"Hope" and Your Career Beyond COVID19

 

"Hope" is easy to lose in these times. The pandemic is taking more and more of a toll on us all. Even with release of vaccines, relief will still be slow.  And turbulent politics creates more uncertainty and disarray.

You may be unemployed or laid off, have responsibility for a household and school age children, or be lonely,  and sad, or depressed. You may have very little or no income. If you're in a high risk group you may be afraid to travel or even celebrate holidays with small groups of people. Or you may have a job that's shaky or something you have no interest in doing long term.

When things are bad, it's hard to hold onto hope for the future. But fortunately, there is HOPE. In September I gave a webinar about how you can find work passion and meaning for the rest of your career, pandemic and all. You can view it at  https://vimeo.com/461123030. The webinar, entitled "Relaunch! A New Perspective on Finding Meaningful Work in Challenging Times." was presented by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. It was mainly for long term unemployed New Jersey residents trying to return to the job market, but it applies to all those feeling that aspirations for a meaningful remaining career can never be reached. Many participants later expressed how helpful the content was to them and some career coaches said they will use the rebroadcast with their clients. As the presenter I feel that the content is even more important today than 2 months ago. If you are feeling little or no hope for your career you should gain a new perspective and become aware of new actions you can take by viewing it.

The essence of the presentation revolves around how you can apply the intersection principle, a simple, but key concept in my book, RELAUNCH! Stagnation, Change, and Renewal in Mid-Career and Beyond, along with a counterintuitive job-seeking approach to finding and sustaining satisfying work indefinitely. Although the book was written pre-COVID19, the presentation shows how the concepts and advice apply even more in our current times. The presentation included input from Elise Prezant, a career counselor and co-author of the chapter on aging and employment in the book.