Here's 7 Tips For If COVID Threw Your Career Up In The Air
At long last it’s December and I’m preparing to divorce 2020 stating irreconcilable differences. I’m taking the house, the car, the dog – the lot.
This year, I think we can all agree, was (and remains to be, we’ve got 30 days left yet) a shitshow. From the mental health impacts of isolation, to the general spanner thrown in the works for everyone’s plans for the entry to the Roaring 20s, it’s understandable for us to all be totally done with it. Whilst I could probably write an entire thesis based on the problems that 2020 and The C Word – not that C word, or that C word; the 2020 C Word – has brought, we’re offering a few tips for those of you who have found that the pandemic has thrown your professional life into a bit of a tiz.
Don’t be so hard on yourself.
The most important of all. Whether you’re employed and were made redundant, had hours cut, or furloughed, or you’re self-employed and lost clients and opportunities practically overnight (lol hi 🙋♀️), then it’s guaranteed that you’re going to feel a bit crap. However you find yourself feeling, that’s totally valid, and you’re allowed to feel them, but it’s vital that you don’t turn these tricky circumstances back onto yourself. If you find that you’re second guessing everything from your abilities to whether your boss really even liked you, pack it in. There’s a pandemic to blame, not you.
Quit glorifying being busy.
Losing work entirely or working reduced (or just vastly different) hours will of course have an impact on everything from your morning routine to how you schedule your working day. But just because you’re perhaps spending less time of the day working – or find yourself with no work at all – it doesn’t mean you should desperately try to fill in those gaps by overworking or pressuring yourself to do more (or likewise shaming yourself for not doing enough). In a society that glorifies being busy and praises workaholics, COVID 19 has single-handedly forced a global slow down. It’s important to maintain a work-life balance even when the world feels like theres no such thing.
Ignore Government pressure urging you to retrain in a different sector.
Back in October, Chancellor Rishi Sunak enraged us all by advising those who lost their job as a result of the pandemic (particularly in the creative industries) to retrain in a new sector, directing us towards the National Careers Service’s skill assessment. If you were bored enough as me to work your way through the assessment (I would apparently make a good barrister or football referee), you’ll agree that it was a completely ridiculous use of your time, but it was fun to picture yourself as an astronaut or whatever other hilarious alternative the Government gave you. Don’t feel pressured to explore new avenues for your career – unless of course you want to! In which case, use this time as a sign to plan your career change!
Use the time to expand on your skills.
I didn’t fancy venturing into refereeing, or taking the Bar, so I decided to stick with my current creative position, even though Corona has left me at the moment with little to no opportunities to utilise it. So instead, I’ve used the time to expand my skills, learn completely new software and advance my skills in the software I was already using on a daily basis when work was busier. As we all know, education can be costly, but there are some great free courses online from the likes of Open University and Coursera, as well as discounts available from Black Friday and coming up at Christmas (for example, I enrolled on a design courses that had 75% off its fee at the weekend). So if you’re unsure what to do with yourself but want to keep up when work gets back to normal (ish), now’s a great time to consider this.
Be aware of Government initiatives and see where you may be entitled to help.
The financial implications of a Corona-hit economy has impacted us all in many ways, but having your main source of income take a direct hit is a stress that you just didn’t really need in addition to the previously unprecedented level of anxiety you’re experiencing provoked by a worldwide pandemic. Furlough and other financing schemes have been rolled out since March to help support those affected, so it might be an idea to see if you’re eligible for the likes of Universal Credit or even the Self-Employment Income Scheme grants for business owners.
Take the opportunity to audit your business or re-evaluate your work goals.
Whatever sized lurch you may have been left in professionally, a positive to take from our current situation is that your schedule may have opened itself up for some time for you to take a look at your career or your business and audit it. You might decide to make changes where necessary, or even just think about the goals that you’ve set yourself, whether you’ve reached them, or what steps are required in order to do so. Especially as we approach a new year, you might even find it beneficial – especially if you’re a business owner – to brainstorm and collate your strategy for 2021. If you’re someone who unfortunately found themselves made redundant as a result of the pandemic, you may want to vary this slightly to evaluate your previous job role, and identify what kind of role you’re looking for moving forward.
Stop comparing yourself to others.
That age old saying that comparison is the thief of joy is no different in this instance. We are constantly comparing our bodies, our homes, our lifestyles, our relationships, and our jobs are no different. Even pre-COVID, there was an unfair yet unspoken pressure placed on us to be trailblazing our way through our chosen industries and being a raging success straight out of the gate – heavily pushed by a combination of social expectation and social media. And now, as everyone’s lives are up in the air (and for many of us, our careers), it’s easier now more than ever to get down on yourself, compare your position to others, and punish yourself for not being where you thought you’d be right now. But newsflash: nobody thought they’d be where they are right now… in a global pandemic. Allow yourself to use this time to be extra kind to yourself, and productive rather than destructive wherever you can.
Remember that things will get easier.
This last one speaks for itself, really. Things will get better. For many, they might feel like they can’t get much worse, either. COVID won’t be around forever, the economy will eventually heal, life as we knew it will slowly return, and your career will get back on track. Even if it all does look a little different and things seem impossible right now, and you take nothing else from this article, take the reassurance that it will all get easier with time.
Image credit: Avel Chuklanov
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