at shifting (either temporarily or permanently) their current industry for one that is more stable or set to “boom”.
Always looking at “what is” today and what “might be” is a foundation of recession proofing your career.
Prepare yourself.
Whether you are employed or not, you should always be looking at your career and employment options.
- Don’t wait until you have to look for a new job. If you are currently employed, don’t assume you can ignore your job hunting or interviewing skills. Practice now by discussing (out loud) why and how you do the work you do. Also what problems you solve for other people. Get used to answering the dreaded “tell me about yourself” question so that it makes sense to your audience’s pain points. Perfect practice make perfect.
- Get used to video conference calling and video interviewing. It is here to stay (it started after the last recession partly as companies were more reluctant to spend money flying people in for final interviews). Get your equipment working (as I type there are no webcams to be had for sale on Amazon or Best Buy!), lighting, mic/earphone, high speed internet, and an uncluttered backdrop.
- Take online training. A career coaching client of mine (in the systems architecture world) realized that he has time now (no commute!) and is completing his cloud certification – free. Many eLearning companies are offering free for a month or reduced investment costs due to the pandemic. If not now, then when?
- Keep networking. Your “circle of influence “is more critical than ever. Most job posting (and many promotions) are going to be harder to identify. Keep in the forefront of your bosses minds, stakeholders, clients, and colleagues. I know this is even more difficult for introverts (although to be fair, the extroverts of society are right now going absolutely bonkers by being cooped up!).
- Keep improving your online and offline personal brand. It is hard to start from a dead stop if you are laid off or fired.
Making your career recession proof involves many of the aspects that companies and businesses have to employ to find/keep clients and customers:
- Diversify your experience.
- Increase your exposure and visibility.
- Grow your Circle of Influence (network).
- Pay attention to the now, yet look to the future. Plan for the next quarter as well as the next year and the year after,
- Offer what is in demand. Better yet consider the demand and the supply.
- Ask for feedback so you can improve.
- Get outside help from experts when you know it isn’t your area of expertise.
Preparing yourself for this new world of employment and career opportunities is critical to how to make your career recession proof.
Connect with me on LinkedIn or HERE for how I may support you to recession proof your career!