Cara is President of the International Association of Career Coaches (IACC)® and CEO of Ready Reset Go®.
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All indications point to a recession. With two consecutive quarterly declines in GDP, the U.S. is already technically in a recession. If not for hope of the Fed’s aggressive increases in interest rates, little is left but for the White House to admit that the inevitable has occurred.
As I speak with career coaches across the globe, the situation in the U.S. is not unique. For instance, coaches in Africa, Europe, Asia and Canada all report concerns that their country’s economic prospects are similarly bleak.
You only need to read the headline of the July 2022 report from IMF’s World Economic Outlook to get a sense of the overall global economy: "gloomy and more uncertain."
We’re seeing layoff announcements at companies that used to be on clients’ top target lists. We’re hearing clients share intel from their own firm’s town halls announcing major belt-tightening activities.
The demand for career support has increased as parents who left the workforce during the pandemic are re-entering to provide another source of income. Clients who fear that their jobs may be in jeopardy are reaching out for an edge for the remaining jobs. Furthermore, we’re finding that clients currently employed are asking for help bolstering professional images within current jobs to solidify their positions.
As career coaches flex with the needs of clients, remember to not take your eye off the ball of your own businesses. Coaches often neglect self-care during stable times. Don't look up after helping others to find out that your business is sputtering. There are practical steps that coaches can take to ensure greater control of their practices and weather the storm.
Recessions do not last forever. The average length of a recession is 17.5 months. During this year and a half, there are defined stages that predicate the job market: Contraction, Trough, Recovery and Expansion—Peak. Knowing what to expect and how to act as CEO of your business is key.
The first stage is Contraction. As the supply of jobs shrinks, more candidates flood the labor market and unemployment rises. Those working begin to hunker down or search for more stable positions, prioritizing security over happiness.
While you may be tempted to advise your clients to jump ship to find a job in a more recession-proof industry, don’t! Instead, consider a dual-track: focus on improving their reputation in their current position while conducting stealth job searches in securer companies or industries. This way they control their exit and can be the hotly coveted passive job seeker.
Most career coaches specialize in either helping someone find a new job or executive coaching to improve optics in their own firms. Now is the time to shore up the other offerings that might not play to your strengths. For example, you could invest in education to learn exceptional ways to conduct stealth job searches or learn tools around reputation management and how to level up.
Trough is the point of the recession when the cycle is at its lowest point. By definition, it means that recovery is on its way, although it doesn’t feel like it. Positive signs of recovery can be viewed with skepticism after months of negative news. It appears that few jobs are posted as little job movement occurs. Clients tend to be keeping their heads down, under the layoff radar.
This is where expertise around reputation management and leveling up will be sought. Bosses identify their dependable favorite employees, the ones that have, for richer or poorer, stayed faithful. Clients who are unemployed will still require your expert job-seeking help but need extra support.
During a trough, I recommend career coaches improve on their wellness coaching. Having the ability to offer mindfulness exercises and other tools that can help your clients stay positive during these dark times will make your coaching invaluable.
Take a course on the neuroscience of the amygdala or join a cohort of other career coaches to glean techniques that have been successful in their practices. Branching out into life coaching and gaining additional skills will help your clients manage their emotions in the workplace and provide them with healthy coping mechanisms.
During Recovery, more positions will be posted and the job market will start to loosen up. We will see classic job moves. Your role as a career coach will be tested as you help job seekers find new positions.
During the recovery stage, we begin to see those who gave up on finding employment reenter the job market. As the economy reenergizes, clients see signs of life and throw their hats in the ring. This will utilize career coaches’ skills around neuroscience and wellness as these clients could potentially have been unemployed for an extended period of time and may be riddled with self-doubt.
In addition, a career coach’s ability to give their clients an edge over the competition is required. I highly recommend sharpening your own network to be leveraged. Work on expanding your own community so that in combination with your clients, you create a robust list of new connections.
Lastly, as a career coach, Expansion—Peak is a wonderful stage. The waters have risen high. The murky mess under the waterline is covered, and it appears that nothing we do can jeopardize our own and our clients' success.
Expansion—Peak is also when many new and returning career coaches fold into the industry. Struggling career coaches who drank from the corporate watercooler during the downturn return to their coaching passion.
If you’ve managed the stages of a recession with an eye first on your own business (put your mask on first), you’ve gained more significant skills than those who have left or are just entering. You’ll be ahead of the curve.
As economies rise and fall, don't get swept away in waves of worry or lose focus in helping your clients without minding your own store. Hopefully, our government systems will buffer inflation’s landing, but if not, you’ll know what you can do to rise out of a recession stronger and better equipped.
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