How to adapt to uncertain times to find the career you love

We have all been hit by the impact of Coronavirus in many different ways in our careers and jobs, but there is one thing we all have in common - one minute we were going about each working day as normal, and the next minute we were in lockdown. Our new normal officially began on 23rd March 2020 and many of us had to adapt quickly to an unexpected change in our careers and jobs.

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For some people, adapting to this change may have been relatively straightforward. For others, it may be having a significant impact on their current role and negatively affecting their thoughts and feelings about their future career. For many, even before lockdown, they were feeling uncertain, worried, or anxious about their career and wondering what to do.  

How do you progress with your career if you were not happy with your old normal working life and are now having to face a new normal working life?

If you are wondering what you are going to do, I can provide you with some reassurance that you are not alone. For five days at the beginning of lockdown, I gave away my eBook, ‘The Tea Model: Slowing down in a fast-paced world to find the career you love’ for free and had over 700 downloads. This tells me there are many people out there worried and anxious about their careers.

How can you adapt to these uncertain times to find the career you love?

Whether you are struggling to come back from a confidence knock, facing redundancy, considering a career change, actively looking for a new job, considering returning to work after a break or struggling to navigate a new way of working from home, here is some guidance to help you navigate your way through the uncertainty.

Look after yourself and your well-being

First of all, be kind to yourself. Allow yourself time to absorb what is going on around you and within you. Allow yourself time to feel the impact. It is OK to feel uncertain and it is OK to feel worried.

When you are ready, start thinking about the changes you can make to improve your well-being right now. Think about the five areas of well-being (relaxation, contribution, relationships, being active and learning). Perhaps you can concentrate on one area to improve? It could be finding a book to read, learning something new or introducing mindfulness into your life. Do whatever is realistic and manageable for you. Take one step at a time…

…and remember to smile as you take each step! Notice the difference between frowning for 10 seconds and smiling for 10 seconds. Which facial expression made you feel better? Smiling will always help you feel happy and achieve more.

Your career

The next step is to start thinking about your career.

Whether you are wanting to return to work, facing redundancy or looking for a career change, how do you find a job that will give you meaning, a challenge and use your skills? Here are some pointers to help you find a career you love:

1. Believe you can make the changes you want to make in your career. 

Yes, there may be a delay in making these changes as we manoeuvre our way through the current situation. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t believe you can do it and start planning how you are going to make these changes. Believe in yourself and believe you can do it. This will make you feel happier and give you the motivation to achieve.

2. Now think about occasions in your life when you were fully engaged with what you were doing and nothing else mattered.

Think of those exciting moments, the times you felt passionate about what you were doing. Think about what was important to you about these moments and use these memories to help you identify which skills and strengths you enjoy using, what environments you enjoy being in and what motivates you. These are the factors to take forward when working out what job is going to suit you the best. You want to foster your strengths and use your skills.

Your aim is to find a job that will use your enjoyable skills in a field you are really interested in or passionate about. A field that will give you meaning and purpose. It does not have to be saving the world – it’s what purpose and meaning means to you, that is what is important.

Do get in touch for more information and guidance to help you start creating a career vision to enjoy working towards and making positive changes, as we navigate these uncertain times together.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author. All articles published on Life Coach Directory are reviewed by our editorial team.

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Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14
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Written by Tessa Armstrong, Award-Winning Accredited Senior Career Coach & Author
Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14

As an award-winning accredited career coach and author, Tessa specialises in helping individuals achieve the best career for them, covering all aspects of career and career development coaching (including career change, job hunting, returning to work, confidence, performance, corporate, legal sector, redundancy and more.) www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

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