Timeless Career Advice for Turbulent Times
Are you confused about today’s labor market? No wonder!
The economic climate has employers concerned.
Some employers are laying off employees.
Meanwhile the shortage of workers continues.
Apparently, so does the “Great Resignation”.
What does it all mean? How should it impact your career decisions?
Career advice isn’t like investing advice. Market timing might work for risk-tolerant investors, but your career, and this moment in your career, are unique to you, and only you can make your best decision for this moment.
There is little career advice that fits everyone, at any time, even now in this turbulent market.
Wise investors play the long game. Wise career investors should too.
There are a few pieces of wisdom that are universal. When in doubt, look to those.
Here are a handful that have served me well. (I might have learned them the hard way…)
It’s smart to have an ear to the ground when it comes to the stability of your current role / your current organization. It’s even smarter to always have a bead on your own marketability.
Stay curious. Keep learning. Follow your interests. Even when it looks like there’s no payback in the short term, the journey will be more enjoyable and you WILL uncover opportunities along the way. Especially if you include other people in your learning journey. (Insight: That’s called networking!)
Let go of perfection. Embrace “Good enough, move on.” I once heard a smart woman sharing advice she got from a manager early in her career, who said “You’d be an 8x better employee if you learned to do things half-assed.”
Learn from your failures, search for the nugget of value in feedback or criticism, but always, ALWAYS, play to your strengths. You bring unique gifts to the world. Find them, and find ways to use them effectively despite your “weaknesses”. (Insight: Pay attention to your biggest weaknesses to zero in on your biggest strengths; it’s true they are the flip side.)
Be the person others need, right now, in this moment. The person who helps others stay calm, stay positive, stay focused. Do what you can, with what you have, to lift up the people around you. You’ll be happier. And people will always want to work with you.
Remember, even when the seemingly worst happens, there is always opportunity in chaos. The bigger the disruption, the bigger the opportunity. Work on strengthening your own resilience, and you’ll be the person who can bounce forward from every perceived setback.
Lorri Anderson is an expert consultant to businesses and a powerful coach to individuals. After a long and rich career as a strategic HR executive, she is driven to give back by changing the Human Experience in today’s workplaces, one business or human at a time.