The great resignation and what to do next
A wave of people leaving their jobs – a/k/a the “great resignation” – is upon us. The pandemic has pressed the reset button for many. Whether it’s “rage quitting,” a more simple reassessment or starting something completely, be sure to make the most of your next move as you head into this new phase in your life.
It is no secret that Americans are currently quitting their jobs en masse. And where some are simply taking time off, others are leaving their day-to-day endeavors to pursue riskier or less traditional career passions -- or even simply take a break. After more than a year in quarantine, the workforce has had plenty of time to assess their current work situations. Where many are just looking to put the past behind them, now is the time to instead focus on looking ahead exploring the unkown.
Though taking the leap and starting something new might not be the most ‘practical’ move in the moment, for many the long-term benefits will outweigh any immediate side effects. Leaving your current position is often the easy part. And the decision to quit is easier if you have a plan in mind. But if not, deciding what’s next can prove to be the true challenge and an incredible opportunity to start fresh. With that in mind, as we enter a new stage in this peri- and post-pandemic world, it’s time to get excited about revitalizing your career, turning over a new leaf and taking the plunge to start something new.
What’s Next
You’ve already taken the plunge and left your steady, lucrative position behind. Congratulations, the world is your oyster! And you can finally start on the journey you’ve been dreaming of. You may feel some regrets as you move forward. That’s normal. It’s imperative that you stay focused on what caused you to make this decision in the first place, and then put yourself and needs first in your future decisions going forward. The last thing you need is to end up in another career you don’t enjoy, or perhaps even worse, back in the same one you left in the first place. Trust your gut about what makes you happy, because now is the perfect opportunity to start something new and perhaps even enter a new phase in your life.
When it comes to your next move, the smartest decision might not be the safest. But if the past year has taught us anything, it’s to make the most of our lives. And for you, that next move might be starting something completely new. Now is the time to look for career paths with staying power. And not ‘staying power’ in terms of jobs that will be around for the next decade, I’m referring to jobs that you will still want to be doing a year from now. Step back and consider what you have enjoyed doing during the pandemic. Was it spending more time with your family? The simple luxury of working from home? Did you revisit a long-lost hobby that encouraged you to use your mind in different ways? Did you miss social interaction to the point where you can’t imagine working in your home office for another moment? These are all important questions to ask yourself when considering what’s next. Make sure to prioritize career moves that prioritize your needs.
Entering a New Field
So you’ve created a mental checklist of all your needs for your career and lifestyle going forward, and even identified the perfect career path. Now all you need to do is figure out how to seamlessly transition into the new field of your choosing or create an entirely new path of your own. It’s times like these when you need to leverage your existing connections to cultivate a network of support and even help you evaluate what’s most important to you as you head in a new direction.
Friends, family, former coworkers, and estranged LinkedIn connections are all fair game when evaluating new opportunities; after all this is a new phase in your life and a new you -- rely on the people who know you best to support your journey. Perhaps you’re unsure if a new job is right for you, it certainly can’t hurt to reach out to an old friend in the field. Think your current skill set isn’t reading on your resume when it comes to applying it to a new career? Grab a coffee with your cousin-in-law who knows. These conversations can prove crucial, and if you are still in the exploratory phase make sure to ask your connection to introduce you to two new people after your initial meeting. That way, your network can keep growing as you get exposure to new opportunities and ways of thinking.
Though it may feel like you’re starting over, it’s important not to sell your existing skills and accomplishments short when potential career entry points. Whether you have experience in the corporate world, customer service, coding or creative pursuits, you’ve spent time developing a rolodex of significant skills, many of which can even give you an edge over competition.
Now is the time to rely on the network you’ve cultivated to identify which of these skills will definitively translate and which skills you may need to learn. The most important thing is remembering that you are not starting from scratch and that you already have a lot to offer potential employers.
