Your Career: Your Choices

In this the third in our recent series of blogs relating to the current global health crisis, we consider some of the important choices facing talented individuals in planning their next career moves in the context of a much-changed jobs market 

These are extraordinary, turbulent times. There is nowhere in the world that is not adversely impacted by the current global health crisis. Many normal activities are suspended and personal and business plans are on hold. And perhaps most worryingly not only is there no clarity about when all this will end, but the economic and social disruption caused is likely to be profound and long-lasting once the immediate physical risk has subsided. 

We are in regular dialogue with talented individuals around the world who, before this crisis arose, were seeking our help in preparing and enacting a significant career transition. Inevitably career plans are in suspended animation pending a global and national recovery. New jobs are in very short supply in almost all major markets; and if, as seems very likely, the world is about to enter a severe period of economic recession once the immediate physical threat has receded, then enterprises of all shapes and sizes who want to survive will almost certainly need to adapt, restructure and probably downsize.

As a result the nature and quantity of existing and future jobs is likely to change very significantly. Ambitious and talented career professionals will need to seriously re-appraise what it is they are currently doing and how they might approach this more uncertain immediate future; it would be a mistake to think that even as economies begin to slowly recover, things will go back to the way they were at the end of 2019. Sadly even the most talented individuals might be faced with no choice but to seek alternative employment when until very recently they had considered their roles to be secure and their career prospects bright.

But of course, whilst the picture looks quite stark right now, without doubt societies and economies will slowly but progressively begin to recover. Reconfigured businesses will eventually need to reach out and recruit to resource their newly transformed organisations – perhaps with fewer but more highly or differently skilled individuals. The imperative for businesses that have successfully ridden the 2020 storm will be to reduce costs, re-establish their revenue streams as fast as possible and return to profitability; great job opportunities will slowly return as businesses look to transform and grow again.

In our previous two blogs in this series we explored the potential actions that job seekers can take in preparation for the challenges ahead during the immediate period of self-isolation and lockdown. Our strong advice is to use this time productively to address three simple questions:

a)     What is your distinctive narrative and career DNA? i.e. what are the critical messages you want to project about yourself to recruiters, potential employers and network contacts when there is an upturn in the jobs market?

b)     How do you best use this narrative to market yourself so that you stand out, positively differentiate yourself and make impact with the people that matter in an ever-more ferociously competitive jobs market for talented individuals? 

c)     When you assess the evolving situation as businesses emerge from the immediate health crisis, what is the best short and medium term career strategy to give you the best advantage? 

In all our most recent discussions with those thinking hard right now about their immediate career choices, these are the strategies that seem to be most frequently emerging:

• Strategy 1 “Sit It Out”: where you know that your job will still be secure post this period of major uncertainty then a clear “safe” choice might well be to stick with what you already have i.e. to hunker down in your current role, hope to ride out the inevitable turbulence of the next 12 months or so until things show positive signs of improvement in the jobs market and then decide what to do. 

• Strategy 2 “No Choice”: if you know already that your current job is unlikely to exist post the crisis or even if it does and it will be on significantly different terms, then in this situation you are likely to need to formulate an urgent plan that is ready to execute to quickly secure a new role. This will be no easy task in a jobs market that is likely to be oversubscribed and highly competitive with many good candidates in your same predicament looking for new roles.

• Strategy 3 “My Choice”: a prolonged period of introspection and the sheer scale of what has happened in the world may have made you realise that even though your current job might still be available to you, you really don’t want to go back to what you were doing and you are convinced that you need a change of career direction even though this might take some time to execute.

Even if you elect for Strategy 1, our clear advice is that you would anyway be wise to adopt a “parallel plan” i.e. act in the background as if your job is no longer secure so that at any point in time you are able to switch your efforts to pursuing an alternative role in the external market. This will be your insurance policy in case Strategy 1 just doesn’t work out.

Right now at Brosna we are working hard with many individuals to coach them on how to make the right career choices moving forward and how to be fully prepared to execute a career transition plan when the time is right.

From all our experience in helping in these situations there are four simple enduring messages: 

• Don’t leave your future career to chance

• Do Invest time now in preparation and planning

• Do take control about what you really want to do next

• Don’t do it alone 

If you would like a confidential discussion about how we might be able to help you with your next career choices and transition, please in the first instance send an email to tim@brosna-consulting.com

Tim Chapman

7th April 2020