Don’t put your career plans on hold during these uncertain times. It is the perfect time to reflect on your career and plan ahead. Over the last few months you may have had the opportunity to reflect on where you are in your career and what is important to you as you set out your future career plans.
To help you when reviewing and developing your future career plan, I am sharing 7 steps to take into consideration, so that you can adapt and grow, even in turbulent times.
Be Adaptable – learn and grow
Consider your transferable skills, as well your options and opportunities, which will support you to be adaptable to meet the changing needs of business, while staying aligned to your career potential.
Be Resilient – Acknowledge, learn, move on
Every path will have its ‘bumps’ along the road. The most important response is for you to acknowledge this as part of the process of getting to where you want to be in your career. You need to reflect and take the learnings as a springboard to getting back on track towards achieving your career goals.
Trust yourself – take that next step
Trust your gut instinct and know the difference between the fear of stepping outside your comfort zone and what is not right for you. Taking the next step can feel exciting and daunting, while also having an element of fear of what happens if it does not work out. However, you know by now that you need to move past fear and take that next step, not a giant leap.
Plan the next steps in your career to build your USP
Be a specialist in your career, continuously working on marketing your value. Build your personal brand around what you want to be known for, so that you can direct your focus to where you are most competent and confident.
Seek experiences that build your skills and market your value
Identify your skills gap and develop your career plan to further support your knowledge, purpose and passion in your career. You need to balance your confidence and competence in your career value, and this is a continuous process of learning and development.
Demonstrate your transferable skills to your organisation / market
Be visible, vocal, and valuable within your organisation and the external market. Use your transferable skills to adapt across industries.
Take the lead – make a difference
Understand where you can bring the most impact with your skills and expertise and do not be afraid to step forward and take the lead as you share that impact with others.
While taking into consideration these key elements, you will be amazed at the additional possibilities that are open to you as you lead your career, no longer waiting for people or circumstances to dictate the future of your career.