Prototyping Your Career Pivot

Prototyping Your Career Pivot

Have you ever wanted to pursue a completely different career but didn’t know where to start?  Although the pandemic has given us time to reflect and consider how we want to spend our time, navigating a new career path now has presented new challenges.  Zoom networking anyone? And if it’s been a while since you last changed jobs, you’ll want to have a game plan. 

No question that having a steady paycheck is enviable right now. Sometimes, however, that steady paycheck isn’t sustainable and you know the end may be near. Maybe you’re in a dying industry or maybe your company is part of a national entity that isn’t doing so well.  Or maybe you’re ready for reinvention and want to pivot. 

Changing careers means changing ourselves says author Herminia Ibarra who wrote, “Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career”.  Fear, excitement, apprehension and dread are common feelings when considering a complete pivot.

It’s a transitional process and an opportunity to look closely at other possibilities. She talks about creating “future selves” and meeting with people who have careers that you’ve thought of doing for a long time. While carving out your future self, it’s equally as important to take a step back and reassess.  What are your main skills and qualities?  Where do you think you’d thrive?  What kinds of people would you like to be surrounded by?

Margo, a friend of mine, wanted to build an eco-friendly shoe company for fashion-minded women age 50+.  She learned everything she could about footwear materials and her target market.  When she met with an award-winning footwear designer, she was eager to figure out if creating a footwear line was feasible.  She’d been working in traditional media and she was ready to explore her future self.  Even though designing shoes was outside of her experience, she was inspired by the Allbirds founders who had zero footwear design background.  She’d experienced a few moments of clarity (and irritation) at work and she thought, “life is short.  I have more to learn and so much more to offer.” Herminia Ibarra calls these moments “triggers” and we can use these work irritations to propel us forward to discover a new and more meaningful path.

Herminia refers to “unconventional strategies for career pivot success”. 

Here are a few:

  1. Take action: By taking action, you can figure out how you feel about a particular career path.  It’s important to step out (instead of looking inward) and as a result each additional step will be less challenging.

  2. Consider all possible selves & prototype yourself: Don’t get caught up in figuring out your one true self.  Everyone has many selves but we tend not to nurture them - so write them down and begin testing them out.  Ask questions and study a person’s background to find out how they got to where they are now.  It’s called “prototyping yourself” and in a time of tech acceleration, everyone should be doing this to make themselves more attractive in the hiring manager's mind.

  3. Allow for a transition period: Completely changing your career can be difficult – especially in mid-career. Know that it will take a while to move from the old you to the new you.  A transition can occur while you’re working full time but carving out time for exploration will be critical.

  4. Think of small wins: Set up a strategy to achieve as many small wins as possible.  Challenge yourself and consider your failures as a time to learn and be more informed about your career path and new direction.

  5. Projects/side hustles: Without a huge commitment, it’s much easier to test the waters when you’re able to work on a temporary project or side hustle.  Even if it’s for a discounted rate, it will give you more experience in the area you want.

  6. Someone new: Find your tribe.  Branch out and meet others who have similar interests. Find a Crowdcast event with interesting people and be sure to ask a question so that your name is recognized.  Follow up through LinkedIn and see what happens. Becoming closer to the people in your desired career is all part of the process.

As for my friend, Margo, she opted not to partner with the footwear designer.  She’d worked with him for a few months and learned their personalities were not a match and she wasn’t going to settle.  She wanted to partner with someone who challenged her and had a similar drive to succeed. Realizing the type of people she wanted to surround herself with was just as important as the type of career she wanted to pursue.  At 53, she decided to build a consulting firm and now she has a business partner who complements her personality, skillset, and aspirations.

The Layoff

The Layoff

Getting laid off can feel devastating and personal.  It can cause anyone to succumb to an emotional roller coaster. Even if it’s no fault of your own, oftentimes it brings up issues that you never thought you had.  Here are some steps to take if you or anyone you know has been laid off from their job as a result of the pandemic.

Circle Slash Your Inner Critic 

Reflection and being honest with yourself about what happened are all good things.  However, take care not to spin yourself down a negative path.  Your mindset and how you frame the situation will be key to how you decide to move forward. Remind yourself that there’s a global pandemic going on right now and loads of organizations are restructuring in order to stay afloat.

Susan Peppercorn wrote Harvard Business Review’s, “How to Silence Your Inner Critic After a Layoff”. She recommends creating mental habits to get you through the layoff process and explained, “after a layoff, it’s completely normal to find yourself in the grip of anger and self-doubt, and these feelings can linger. Yet while it’s important to acknowledge what happened and the feelings that go along with it, it then becomes critical to pay attention to what you are telling yourself and determine whether your thinking style is helping or hindering your goals. By questioning your inner critic, you can stop the negative cycle of self-blame that’s holding you back from taking positive steps forward.”

Remember Previous Wins

Ask yourself three questions that address a time you overcame a difficult work situation.  Envisioning wins from the past will help get you out of a negative tailspin.  What strengths did you use to resolve a problem? What did you learn about yourself in the process? How can you use these strengths in your current career transition?  Recalling those situations can help you move forward and realize you’re capable of overcoming obstacles.

Prioritize Evolving & Reinvention

One way to stay relevant is to reskill or take a course that has always interested you.  As a mid-career professional, it will help psychologically and will build confidence over time.  When you face an obstacle, you’ll be able to power through it more easily because you’ve already tackled challenges along the way which helps to increase resilience.  MOOCS (Massive Open Online Courses) are a great way to lean into your curiosity and test your interest level. Search for the free ones available and make a list of what you want to learn (more to come in a separate article dedicated to online courses for upskilling).

Give Time

Set up video calls with people through your network who may need your help.  When you reverse the situation and provide your expertise for someone else, it helps to build yourself back up.  It’s also a great way to expand your network (and create more fans).

And finally, know that if you’re willing to learn and adapt to change, companies will absolutely need your help.  Technology innovation is constant and if you’re able to keep up on trends and learn how to use the latest business tools, you’ll be in a better position to get hired. When the upturn in hiring happens, you’ll be prepared.  

Below are a few resources we thought might be helpful.

Reviewed & Recommended:

Career Tools Podcast: 

COVID - How To Be Ready For A Hiring Market Upturn - Part 2

Tips on how to be prepared for the upturn in the market and keeping skills (including interview skills) fresh and up to date as well as updating all social media and keeping in touch with your network.

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish:

Episode 74: Embracing Confusion with Jeff Hunter — CEO of Talentism, Jeff Hunter, teaches how to rewrite damaging narratives that hold us back, how to give and receive helpful feedback, and why confusion can be a good thing. He writes, Confusion is an ever-present byproduct of growth. It’s how we deal with it that determines our ultimate success or failure. Our hard-wiring pulls us toward protection, down a path of Certainty. But it’s only through clarity that productive progress can occur.”

YouTube: Kerri Twig

Dealing with Job Loss: the first steps

A career coach in Canada, Kerri works with many mid-career professionals.  She can be nutty but that’s why we like her.  Anything but authentic feels like a waste of time right now. Here’s a recent episode that we thought would be helpful.   

Being An Authentic Ally

Being An Authentic Ally

The word “ally” has become a charged one in the last few weeks.  As a white person, it’s not enough to say we are an “ally” when it comes to Black Lives Matter.  Unless we commit to taking anti-racist actions to dismantle the racist systems from which we benefit, being an ally is a hollow promise.  Why not take the next step and take deliberate action for change?  When talking about being supportive of the African American community, be specific.  Say what you will do and preface it by saying, “I will take action by——.”

What Can We Do To Truly Act?

Explore your own bias:  Whether we want to admit it or not, we all have biases. If we cannot recognize our own bias, we cannot act to stop it from inflicting harm - even if unintentionally. Test yourself for hidden bias.  It’s difficult to work with others and break down biases if you haven’t broken down your own first.  Take the Implicit Association Test from Harvard which aspires to educate the public about hidden biases and to provide a “virtual laboratory” for collecting data online.  “Project Implicit” was founded by three scientists in 1998; from University of Washington, Harvard University and University of Virginia. Take the test here

Educate Yourself:

As Leanne Italie of Associated Press wrote in the New York Times recently, “As a new generation steps up, activists and historians believe there’s important work to be done for white people: Listening to black voices and following rather than trying to lead, for one, and undertaking the deep introspection required to confront unconscious bias and the perks of privilege that come just from being white.” Books such, “How to be an Anti-Racist” and “White Fragility” are an excellent start to become more informed.  Here are additional resources to consider:

  • Harvard Business Review: Moving Beyond Diversity To Racial Equity by Ben Hecht  He wrote, “Organizations must commit to sustained steps over time, to demonstrate they are making a multi-faceted and long-term investment in the culture.”
  • Podcast: The Economists Asks Melody Hobson:  Melody Hobson said, “If you are a business in the 21st century and you’re not diverse, you’re committing corporate suicide. You can’t be successful without diversity.”
  • Podcast: Professor Galloway & Peter HenryPeter Henry is Dean of NYU. He’s an Economist, Author and Board Member of Nike. He said, “Fundamentally, law enforcement can act with impunity and kill black men? That’s a problem. . I never left home without identification in case I was ever pulled over. We have to want to fix it and have voters who are actually going to make change.”

Support Black Owned Businesses

The outpouring of support for black-owned businesses to celebrate Juneteenth or a Black Lives Matter march is good but think about how to sustain that support. Consider how you spend your dollars and whether your spending behavior mirrors the values and people you want to support. Being intentional about supporting black business owners and founders helps assure their success. It is one of many ways you can amplify black voices.

White Loudness

This is not a time for white silence. Speaking up about inequities, bias and racism at work will be needed.  Be prepared to get uncomfortable.  As Rosabeth Moss Kanter Author and Harvard Professor said, “It takes courage to speak up against complacency and injustice while others remain silent. But that's what leadership is."

DEI initiatives

Look at your company’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives and ask questions.  How’s it measured?  What are your company’s goals?  How can we get better?  Is it transparent and shared consistently with your team?  If not, why not? According to research, diversity is good business and proven that the more cognitive, age, gender, and race diverse teams you have, the better the business outcomes.

Engage & Vote

Institutional racism in our society cannot be rooted out without leaders willing to acknowledge and dismantle it. Get involved and educate yourself on issues and candidates at all levels of government where important policies are set. Support organizations such as When We all Vote, Fair Fight, and All on the Line that combat voter suppression tactics and help ensure every citizen can cast their vote.

It’s going to be a commitment over time for real change to happen.

As Ben Hecht of Harvard Business Review wrote, “The work of building and maintaining an inclusive, racially equitable culture is never done. The personal work alone to challenge our own individual and professional socialization is like peeling a never-ending onion.”

Reviewed & Recommended:   "Side Hustle School"

Reviewed & Recommended: "Side Hustle School"

Podcast: Side Hustle School

The Side Hustle School podcast is created by Chris Gillebeau. It’s a daily podcast and focuses on people who have a regular job and want to start an income-earning project on the side. He walks through a different story of someone who has started a side hustle—along with what went well, how that person overcame challenges, and what happened as a result. He’s a New York Times bestselling author of The $100 Startup, The Happiness of Pursuit, and has written several other books including The Art of Non-Conformity.

What we love:

A great listen during a commute. Chris narrates “Side Hustle School” so it’s succinct and gives the listener insights and hurdles the person overcame. These last about 10 minutes long so they aren’t a huge time commitment. These short stories are great motivators and offer encouragement. He looks behind the curtain and provides so much value in how to begin. Plus, he’s from Portland and has an interesting story about how he got to where he is now.

https://sidehustleschool.com/podcasts/

Pandemic-Proof Positions and Certifications

Pandemic-Proof Positions and Certifications

Reinvention, resilience, and being prepared for anything are a few things that might be on people’s minds. Another might be what exactly to prepare for in the “future of work”, post-pandemic workforce.  

Impact of Automation & AI

Staying curious about the future of work is a good idea because according to Forrester Future of Work Research, by 2030, 29% of jobs will be gone and there will be only 13% growth in job creation as a result of continued automation. So how can mid-career professionals remain relevant in a post-coronavirus reality?  The answer is to commit to a lifetime of learning. When faced with a tight job market, professionals with advanced job skills will be in higher demand.

Automation generated by artificial intelligence technology is accelerating faster and will significantly reduce the number of mundane tasks and jobs available.  While this will allow people to spend more time on complex problems and more engaging work, those mundane jobs will go away forever. Technology skills will continue to be popular for employers but not all tech skills are created equal. For example, Forrester also predicts coding skills will be replicated through automation. Technology areas that will be in demand are in artificial intelligence and data science. Forbes talks more in-depth about the impact of AI here: AI Will Obliterate These Jobs by 2030, Forbes

The Non-Techie

Not all companies are looking for someone with an artificial intelligence or data science background, however.  In fact, the more “human” the position, the more likely it will be in high demand. Companies are realizing the importance of an employee’s potential and assessing soft skills that are less likely to be automated such as leadership skills, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills.

McKinsey & Co has identified several trends and careers that will be in demand in the coming years as a result of accelerated technology and automation. Here are some of the non-tech careers and industries that have been listed:

  • Writer/Content Strategy
  • Human Resources/Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

We found some incredible free resources that are aligned with these three industries and wanted to share them so if you’re interested and want to learn as much as possible about these areas during this crazy time, we hope it’s helpful.

Writer/Content Strategy
  • In this course, Shani Raja, a former Wall Street Journal editor, will teach you the four ingredients of good writing: simplicity, clarity, elegance and evocativeness. It’s on Udemy, it’s free and it’s an hour long.  To get it, you’ll need to give them your email address. Well worth it: Secret Sauce of Great Writing by an ex WSJ Journalist

Human Resources & Diversity Equity & Inclusion

Demand for human resources professionals is higher than the national job growth average for all other professions. Take a look at the job growth projections predicted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics over the next decade:

  • Human Resources Managers — 7%, a little faster than average
  • Human Resources Specialists — 5%, as fast as average
  • Training and Development Managers — 8%, faster than average
  • This course is a good primer to find out if you want to move forward and get certified by the Society of Human Resources: Recruiting, Hiring, Onboarding Employees, Coursera
  • SHRM is the gold standard for the HR industry and although they do not allow a newbie to take their certification courses, there are other specialized courses that can be taken for a fee (and yes, they can get expensive).  Here is that link:  SHRM Inclusive Workplace Culture Specialty Credential

Diversity Equity & Inclusion 

As a result of Black Lives Matter, it’s shined a light on many inequities in the workplace, including age bias at the hiring level.  Now more than ever, companies are being more forthright about their DE&I initiatives and holding themselves accountable. Measuring it and making a commitment to change helps to attain talented job candidates and can increase the morale of one’s organization.

  • Once we’re all aware of our own bias, there are ways to manage it so that we can better channel the diversity potential in the workplace for greater performance and innovation. This course is by ESSEC Business School and it’s free: Diversity and inclusion in the workplace
  • Microsoft teaches a free course on bias. While it’s not exactly DE&I, it’s related and helpful in conversations about this important topic and how technology created by a certain demographic is inherently biased:  eLesson: Unconscious Bias

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Resources

We’re located in Portland and the forest fires have been a sober reminder that climate change is advancing and we need to make urgent changes.  Whenever there is a need for policy change, it’s ideal to be at the forefront of the problem and dig into the areas where certain skills could be needed.  This course is by SDG Academy and it’s free of charge (takes 1 week to complete).  The goals include a set of key areas of focus, as well as detailed targets to put our planet on track.

What you’ll learn:

  • What are the Sustainable Development Goals?
  • How modern advancements and connectivity can help us achieve the goals
  • The importance of sustainable development
  • Why you should care about the Sustainable Development Goals – as a corporation, as a university, as an individual
  • The  SDG course is here and it’s free: What Will It Take to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 

To pique your overall curiosity, Oxford University offers free lectures and courses called “Curious MindsOxford University Curious Minds.  If you type “free certifications” into their search engine, loads of amazing free lectures and content appears. 

For those who are pressed for time but still want to learn something new every day, check out the videos on TED-Ed of the infamous TED talks. There are also mini-courses on technology that can be emailed to you created by Google, such as free, 5-minute lessons for finding jobs and advancing your career.  And last but not least, there is a site that focuses only on free courses (many created by universities), doing the heavy lifting for you.

Midlife and Mindful

Midlife and Mindful

As we get older and face uncertainty, we are able to gain more clarity about what really matters. For many of us, focusing on what matters also has the ability to lower stress.  With so much going on right now, it’s important to take care of ourselves.  How do we lower our anxiety in order to increase feelings of well-being? 

There are many amazing podcasts available and these are some of our favorites to help you decompress. Here’s a few DIY mindfulness ideas during the pandemic. 

Reviewed & Recommended:

Tara Brach podcast:  Listen to June 12th episode “Anger & Transformation

Tara is a psychologist, author, and proponent of Buddhist meditation.  She has the softest voice, and it makes me wonder if she’s ever been angry in her life. She says that when we get hijacked by anger, it makes us small.  This increases our suffering. However, we can awaken the awareness of anger towards transformation. She also has guided meditations. Definitely more on the woo woo side but she has great advice and is so calming. 

Model Health Show podcast: Listen to episode #417 “8 Ways to Manage Stress During Complicated Times  

Shawn Stevenson’s podcast is entertaining and educational.  In this episode, he has experts talk about different aspects of stress and the best ways to calm our system down. The first expert talks about how everyone has a stress threshold and that having the right mindset is key. He pointed out we have macro stressors (bereavement, a break-up, losing a job) and micro stressors which are a lower grade type of stress like a deadline or dealing with someone’s irritating personality.  He noted that when so many micro stressors are piled on, it can easily reach our threshold (hello, pandemic).  Shawn goes into detail about the science behind the health and how our body responds so you’re always learning something new.

Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish: Listen to episode #84 Jennifer Garvey Berger: "Creating Routine in Chaos"

The Knowledge Project is my favorite self improvement podcast.  His background is in cybersecurity from a top Canadian intelligence agency which may sound odd but trust me, he’s wicked smart and there’s a wide variety of topics. In a New York Times interview he said, “We are trying to get people to ask themselves better questions and reflect. If you can do that, you will be better able to handle the speed and variety of changing environments.” If you are a curious person, it’s a great way to nerd out and learn something new.  In this episode, he interviews Jennifer Garvey Gerger who is an author and works with leaders all over the world.  She writes about leadership and said that leaders need to lose their control over others during this time.  Leaders need to be able sit with someone who is scared or grieving without trying to fix or solve the situation. She goes on to talk about how to become a better listener.  She recommends getting curious about the other person and asking more questions.  She believes there will be a fundamental change in how we feel, how we consume and that we will be more interconnected as a result of the pandemic.  “We don’t want a new car.  We want to be loved and respected and the car just represents those feelings”.  My favorite line was this, “Answers are not available for the future. So what can I do today, tomorrow and next week to plant some of the seeds for a better future in some way?” I could listen to Shawn Parrish all day long.

5 Take-Aways to reduce stress:

Music: Music causes a biological response that can be calming so listen to your favorite mellow music.

Focus on helping others:  If you’re in a position to help someone, do it. It’s one way to feel better about your own situation.

A Ritual or Routine:  Set aside your own time and concentrate on three things; what to let go of, what to focus on, and being grateful.

Recovery: Make time to space out and have downtime.   You’ll be more creative and productive as a result.  Put away all technology devices for an hour and watch your life change. There’s science behind how this will help your productivity and creativity soar.  

Stay connected:  We’re all missing out on being social right now.  Skip the Zoom fatigue and have a regular phone call.  Better yet, take a social distance walk.

If you have other mindful and wellness tips and podcasts you want to share with us, let us know at hello@illumehire.com. Take care of yourself.