Career Strengthening Strategies
/Economic downturns and contractions. Pandemics. Recessions. Terms that have taken precedence in the minds of everyone in the past few months. Job hunters, career switchers, new graduates, and even entrepreneurs are faced with considerable uncertainty in terms of their professional future.
Despite the gloom cast by the current COVID 19 pandemic, or any other economic downturn, there are ways to insulate yourself or at the very least, minimize the impact of significant global disruptions. Recessions and downturns are not a new phenomenon and will continue to emerge sporadically when least expected. Preparing oneself to minimize the brunt will go a long way in ensuring economic and personal stability. Below are a few strategies that could help minimize the impact of economic downturn on a career.
Networks
Job hunters often create and leverage networks only when they need to. Networks should not rely on the focal career point but go beyond to encompass a variety of industries and functions. Differing perspectives and inputs through roles and a career can open a plethora of opportunities, with minimal effort or awareness. There are several methods to grow a network, online and offline, but keeping a well-oiled network in place can be crucial during turbulent times.
Transferable Skills
The days of one career for a lifetime are now far in the past. With technology forming a uniform backdrop across multiple industries, companies look for skills that can be transferred not just from one to another but from one industry to another. These skills can range from data analysis, collaborative practices, commercial awareness to negotiation and even organization. Transferable skills open the opportunities available during a job search, broadening the potential for quicker success.
Authority
Establishing a sense of authority in a space provides the ability to add credibility to previous experiences. With a wide range of delivery media available, this authority can be in the form of pod casts, blogs, or articles in leading online publications. It provides a great opportunity to build a network relevant to a field of interest or focus while garnering knowledge from the experiences of others.
Development
Continued investment in skills or knowledge, will ensure that job hunters remain relevant and up to speed on the latest developments in focal industries. Technology is making the world continuously evolve and it is imperative to stay on top of new skills, terms and knowledge that are termed as necessary for certain roles and industries. Technical skills aside, there are numerous ways that individuals can invest in themselves to prepare for a quick pivot, should the need arise.
Entrepreneurship
In today’s world, companies are forever on the lookout for people who can launch and manage initiatives with minimal guidance and oversight. There are a few examples of senior leadership at companies having side businesses. The author of this article has met an individual heading up the Connected Car initiative at a leading automotive company in the US who simultaneously ran a very successful ice cream business. Entrepreneurial experiences do not always have to be successful, there is tremendous learning in ventures that have failed as well. Businesses look to leverage the experience of pressure, uncertainty and multiple issues being dealt with at the same time. Start small and see where the journey takes you.
Perspective
One of the primary mistakes job hunters make is looking for roles where there is title-match or function-match across companies. Job hunters need to view themselves from a different perspective and not allow titles to define their opportunities. The value that is provided by an individual is what comprises their USP in the eyes of the recruiter. This value is not the title, but the gaps that are filled in an organization through the job hunter’s skills. These skills could range from problem solving abilities to project management or even stakeholder relationship management. Shifting the focus from title to value will allow job hunters to focus on now just what they can do, but how it can be done.