Your resiliency has been challenged. You’ve either been laid off, furloughed, or are dealing with the challenges of working from home, leading remote teams, staying engaged, and many other factors. Many sit back, watching to see what will happen and let circumstances determine how they will go forward. Others seize the opportunity to advance their career during a downturn.
Take this time to pause to Rethink & Reinvent
Use this pandemic as an opportunity to rethink the way you do work. Organizations will not survive if they take a ‘wait and see’ attitude, hoping things will go back to normal. Instead, challenge yourself and use this time to get ahead of the curve by reimagining and reinventing how organizations will need to operate in the future.
Progressive organizations will need to be leaner, more agile, and smarter about how they operate. These difficult times challenge everyone to rethink how they do business so they can thrive. CEOs and organizational leaders know they can’t sit back. They must demonstrate they are doing everything they can to improve operations, lower costs, and innovate. But they also are feeling tapped out of new ideas.
This is your golden moment! Whether you are an Executive, Manager, Team Lead, or Industry Professional – employed or between jobs – this is your opportunity to stand out.
‘In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity’ – Albert Einstein
Consider:
- Is there an opportunity within my current company, or in this market, to improve processes, procedures, or systems to increase effectiveness and efficiency?
- What could my organization and others within this sector do differently to achieve better results?
- Looking to the future and our competitors, what could we do more of, or less of, to be more profitable and sustainable?
- What areas for improvement are industry thought leaders suggesting? Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and trade publications are rich with new ideas, case studies, and best practices.
Make your Pitch
‘Don’t wait for the right opportunity; create it’ – George Bernard Shaw
Seize the moment! Innovative ideas that streamline and improve organizations come from all levels of the company. That’s why progressive CEOs have open-door policies, or host town halls and lunch ‘n learn sessions. They want to hear what their people have to say. Enlightened leaders want to know what’s not working, and better yet, they want ideas to improve operations, customer service, and profit.
This is your opportunity to vet a new idea. Email the CEO or head of the division who you think would be most interested in your idea. Express your interest in speaking with them about an opportunity for innovation. Explain how your initiative will positively impact the organization. Support your idea by quantifying the potential results or including best practices or case studies used by competitors and industry experts. Also, include your desire to be included in the rollout or implementation.
If you are unemployed, this an incredible opportunity to pitch your concept and create a 90-day plan to support its implementation. Directly contact hiring managers in organizations where you want to work to pitch your strategy and explain why they should hire you.
Generate more interest in your ideas by posting best practices on your LinkedIn profile. Recruiters are scouring LinkedIn for top talent. Make your LinkedIn profile stand out by posting your ideas, sharing industry case studies, and linking to industry publications. You could also join groups and start a dialogue about innovative projects.
How will you Step Up?
You may have been lying low, looking at how the market will react or bounce back, but now is your opportunity to step up and stand out.
What is one thing you could do today to reimagine & reinvent your career?
Accelerate Your Career & Job Search Success
Our team of Career Coaches are committed and highly skilled in supporting our clients to envision, strategize and accelerate their career and job search success.
We are open for business and are working virtually to meet our clients' needs. If you need job search support, a professional resume, interview practice or strategies to advance your career, contact us today for a complimentary telephone consultation to discuss your needs and how we can help.
Wishing you much career success!
Joanne Loberg
Certified Executive Coach & Internationally Certified Career Management Professional
JL Careers Inc
