My Professional Advice On How To Adapt During This “New Normal”

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Career trajectories can transform overnight and are often altered due to external forces that are out of our control. These forces can arrive in the form of new technologies or disruptive approaches to business operations. This year is a bit different. 2020 will likely be remembered as one of the most significant cultural shifts in modern history, as the COVID-19 pandemic will completely alter how businesses operate and how professionals earn a living. Ambitious professionals should be thinking ahead and developing a plan to reinvent themselves during this new normal.

Over the next six months, we will witness a collapse of the global employment market. As we are now on furlough, the repercussions have been delayed, and governments are directly funding citizens. When this scheme comes to an end, and costs can’t be justified, demand will disintegrate, and millions will lose their jobs. Thus, skilled professionals must take a preemptive approach and broaden their understanding of how to maneuver during these strange times.

A Pivot Towards Independent Consultancy

As a serial entrepreneur, I’m always looking ten steps ahead – it’s a necessity. What I can see on the horizon is a lane opening-up for independent consultants. Traditionally, many of the world’s most talented professionals would seek full-time employment. These full-time roles are highly coveted because of the job security that they represent. Nobody wants to deal with the panic and pressures associated with irregular work. However, we are in the midst of an increasingly volatile job market, and once secure positions will no longer be immune to risk.

If we view organizations as modular systems, every employee exists as a critical component and contributes to the total system’s functionality. Each individual brings their unique skill set to the table, and this skill set maintains its value outside of the organization. These sought after skills remain relevant, despite the incoming economic changes.

As an example, let’s take a content marketing professional. Through dedication and adaptability, an experienced individual can use their unique skills and experience to help a diverse range of clients succeed in their approach to content marketing. While this content marketer may have had a lot of success in a full-time role at any number of companies, they should now be looking for 5-10 organizations to take on as clients.

While the prospect of transitioning to an independent consultant’s role might be daunting, it is quickly becoming a critical next step in the careers of professionals across all industries and skillsets. What is truly exciting about this approach is that it can secure income in the unstable years ahead, and potentially result in more money earned than in a traditional full-time position.

The Importance of Mentorship When Making Career Decisions

Working for yourself is incredibly empowering, and is more straightforward than it sounds. When professionals equip themselves with the right knowledge and seek guidance from mentors or coaches, they can improve their odds of success by learning through the successes and failures of others. Even when facing this new normal, and a seemingly complex path forward, advice from an experienced professional will illuminate the answers to questions that would otherwise take years to unlock.

Clearly, this pandemic will result in lost jobs and a lack of resources to maintain full-time employees in certain positions. That is why I recommend an independent consultant’s path to most of my mentees and the professionals who seek my guidance.

In this spirit, I’m delighted to offer a free download of my book, “Start Your Business in Seven Days“. If you head over to my Linkedin profile and follow me, I will send you a free download of this book, to help you reinvent your professional self, and kickstart your journey as an independent consultant.

Access Years of Entrepreneurial Experience

Connect with James