1. Start Now
Are you still stuck at home, or maybe still on lockdown or stay-at-home orders? Well, there is no better time to start thinking of how you want to develop yourself with your career. You have plenty of time where the social gatherings will still be relatively restricted. So you can use some of that to position yourself to potentially jump at an opportunity and reinvent your career.
So, knock the dust off your resume, and make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date (when have you logged into that thing yet this year?). Add any new job details, purge any old info, and be sure to update your accomplishments. Remember to keep it to about a single sheet for maximum effectiveness.
2. Check Out The Job Trends
Take a look at LinkedIn, and find some people doing what you envision yourself doing, and browse their journey. See how they got there from where they started, how did they handle crucial steps. Even if you can’t find examples of those positions, particularly if you’re pivoting to something pandemic-influenced, you can still get value from it.
You’ll get ideas. You’ll see trends of how important, influential, or otherwise successful people describe and market themselves. This can lead to a lot of scrolling. However, if you see someone that is doing exactly what you want to do, don’t be afraid to reach out.
3. Think Outside The Box
Step back and look at your personal, job, and educational experiences. How can those things benefit you in various roles and capacities either within or outside of, your current organization?
Many people don’t take this vital step in figuring out how they can add value. They only take into consideration their immediate day-to-day job. You may be able to find a version of your current job at higher value. For example, getting paid more for doing essentially the same work.
4. Make A Plan For Your Career
Now that you’ve taken a look at people on similar paths, as well as taken an objective look at your own experience, you should try to map out your next steps. With bigger changes, this may be a multi-phase plan, while shifting from one industry to another doing the same work may only need a few steps.
5. Profit From Your Pivot
With the huge shift in business operations from everything that does not require a presence in a “brick and mortar” building, there are a lot of new positions to fill. These are going to be positions that end up being created or staffed for the sole purpose of saving money or refining operations from remote working.
If you have an idea of how something can be done better now that business is largely virtual and remote, now is the time to pitch it! The old systems are out the window with the pandemic, and organizations (read: older generations that can benefit from your tech-savvy skills) are in need of help and ideas everywhere.