How to prep for your post-pandemic career shifts
Are you starting to crawl out of your career or business hibernation from the last year? Personally, I know I've been going through hibernation phases regularly. This hibernation phase typically looks like:
Avoiding long term goals and focusing on the now or day-to-day
Not investing in yourself, your career, or your business
Doing the bare minimum work to just get by
Don't get me wrong, this hibernation phase is well needed. Especially this last year as we dealt with so much trauma.
But now, I keep hearing from people ready to expand again: ready to look at new jobs, ready to put themselves out there again, ready to reinvest in their business.
Before we just jump into all the new things all at once, I'd recommend spending some time to reflect on where you're at and what you need. Here are a few places for millennial employees to start:
Make sure you're really ready
This has been a doozy of a year, do you feel mentally and emotionally ready to take on a change right now?
Action: Reflect on the last year and notice what additional support you will need to make a change - we'll likely need more than we did before the pandemic (consider friends, network, therapist, coach, mentors, etc.)
Give yourself time to decide what's best for you
Don't just take the first opportunity that comes your way hoping the grass will be greener somewhere new
Action: make a list of "must haves," "nice to haves," and "dealbreakers" in your next career shift that you can use as a way to filter out new opportunities
Stay open-minded
Be open to new possibilities that don't look exactly like what you imagined, because something different could end up being even better than you imagined
Action: Imagine 5 different paths you could take next - this will help you not put so much pressure on any one option and force you to consider new ideas you maybe hadn't before
On the other end of the spectrum: as a manager of millennials, be mindful these next few months as we transition to our next phases of work. Some places to look to make that transition smoother for your millennial employees:
Are you having open conversations about their wants and needs?
Create a judgment-free zone for their feedback and hearing about what they've learned over the last year
Action: Schedule a post-pandemic check-in meeting with your employee and ask them what their wants, needs, and expectations are for the next 6 months
Are you investing in your employees?
Do your millennial employees have training resources, development plans, shadowing opportunities?
Action: Get feedback from your employees about what they see missing from a development aspect
Don't take it personally if they want to leave
Millennials are constantly striving for more and willing to take chances on new opportunities - most times it's not personal about their boss
Action: be supportive, celebrate your time together, and send them a recommendation on LinkedIn
If you're looking for additional support while navigating your post-pandemic career shifts - join the Get Unstuck: Post Pandemic Edition challenge in June. The email challenge includes:
Four short training videos
Four reflection worksheets
Private slack group for accountability and ongoing support
One 30-min 1:1 call to discuss your next steps
This will be a supportive community for anyone looking to make a change and who wants some accountability that it will actually happen this time.
Brittany is a life & leadership coach, trainer, and the founder of Hello Velocity where she helps ambitious individuals and corporate teams enhance their performance by working smarter, not harder. When she isn't building her business, you can find her planning her next travel adventure, taking a yoga or kickboxing class, or checking out a local brewery. She was recently acknowledged as one of the top coaches in Charlotte, NC.
