“The future is uncertain but this uncertainty is at the very heart of creativity.”
Russian-born Belgian physical chemist, Ilya Prigogine.
We are all dealing with unprecedented uncertainty. Our well-being, our finances and our futures are on hold.
We know what is happening today but have no idea how long our confinement will last. More importantly, we do not know what will happen when the virus fades and life as we knew it, resumes. There is a feeling that we do not have control over very much. We’ve all been scrambling to make sure that our families are safe, making sure we are using the correct PPE (find out here), it is a lot to contend with.
I disagree. Yes, the impact of Covid-19 over our daily lives is unprecedented. The carnage to our economy is massive. Will the economy rebound quickly or will it be like the Great Recessions where the recovery took almost 10 years and destroyed retirement plans and depleted savings? Scary possibilities.
Feeling uncertain should not morph into a feeling that you have no power or control. In fact, I argue that we have more control over our futures than we imagine. I believe this massive disruption can be seen as an opportunity.
Feeling uncertain should not morph into a feeling that you have no power or control. In fact, I argue that we have more control over our futures than we imagine.
“The future is uncertain but this uncertainty is at the very heart of creativity,” said Russian-born Belgian physical chemist, Ilya Prigogine. We can wring our hands and wait and see, or we can get busy and do what my grandmother Jackson often said, “You have lemons. OK, be thankful. Get busy. Make some lemonade.”
At the heart of all of this is the concept that you are the CEO of You, of your life, of your career. There will be times when you feel like you have been overloaded with lemons. As the CEO of You, you can take control and make that lemonade.
Right now, as you work from home or await to be recalled to work, take time between telephone calls and videoconference meetings and think about you and your future.
Here are seven things we recommend you think about and do:
- Take a professional inventory of your skills and strengths
- Trash your out of date elevator speech and develop your Value Brand Statement so when asked, you can communicate your value in a focused, memorable way
- Update your resume
- Revise your career plan
- Strengthen your professional network
- Enhance your interviewing skills
- Enhance your professional brand – write several mini-case studies about your successes, post them on LinkedIn as well as LinkedIn profile page.
We Are Here to Help
If you have been laid off and would like to discuss your future, we will schedule a confidential no-obligation career management call. Email John Self: John@JohnGSelf.Com.