How to Stay Focused on Your Career Goals In the Middle of a Recession
Baby Mandi was unemployed and cool as a cucumber.
2009 Mandi has one question for y’all right now:
Are y’all really gonna give up that easy?
Layoffs. A stock market downturn. Recession. Hiring freezes.
These symptoms of wider economic and political events feel big and scary but trust me – they have little to do with the arc of your unique career journey.
More than that, they happen! Then they resolve themselves and then they happen again.
This is the great economic rollercoaster we all signed up to ride when we launched careers in this beautiful hot mess of a country.
You’ve got a choice right now to either listen to statistics and advice from what (I’m sure) are very well-meaning friends and colleagues, or you can decide right now to keep the faith in your journey.
Please, I’m begging you. Choose door number 2.
When I graduated with a degree in print (!) journalism in 2009, the unemployment rate was a staggering 9.5%. Despite the dumpster fire that was our economy, I took a shot and moved to New York City anyway.
Sure, it felt like a risky move. All you had to do was read the news or talk to a disgruntled former print journalist cashing unemployment checks to see how dire things were.
It was hella expensive to live in NYC just like it still is today. So I got roommates and lived in Queens rather than the Upper East Side. I bought a cheap bike and walked to save on subway fare.
And most importantly of all: I made a decision then not to let other people’s negative experiences influence my career choices. No one else’s story had to become my own.
When I got laid three months after joining a magazine in 2010, guess what – I struggled to find a new job for a few months.
But I kept on following my own particular path, stayed positive and fought fear with facts:
The headlines and just about everyone I went to college with told me journalism was dying but the job boards I prowled into the wee hours of the morning still had openings for media jobs.
My writing and editing skills were still strong.
I had solid references from my former colleagues despite my all-too-brief tenure at the magazine.
I scored an interview at a digital-only publication and nailed the writing test. It wasn’t the traditional print job I’d prepared for all through college, but I recognized the moment called for me to pivot and so I pivoted.
I can’t bear to see once-ambitious, talented workers let a challenging time in our economy derail their plans for the future.
If you’re out there with a solid work ethic, skills employers will need now and in the future, a solid professional brand, and the mental fortitude to keep going anyway, trust me on this: you’re gonna be OK, boo!
Maybe you don’t feel as well prepared for this challenging cycle as you wish you were. Do better next time! I promise you there will be a next time. Here are a few best practices to keep in mid:
Keep your professional brand strong.
Stay in touch with your peers and larger network.
Invest in new skills relevant to your industry to stand out among the competition.
Keep investing and saving now to build a stronger financial cushion.
Seek out positive stories of people finding new opportunities to balance the scary headlines. I hope to be a source of those! I’m the luckiest person in the world to get to talk to women every day who are making exciting new career moves in spite of external challenges.
Keep the faith.
-M