Uncertain times can actually be career-enhancing.
With the crisis caused by the coronavirus and COVID-19, the world feels upside down, and nothing is certain. Your work has probably tilted as well. Millions of people have been furloughed, taken wage cuts or are working in completely unexpected circumstances. At a minimum, you are likely working from home and figuring out how to make the best of videoconferencing and collaboration at a distance.
So how can you manage your career through such trying times?
While this may seem like the least likely time to build your career or find new opportunities, in reality, it may be the best. As Albert Einstein said, “In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity.” Struggle, unexpected circumstances and ambiguity can also pave the way for new possibilities if you’re able to do these six things:
First, stay positive and future focused. We all want to work with people who are optimistic and energetic—and this is especially true during tough times like these. In addition, one study found people who were optimistic performed better and had greater satisfaction with their work. In other research, those with greater optimism had less work-related stress. Give yourself permission to be down or uncertain temporarily, but then find a way to move forward and stay positive. It will be good for you, good for your work and good for those around you.
Take initiative and offer to help. The uncertainty of the work environment can reduce the standard boundaries between job role, departments or functional territories, and this can create opportunity. Raise your hand to help in your own area, but also stay attuned for the potential to contribute in places you don’t normally play. Perhaps a co-worker is working less because he must care for his children and you can assist with his tasks, or maybe your company is solving new problems in service to coronavirus challenges and your skills can contribute in brand new areas. Rather than simply waiting for direction, think broadly about how you can help and step forward to offer your talents in areas that are tried and true or that stretch your skills.
Solve new problems and innovate. Your company is likely awash in new problems from re-evaluating the supply chain to helping employees to keeping people engaged and motivated. In these times, every job is different in some way because the context for everything has fundamentally changed. Bring your best novel thinking to these circumstances. Often new innovations come from connecting previously unrelated ideas, or from outside the typical approach. When there is tremendous ambiguity, the time can be ripe for new ideas, new ways of thinking and unexpected solutions. Bring your best creative thinking to the problems your company is seeking to solve.
Be a team player. Under stress, people can be less than their best. They may have less patience, less perspective and more anxiety. While this is typical and can happen to all of us, it’s also an opportunity to be your best as a colleague. Find ways to demonstrate empathy and give discretionary effort. Whether you’re providing encouragement for a colleague whose partner was recently laid off, helping a teammate who is struggling with the new video conferencing technology or giving your time to a critical project, be a great team player. Your attitude and contribution are important to your own experience, but also to the experience of those around you.
Be flexible. Be willing to try new things and say yes. It is likely that with so many new problems to solve, your company may need you to step up and potentially contribute outside your typical lane or areas of responsibility. View these as opportunities to go above and beyond and build your skills. Your adaptability will benefit your organization, but it’s also good for your career.
Endure. Finally, stay strong and keep going. You’ve heard it before: this is a marathon, not a sprint, so focus on the long term. “Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare,” said psychologist and scientist Angela Duckworth. It may be easy to be positive or flexible for the short term but keep at it and demonstrate ongoing determination. Persistence and perseverance in the face of hardship are the definition of grit, and grit is good—for you, for your career and for your company.
Things are uncertain, upside down and your work may be in flux, but all of this may not be bad news. Stay positive, take initiative, innovate, be a team player and be flexible. Focus on the future and stay strong for the marathon—and these will likely pay off not only for your career in the long term, but also for your peace of mind in the short term.
