Volcanic eruptions are not everyday career bumps. Would you be ready if you woke up one day to learn that a long dormant volcano in Iceland has erupted and you job was gone? Would it feel like the end of the world? There was a time in my life and career, that I thought so. Today, I know better.
An unexpected career bump can cause as much of an economic crisis to you, your family, your plans, goals, and retirement, as the grounding of flights has to the British and European economy. The experts estimated the grounding of flights would be £520 million ($800 million) impact to the airline industry alone by April 18. In our global economy, this event has impacted air travel, the Boston Marathon, the price of flowers and vegetables and much more. Was this a totally unexpected event?
It is my view the signs were there that something was up with the volcano. Day to day most of the world does not have what is up with a volcano in Iceland on the radar screen. However, both recent events and the fact that Iceland is known for its glaciers and volcanic landscape provide information that this was not a totally unexpected event.
Could this volcano continue sending ash into the air for 14 or more months or longer? It happened before. Like geophysicists who monitor what’s up with the Earth; top talent monitors what’s up in their business, operation and career, and they understand what the impact could be if an event caused a 14-month change to their revenue stream, aka their paycheck.
Knowing what is going on, requires an awareness and willingness to see the signs that tell you things are up in business that can impact you and your job. For most, focus on career comes after all the other stuff is done. What would happen to your career if it was derailed for 14 months?
As with the volcano eruption, if you ignore or unaware of the signs around you; you get surprised! Being aware and having a plan can help you avoid or lessen the impact of a sudden event that could derail or destroy your career.
You can leverage your talent and be ready. What if you walk in one day and receive a pink slip due to a 5% reduction of the workforce? What if your job is changed to a new title or function that required you to do something that you don’t want to do for the next five, or more years even for the same money and the same earnings potential you have now?
Your career need not die, or change in a direction you will be unhappy with. Nor should your bank account be destroyed by a business change, new boss, or some other event on the scale of volcanic eruption.
Nature and business can be unpredictable. Predicting volcanic eruption is not my area of expertise, career management is, and working with top talent to manage the career they want is not hard. The tools are not complex nor are you dealing with factors as unpredictable as figuring out if a volcano will ground planes and changes lives forever.
Top talent does not overlook, fail to monitor and study trends, or “see” what changes are in the environment. Top talent does possible scenario planning.
Scientists strive to understand what does and could happen when the Earth’s plates move. Do you do this for your career?
For so many people, what’s up in the business, industry and the impact on their job is out of sight and out of mind. They are clueless as to the signs of what is going on around them. Even for top talent, it is easy to put your head down, go to work, focus on the day to day operation and never look up.
The impact of “head down, tail up” working and never looking at the “radar screen” all too often results in being surprised by an unexpected event. It also results in the misdirected view that your career path and your earnings are unpredictable and out of your ability to influence.
What can you do to avoid this? Understand your business, industry, and your job. Have an ongoing plan to accelerate your career and continually move it forward.
Do these five basics 1) stay aware of changing trends, 2) maintain contact with your network, 3) make your goals known, 4) have a plan to achieve your goals, and 5) update your résumé every 90 days.
Simply executing on these basics will blunt the impact of an unseen or unpredictable event that might happen. Top talent does not get caught “flat footed” time and time again.
What’s going on around you? Have you allowed your busy life to take the place of staying focused on your career goals?
Top talent does not stay on top by becoming overly focused on the day to day operations, and short term goals at the expense of long term goals, and the bigger view. You know it is easy to waste time on meaningless stuff and stop doing the basics.
Fix it now, before the eruption. Have a plan, execution the basics of the plan, review your progress, and as needed update to the plan.
What are you doing to accelerate your search or your career? What will you do this week to lessen the impact to your career when a volcano does erupt?
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