Think about how you can safeguard and adapt your livelihood amidst global crises.
The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on people’s lives, including on people’s careers. People have lost their jobs, seen less work and are adapting to working from home. While some countries and states are approaching the peak of cases, others are past their peak. Experts warn that a second wave may hit this coming fall or winter and could be worse. Experts also say that the virus will likely last two years.
Even if you came out of this past month relatively unscathed, you are not out of the woods. You need to think about how your job, skills and career fit in the new normal. Just like governments and companies do disaster-planning, you need to think about how you can safeguard and adapt your livelihood amidst global crises, like the coronavirus pandemic. Here are seven things that can help shield you and your career from a crisis:
1. Do good work.
This is not the time to cut corners with your work. While you may have other demands during the crisis, try to put in the same amount of time and effort to continue producing quality work and impressing your manager. Producing quality work can help you stay in your job and maintain a level of security during uncertain times.
2. Diversify the type of work you do.
Think of your career as an investment. To ensure the security of your finances, experts say you should diversify your investments. Do the same with your career; diversify your career. If you have all your eggs in one basket and that basket becomes obsolete, you may find yourself unemployed or underemployed.
Expose yourself to cross-functional work by showing your interest in supporting the efforts of your colleagues on other teams or in other departments. Take on side projects that allow you to exercise other skills and knowledge. Opportunities like these may help you make career transitions or pivots to ensure that you have options to choose from.
3. Develop a contingency plan with your team.
Document your “plan B.” Identify with your colleagues how you would proceed with the project when working remotely. How would you handle, for example, vendors if their businesses were impacted? Leaders anticipate issues before they become problems.
4. Continue to network.
Ensure that your network is active should you need to use it to identify future career prospects. Follow-up on connections. Use LinkedIn as a search engine to identify other people that are doing interesting work. Then pick up the phone or use an internet video conferencing platform to have a conversation.
5. Keep your resume and LinkedIn profile updated.
Whether you lose your job or are thinking about moving on from your current position, be ready with a current resume and LinkedIn profile. Add a couple of your latest accomplishments to your resume. Spruce up the summary section of your LinkedIn profile, and enhance your Recommendations section by asking for and giving some testimonials.
6. Save your money.
Whether your earnings have or have not changed, try to resist the temptation of spending unnecessarily. You may be thinking that since you are not spending money on commuting or lunch, you could use that money to buy something else. Amazon and other similar websites make it easy for you to spend money. While it is okay to purchase some things you want, be careful going overboard. You might be spending more than you should and threatening your financial security. In times of uncertainty, try to save some money should you need it in the future to pay your mortgage or rent, health insurance or groceries.
7. Have a partner who can support you.
Whether it is your spouse, a parent, a friend or close colleague, identify a person who will be there for you when you need them. You may need a different person for different things. One person might be able to help motivate you to stick to a fitness routine. Another person may be able to help you put work into perspective. Having the support of another person will help you navigate the challenges of crises and uncertain times.
Some crises are out of your control, but you can take steps to weather the storm. Keep producing quality work, diversify the type of work you do, have a backup plan at work, keep networking, update your resume and LinkedIn profile, save your money and have someone who can support you.
What has helped you to continue to succeed in your career amid the coronavirus pandemic? Share with me your stories and thoughts via Twitter or LinkedIn.
