Given Up on Finding an Awesome New Career because of the Pandemic and Recession? You Shouldn’t!

Here’s What You Need to Be Doing Now

I’ve been hearing a lot of similar statements over the past few months:

“There’s so much more competition now it’s going to be impossible to get a new job! Especially in a new field!”

“Look how many people have lost their jobs! Shouldn’t I just be thankful to have a job and hang onto it for dear life right now?”

“We’re in a recession. I should put thinking about a career change on hold until the economy recovers.”

Now reality is reality. And there’s absolutely some truth to all of these.

But really when people are saying these things to me, it’s because they’re scared. The fear centers of their brains have latched onto the economy as a way to keep them in the security and familiarity of their current jobs.

Even if that job is making them miserable.

It’s true that there are some different considerations now if you’re thinking about a career change than there were 6 months ago. Some industries and companies aren’t hiring right now, and the unemployment rate is still very high. I would certainly encourage anyone who has a job to be grateful for it and not to just walk away from it.

But none of that means this is a bad time to be working on a career change.

Don’t take this example as investment advice <please!>, but have you heard that when the stock market plummets during a recession, it’s a great time to start buying stocks? People make an incredible profit because they started acting when the economy was bad; the people who waited until recovery was well on its way miss out on a lot of possibilities and profit.

There’s a similar idea at work if you’re thinking about a career change. Even if your dream industry isn’t hiring right now, it *will* be hiring again. And there’s a lot you can do right now to set yourself up to move into it when that happens. But if you don’t lay the groundwork now, you’re going to be at a disadvantage to anyone who is already setting themselves up for a change.

Plus, there absolutely are industries and companies hiring right now — some are even growing! People are going on (virtual) job interviews, getting hired, and starting new jobs every day.

And don’t you want to be ready when the opportunity to pivot into a new, fulfilling career comes along? If so, here are some things you should be doing right now.

1. Get Clear on What you Really Want

If you’ve been thinking about a career change, this is a great time to start doing the work to get clarity about what would be a good fit for you. Because wishing won’t make it happen — it takes a strategy and some time to figure that out.

I see a lot of people posting in online forums asking for recommendations about what jobs other people enjoy, what the best job is for a particular Enneagram or Meyers Brigg type, or can anyone recommend a new career that they can move into?

I’m not knocking crowd-sourcing or gathering information . . . but this isn’t going to work. Someone else’s dream job is not necessarily going to be dreamy for you. And just because a job is a logical step from what you’re doing now doesn’t mean you’re going to be any happier in it.

You need to figure out what is going to work for YOU — and that is different for every single person. You need to get clear about your particular needs. For example, are there are strengths you want to be using every day that you never get to use in your current job? What are your true “must-haves” out of a job? What’s most important and meaningful to you as an individual, and how does your work life need to honor that?

And even if you have all of that figured out and have a career idea that excites you, you probably won’t yet know what the day to day reality of that career is like. And you will reeaaalllyyy want to figure out that reality matches up to your expectations before you take a leap into a new career.

All of that takes time — time that is really worth investing if you want to end up in a job that you find enjoyable and personally fulfilling. It’s not necessarily a burdensome amount of time — some people can only spend a couple hours a week on these questions — but you’re not going to figure it out overnight.

So, take advantage of the slowdown in hiring to figure out what it is you really want. And then be ready to go for it when the opportunity arises.

2. Make Some New Professional Friends

Or to use a phrase that strikes fear in the heart of many: Network!

This is a great time to start getting to know people at companies or in industries that you might be interested in. It doesn’t matter if their company is hiring or if their industry has been decimated by the pandemic (think event planning or the travel industry). You can learn a lot about a company by how they’ve treated their employees during the pandemic. And, while it’s absolutely heartbreaking that some industries are temporarily just gone, the silver lining for career changers is that there are established professionals who have a lot more time to meet with you now than they would in any other year.

You can learn a lot about the day to day life in a particular career just from getting to know someone who has done the work. And learning that is really important to help ensure that you don’t make a change and just end up in another situation that makes you miserable.

And this sets you up to have a much easier time getting a job when the recession is over. Want to hear about a job opening before it’s published on a job board? Want someone to make sure your resume gets a thorough review, not just a few second scan amidst hundreds of other resumes? Building relationships is the key — and it’s better to start now than once hiring picks up and decisions are moving quickly.

I’ve heard some people saying that it’s not possible to build the same type of connection virtually as in person — and I want to challenge that. Yes, some personality types might have an easier time with virtual connection than others. But if you’re uncomfortable with it, ask yourself if you’ve really given it a chance to be as meaningful as in-person connection. Have you gotten comfortable with the technology? Have you tried practicing with friends? Have you tried getting a few talking points or questions written out in advance in case you hit an awkward pause?

I can attest as a coach who primarily works with clients online, I regularly build deep connections with people I’ve never met in person. And if you’re just willing to be open to the possibility and keep experimenting until you figure out what feels good to you, virtual connection really, really works.

3. Be Flexible and Practical

Reality is reality. Maybe the industry you determine you want to move into is locked down at the moment, and you don’t know when they’ll be hiring. But maybe instead of writing off a job or career change for the foreseeable future, it’s time to think about if there’s a move that can get you closer to what you ultimately want.

You don’t have to get to your ultimate career destination in a single step. Can you start by investigating if there’s a way to do more of the parts of your job you do enjoy, and less of the parts you don’t enjoy? Or by exploring if there’s a way to — even temporarily — do some work with a different department that offers more of what you are interested in?

Or, what if you can find a job that is in an adjacent industry to what you ultimately want? Or one that uses some of the same skills that you’d be using in your desired new career? Or that puts you in a position to make some relevant contacts? Maybe that could be a great next step to get you closer to where you want to be — and make you happier in the meantime.

It’s worth taking setting aside some time to brainstorm answers to these questions. If you’re an extrovert, it might really help you do that in a conversation with a trusted but impartial friend — someone who isn’t personally impacted by your next career step. If you’re an introvert, it’s a good idea to find a peaceful place to think alone or to have someone else (even if it’s the television) watch the kids for an hour so you can have the space to research and think.

4. Don’t Give Up

Just following these tips — even halfheartedly — will put you in a better position than much of the job-seeking crowd.

But back to the reality of the economy. . . even when jobs are available, there is more competition for them right now. And that will probably be the case for a while. So, it’s important to prepare yourself that it may take longer than you’d like to make a change.

The keys are to keep learning and to keep going. It is so easy and so real to get discouraged when you don’t get a job you wanted. And it’s worse when that happens a second time, a third time, or more.

It helps if you can have a plan in place to help you keep going should this happen to you. Start with setting your expectations that this process might take longer than you’d like and might involve some rejection — and that it’s ok. You’re still setting yourself up to be miles ahead of where you’d be if you just holed up and waited for everything to get better before starting.

Another idea is to write yourself a letter reminding yourself (a) why you are working towards a change, (b) all the ways that you are setting yourself up for success by doing this work now, and © encouraging yourself that you knew this was going to be a harder time than usual and you’re doing just fine. (If you hate the idea of writing a letter to yourself, you can also talk this through with a friend or partner ahead of time and ask them to remind you when you’re feeling low.)

Also, keep track of your successes during this process!

→ Did you take an assessment to help you get clear on your most energizing strengths? Write down what you’ve done and learned!

→ Updated your resume? Write it down and celebrate!

→ Had a conversation with a new connection? Put it in a spreadsheet (along with relevant details from the conversation) so you can see how many new people you’ve connected with — and easily reach out to them again!

→ Get an interview? Do something special with your partner or a friend to celebrate — whether or not you get the job.

Finally, if you face a setback or disappointment, take the time and effort to try to learn what you might be able to improve on — and think about if it would be a good investment to get some help rather than to keep trying to make it work on your own. If you know you didn’t answer an interview question well, think through what a better answer would be in the future. Can’t figure out if there’s a career you really want to move into? Maybe you need some guidance and support to figure it out (because there IS an answer!). Not getting any interviews? Maybe you should consider getting some help with your resume or job search strategy.

Ultimately, the takeaway from all of this? Is just to BEGIN! Don’t let the economy be an excuse — because there will always be another excuse. Take the first step!

Your future self will thank you.