Corporate layoffs will remain long after the Covid-19 pandemic is over. Before the next round of layoffs, here are five ways to reinvent your career.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities in the future of work and employment. It has also led to massive layoffs across industries and businesses around the world. The resumption of businesses will gradually ease the layoff epidemic, but it will not end the layoff culture among organizations. Without doubt, layoffs have become integral part of corporate existence. So everyone employed must prepare for it. This article suggests ways to reinvent your career before the layoff letter arrives.
1. Decide on a career direction and work towards it
These days, employed people accept job positions without being really sure of what direction their careers are headed. So rather than working towards a definite career path, they allow the work situation to dictate their ultimate career direction. Those who allow the work situation to dictate their career path may find it difficult to reinvent their careers when they encounter challenges on the way. Because the path that takes their careers to the desired height is unclear, they are unlikely to take measures to fast track the journey to the peak of their careers.
On the contrary, those who set out on a planned career path find it easier to reinvent their careers when they encounter challenges. This is so because they have a clear picture of where they are heading to and what it takes to get there. So they are able to plan, and take measures to fast track the process. Even when they encounter challenges on the way, they are able to retrace their steps and continue from where they stopped.
Sometimes, it is inevitable that our jobs or work situations would dictate our career path and ultimate career destination. If this happens, take ownership of the situation by developing a career strategy that accommodates personal development, identifies milestones and outlines an exit strategy. Going with the flow is a rudderless strategy which is bound to end in a cul-de-sac.
2. Embrace a continuous personal development programme
Identifying a career direction and the path that leads to the desired goal makes it easier to set up a personal development plan. The workplace is continuously changing as shown by the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, the requirements for workplace productivity are also changing. In the near future, there will be an increasing demand for employees with diverse skills and dynamic mind-sets. To remain relevant in the emerging business order, employees need to reassess the relevance of their current skills. A continuous process of self-development must therefore become an important part of everyone’s career strategy.
To reinvent your career before the next layoff, outline a self-development plan in line with your identified career goals. This helps to improve your skills and knowledge and ultimately, your competence. Competence increases your relevance at work and reduces the likelihood of becoming a victim in the next round of layoffs.
3. Develop an exit strategy
This is probably the most important step to reinvent your career. Layoffs usually come unexpected, unannounced and therefore meets everyone unprepared. So without a structured exit plan, layoff victims find themselves back to where they started, looking, hoping and praying for yet another elusive job opportunity.
An exit strategy comprises of actions taken to mitigate or cushion the effects of layoffs. These actions include having reasonable back-up savings or the resources and skill to set up a business of your own. It also includes an alternative job offer or being able to secure one soon after leaving the current job. Another component of an exit strategy includes a useful network of contacts to help you secure another job. An exit strategy may also comprise of family or private business to fall back on when the present job ends. Finally, having an alternative career path may be part of your exit strategy. An alternative career path is useful when it appears you have reached a dead end with the current career path.
An exit strategy is an important part of career planning. Usually, the best time to set up an exit strategy is while still in paid employment. Everyone needs an exit strategy because sudden and unexpected layoffs have the capacity to truncate our career goals. It also creates fear and anxiety, and unsettles us, emotionally and psychologically. No doubt the presence of any or all of these conditions may ultimately lead to other health complications. Having an exit strategy increases our resilience to shock arising from layoffs. A stable mindset makes it easier to concentrate on our jobs.
4. Reinvent your career through Networking
Naturally, victims of layoffs are usually very eager to grab the next job opportunity that comes by. So they normally will set out on a wide search for new job openings or other career opportunities. Those who seek to return to paid employment will explore series of job vacancies and churn out hundreds of applications in an effort to obtain that elusive job offer. But I can almost guarantee that your next job offer will not come from responding to public job advertisements. Similarly, it seems very unlikely that the big break you are looking for will come from the myriads of applications you have churned out. Instead, your application may end up in HR managers’ heaps of garbage or some form of database.
On the contrary, networking creates a large pool of people who are willing to help you find a new job or career changing opportunity. Hiring managers are more comfortable dealing with candidates referred to them by trusted third parties. Prospective business partners would certainly prefer to deal with you if they know that there is someone out there who can tell your story.
Our social and professional networks are the webs of connections that we have with other people. These include friends, school mates, work colleagues, customers, and special interest groups, in addition to the people they know. Social and professional communities are networking groups that share common interests with you and are interested in the contributions you make. Such communities are usually very open to supporting one another.
Networking offers greater opportunity to obtain that elusive job offer or other career changing opportunities. So why not establish, while still employed, a network of beneficial relationships. Such relationships become handy when you run into career challenges. To reinvent your career, Learn to Love Networking.
5. Ensure a cordial relationship with your bosses and other co-workers.
It is a mandatory obligation of everyone in the workplace to maintain a cordial relationship with one another. However, the atmosphere at the workplace sometimes creates friction and misunderstanding leading to the souring of relationships. This is normal. What appears to be abnormal; however, is that anyone who seeks to have a dynamic career experience would allow such temporary distractions to fester for long.
You need your bosses to provide the all-important referral that helps you move forward in your career. This is also the same with your co-workers. Your co-workers are likely to become your customers, business partners or very important members of your networking group in future. Your bosses and co-workers are likely to play very important roles in your career in the future. Ensure that you leave a legacy that makes it easier for them to remember how good an employee you were.
You may also like:
- The Future of Work and Employment Post-Covid-19
- Forget the Job Advert: Networking Gets you the Job Faster
- How to Develop the Right Attitude to Survive Layoffs
- The Salary to Expense Trap
Please check-out my new book:
From Paid Employment to Start-up: How to Navigate the Transition.
The book shows how you can leverage on your skills, experiences and contacts while employed, to set up a sustainable entrepreneurial career of your desire post-employment.
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