Has your career sprung a leak? Given the turmoil you may be experiencing during this major world crisis, you must garner the strength to check your career for leaks. Even as you are personally adjusting to new work realities, your fruitful career is adjusting and new places will come forth that will give you greater career success. But first you must use this time to find any areas that will prevent you from moving into the next best career environment where you can grow bigger + better. This is a difficult CTA in the midst of present uncertainties but if you remain focused, single-minded + use these 3 career strategies, you will have what you need to create a winning checklist to plan for the next 3 years.

Start by asking yourself the uncomfortable questions. Do you think assessing your career growth right now is the wisest thing to do? It absolutely is!  Questions to ask: “What areas are leaking in my career? How bad is my leak? How long have I had the leak since this global disruption began? How much time will it take to reskill, upskill, rebuild or even start fresh to stop my career from leaking? “

Those are great starter questions. Let’s go even deeper. How much will it cost you financially, personally, professionally (even spiritually) if you don’t fix your career leak? Can you afford to fix it? Can you afford not to?

Whether it’s a trickle or a deluge – You want career growth; not career decline. You want to give any career deterioration immediate attention + repair or eliminate what you can for life-long career success.

3 Strategies to Fix What’s Leaking in Your Career:

1.  Assess Any Present Career Growth Leaks

Don’t sit in limbo if your present career is on hold or diminishing. Even if you feel hemmed in + are literally in a hard place, it’s more critical than ever to find sage learning tools + opportunities to help you overcome the career midpoint you’re presently in. It’s even more vital to act by taking an objective, hard look at your industry to determine if this sector is still your career passion for the next 3-10 years. If it is, prevent your career from fading away by learning what’s new about it. Discern how you can reposition yourself for prospects that align with your career. Take action now while the world is slowly moving out the present crisis toward recovery. It might not be easy to presently forecast your industry for the next 10 years but you can look at your career purpose + adjust according to your career expectations.  A recent Deloitte 2020 article concerning Workforce strategies for post COVID-19 recovery attempts to help us revision our new career + life patterns.

Prioritize your areas of uncertainty to measure its directional risk for the next 3 years. You must face uncertainty head on to make know which quality stepping stone is uniquely for you. What are some examples of areas of uncertainty with the most risk you may be experiencing? Your approach to stopping a leak depends on the type of leak it is.  A yard hose leak is vastly different from a roof leak. Use the examples I provide at the end of this article to guide your search.

Learn how to deal with the new place you’re at. Most of us are in the grey area. Even those not affected financially, are moving forward recognizing they are moving forward with incomplete information. Demanding certainty at this time will slow your progress for career growth. It will also stifle your mental growth. I belief my only certainty lies in my spiritual faith. My faith goes everywhere I grow my career. I am a blend.

2.   Mitigate Creatively to Prevent Future Career Leaks

Prevent future leaks by starting to imagine your 3-year plan now. This is where those top soft skills for 2020 come in. Creativity ranks at the top for #1 most in-demand soft skill according to a 2020 LinkedIn report. Cultivating this skill will help you imagine a successful long-term plan. Think of a new way to achieve an immediate goal. For example, look at the skills you presently have + imagine using them in an innovative way. Strengthen your creative skills to help you envision your 3-yr career plan. A broad plan is the most feasible career plan to introduce during this disruptive social, economic + political time. Simple techniques will jumpstart your creativity.  Start practicing unstructured habits like walking, meditation, solving riddles, or yes, even adult coloring. You’ve got to go ahead + color outside the box. 

Look at the niches that exist in your industry + consider a career discovery pivot. Research + discover if any long-tail effects are being produced in the industry you’re planted in. Let’s say you worked as a salesperson in a furniture store + recently lost your job or you see a looming layoff approaching. What type of discovery pivot can you make in preparation for the next 3 years? Look at your skills and analyze whether you can start a lifestyle + decor blog generating affiliate income. Reach out + connect with interior design companies to work on the sales team. You can help secure great deals on furniture + luxury furnishings with your knowledge of manufacturers + customer purchasing trends. You can help the company deliver extraordinary furnishings to their clients with unbeatable deals at competitive prices. It’s time for you to learn about industry niches + find your place.

Your social media presence should remain consistently career-worthy. Keep your social media posts professional if you want to grow your career and prevent career growth leaks. Don’t sink the social ship by ranting or posting inappropriate words, videos or images on your social media platforms. This difficult career time will pass + you’re going to want to have the reputation that will grow, build your career – not damage it. During this time, more people are looking at social media platforms more than ever before. Keep in mind, so are the HR teams. A global report published in Jan 2020 by DataReportal in partnership with We Are Social + Hootsuite statistically shows how social media has become a mainstream way of life. Stay relevant + professional on the virtual air. Use it to create your next career stepping stone. What will I learn as a Human Resource strategist that will help build your career when scrolling through your feed?

3.  Major Leaks to Fix Now for Life-Long Success

Before I help you identify possible major leaks + begin the task of eliminating them, you have to do something right away that may be really hard. You have to forgive yourself for not addressing some of the leaks you’ve already sprung in your career. It’s true when leaks are not tended to in a timely manner, your life plan can swell negatively and complicate the destiny intended for you.

However, staying regretful will keep you looking back at past mistakes + experiences; have you dwelling in anxious emotions. This ultimately prevents you from achieving the career success you aspire. Not believing in your resilience to turn this sharp career corner will only make the tasks harder to complete. So take this moment to forgive yourself for not making some of your goals + preventative tasks a priority. It’s a great time to recover + look forward.

Identify Key Areas to Weigh Up so you can create a winning 3-year plan. Fix what’s corroded and stop the career leaks.

Here are a few examples of career leaks:

A Financial Leak can upend your career if you can’t be without work for at least six months – optimally a year or two. You may not be able to take a career-attractive but low-paying job or, worse, you may be forced to take a job that is unrelated to your career (a career setback). If you don’t have a financial plan, prioritize + create one. If you have one, this is the time to re-evaluate it so you are on top of your finances at all times. 

A Job Skills Leak can keep you from being promoted or transitioning to another area within your industry. Fix the leak by reskilling your digital tech skills, writing skills, video skills, meeting + interpersonal skills. There are skills specific to your industry that you need to develop plug any skill gaps creating a career leak. Use this disruptive time to get quiet + learn, study, practice + prepare.

A Credit Reporting Leak can damage career opportunities. Stay on top of your credit. It can become a reference to your character, displaying how trustworthy you are. A solid credit report can also reveal your management skills. Outstanding credit judgements can, in fact, hinder good job or contract prospects. A good credit record can demonstrate your good organizational skills.

A Personal Stress + Emotional Health Leak may present itself during challenging times such as these times. Uncertainty can affect your morale. If the emotional downturn isn’t addressed, those feelings create a “the glass half empty” perspective. It’s critical you keep a support circle that encourages you and listens. Healthy communication can change your outlook and help you see options within your career landscape.

A “Partners + Teams” Leak occurs when you don’t continue to check-in + network with important clients, colleagues. This is the time to bond and strengthen one another. This may seem small but it’s not good to connect only when you need something. You should be encouraging one another regularly, especially if you have similar career growth goals.

Use Big-Picture Thinking Skills to identify your career growth leaks. This is the time for broad thinking. Pinpoint each area + look at the leaks in terms of probabilities, not either good or bad.

Use the following statement + question to help broaden your perspective while analyzing each area:

“As I look forward to the next 3 years of my career, here are the broad guidelines for my finances/ family/ health/ spirituality/ emotional health, etc. Today, the area I am experiencing the most risk is ___________.”

What’s A Career-Builder to Do Next?

Go on + Grow on. Today, it’s time for you to look forward + create a leak-proof plan for the next 3 years. This doesn’t mean you won’t have to continue to read daily + stay current on your industry as it recovers to move forward. Periodically check for leaks by establishing a personal appointment with yourself to check-in and perform a career leak assessment. Call in a professional when the leak seems larger + you need expert guidance. Avoid having an exposure that can harm your career growth. Sometimes you can fix a leak by changing your mindset and deciding to use a more modern + less complicated technique or tool. I can’t tell you it won’t take hard, creative work, but the effort will guarantee you’ve done all you possibly can during this arduous chapter to prepare for the next career challenge.

What area do you want to prioritize now + deal with for the next 30 days? Tackling one major area will help you take the time needed to end up with a SMART goal. A goal using this acronym will prevent further career growth leaking.

It’s time to get creative. Make a list of creative ideas to illuminate possible answers that will stop any career seepage. Focus your intellect, passion + spirituality on the tools you have or need. Last, decide on a realistic time frame to fix this area so you can increase your opportunity to achieve a winning plan.

Here’s the thing. Today you acknowledged the leak.  Don’t stop believing in yourself + your ability to build a successful career. Remember all the wisdom you gained from previous dilemmas + trust you’ll overcome this one. Don’t try to control the ending. Ambiguity is a condition that will continue to exist as you work to grow your career. Arise + transform your mind.  Seek wisdom + discernment to know what is + isn’t good for you + your career. This is the time to order your days + tackle your career growth leaks.

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