I'm feeling both fortunate and frustrated after the last seven months: fortunate that my family and I have remained healthy, and frustrated that the plans I had for growing my business have been put on indefinite hold while the world struggles to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
I know there are many others who feel the same way, especially those who had plans to start their careers or transition into an exciting new career.
When it comes to advice on improving your employability during a challenging time, I could offer advice about how to modify your resume or cover letter or which skills to emphasize. But I want to talk about the attitude you adopt, because your attitude will impact everything else you do during your job search.
Consider the question: "What do I do when I experience a major setback?" The COVID-19 crisis has given me many opportunities to consider how I deal with setbacks, and I've realized that the first thing I do is get angry. When the pandemic hit in early March, I'd just checked into an Airbnb in Berlin and was looking forward to giving a two-month string of career workshops and conference lectures. Suddenly, it was all canceled and I had to return home. And I was not happy.
During the next two weeks, as I sat in my home office fuming about the lost revenue and business growth opportunities, I started to think about how long this crisis might last. I realized I would not be traveling in May, and probably not in July or August either. And that made me angry again.
But then I realized that being upset wouldn't help me recover what I had lost, and I needed to replan. I thought about what I will do when the crisis is finally over, and asked myself: What story do I want to tell about how I managed? Do I want to say "It was terrible for me and my business! I'm just glad it's over!" or do I want to tell a story that positions me as a problem solver? It would certainly make a better impression to tell a story that sounds something like this: "At first I was really unhappy about the impact on my business. But then I decided to embrace this problem and turn it into an opportunity. I knew if I was creative enough, I could probably leverage my experience into something new that I would not have otherwise considered."
After all, I had successfully used this approach in the past, but it required the right attitude. Back in 2009, the company I was working for closed our site and moved everything to California. I had the option to relocate and keep my job, but I really didn't want to move. We were more than a year into a global recession, so it would be hard to find a new job. I was not happy. I'd only been at that job for a year and a half. How would that look to my next employer? How would I explain the employment gap I was anticipating?
As I struggled to figure out how I was going to recover from this situation, I ran across the following advice in one of the many books and podcasts I consumed during that time:
When things go very wrong, there are three ways to deal with it:
OPTIONS
1. Let it crush you.
2. Find a way to surivive it and get on with your life.
3. Fully embrace it and make it a defining point that launches you into something new.
Options 1 and 2 were not for me—the third was what I wanted. The only question was how to achieve it.
I started by turning my employment gap into a plan with specific actions. That gave me an awesome story to tell the people I met, especially potential employers. Rather than saying "I'm unemployed," I could say "Here's what I'm working on."
My plan outlined four specific things to work on, two of which also apply to job seekers during a crisis. The first was to grow my network, because networking is the best way to get a good job, in any situation. I suggest using this time of isolation and quarantine to network. Many other people are sitting home and longing for more human contact. Fortunately, the tools for online networking are well developed. Use them!
Another of the four actions was to research a topic of my own interest. The topic I chose was "How do scientists transition effectively from academia into the private sector?" This project turned into a book that paved the way for the career I have now: traveling the world and teaching scientists to build private sector careers. It was a great conversation piece for a job interview!
To leverage my downtime during COVID, I've started writing another book. This might not work for all current job seekers, but I suggest you do something that positions you as a person with the initiative to create your own value, while looking for the right opportunity to create value with a company.
Whatever you decide to do, make a conscious decision to embrace this time and all of the frustrating challenges it presents. Decide to build the story you want to tell when this is over, and then start doing it. This attitude will come across clearly in an interview, put you well above the competition, and show the company that you are the person they want on their team.
David Giltner is a speaker, career coach, and founder of TurningScience, a company designed to teach scientists and engineers how to design rewarding careers in industry. Watch "How to deal with an employment gap" on his YouTube channel: youtu.be/jfXaKR410g4
