HOW TO PREPARE FOR 2021

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Brian Kail, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

Coming out of the year 2020, many of us feel like we are coming out of a recurring dream like “Ground Hogday Day” where we wake up imagining we will get dressed normally, and head to the office to start our “normal” day. But once we start waking up, we realize that no – the dream continues, and (if we are lucky) we are working from home today. Just like yesterday, and the day before. For recreation we try to remember where we left our surgical mask, and consider venturing outside. For those of us that work out regularly, we may consider a trip to the gym. But depending on where you live, this may not be an option. I could go on, and on, but you get it. Because you have been there. You have lived it in 2020. Voluntarily or by force, many of us have hunkered down, and tried to eke out a life, and a living. In 2020, many of us have lost jobs, and I do have some suggestions on job seeking in 2021. Where has 2020 left us, and how do we plan for 2021? Year 2020 is in the rear-view mirror. Coming out of such an extraordinary year, how do we move forward? Here are some thoughts on this topic.

REALIZE THAT NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED: There have been some changes since COVID19 hit the US, and the world. Vaccinations have been cleared and people are just starting to get vaccinated. More test vaccinations are waiting to be cleared in the US. This is good news, and should generate some optimism. But for most of us, the way we live, the way we conduct business, and the way we live our daily lives – not much if anything has changed. The first thing we need to recognize in planning for year 2021, is that it looks, and feels a lot like 2020. This will most likely continue the first few months of 2021, until a large percent of our population gets vaccinated. Change will happen slowly.

CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN: In the often quoted “Serenity Prayer” (written by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr), we say “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference”. This is a poetic way of saying, not everything in life is in our control, but some things are. We need to understand this at a primal level. It also reminds me of an old Star Trek episode, where Captain Kirk is trying to vet “Charlie X” in the ways of the adult world. Kirk says to Charlie “There are a million things in this universe you can have and a million things you can’t have. It’s no fun facing that, but that’s the way things are.” Perfect. It makes sense, and rings true. But we tend to forget this as we get caught up in our pride, our emotions, what WE think the world should be like. We need to consider both truths given here. There are many, many things we can’t control, but again there are many things we can. Embrace this. We need to patient on things we can’t change, or can’t change today, but we also need to engage, and celebrate the things we can control. We can control when we get up in the morning. We can control what we eat, and drink. We can control what exercise routine we have put in place. The more you realize, and embrace aspects of your life you can control, the less you will feel a victim, and the more you will develop positive, healthy patterns. You can start doing this TODAY. Right NOW. I encourage you to do this.

FRAME OF MIND IS KEY: Your success in 2021 depends mainly on two things. Your frame of mind, and taking action. To feel angry, and frustrated is human. You have probably felt those emotions in 2020. You may have felt them, and lived them a lot. I have. I encourage you to use those emotions in a positive way, and to develop a positive mind set. If you are angry, find a healthy outlet for this. Exercise, and a workout, maybe some light weight lifting is a great way to channel anger and frustration. It provides that extra spark to do more, to exert more effort into your exercise. If frustration is getting the best of you – try something different. Try a different approach. Try a different routine. Remember that suggestion to control the things you can? This is where you can utilize this mind-set. Like the stages of grief, you may need to go through process. But over time I encourage you to consider the positives in your life, whatever they may be, and project a positive attitude, and positive messages, and demeanor in your life. Keep it simple. Start today. Be a more positive person TODAY. Don’t aim for perfection, look for small positive changes. As you do this, you will find that people will be more attracted to you. They will be more likely to engage with you, and spend time with you. Even if this might be virtually. People will be more inclined to have you in their life, and help you. And recommend you, and help you if you are doing a job search.

ACTION STEPS: Thinking good thoughts, having a positive attitude is a great start. But this just helps to point you in the right direction. It is the first step in moving forward. Your success in 2021 requires taking action steps. At a very high level, this is the essence of the coaching discipline. Coach, and client discuss what the client wants to change, creates a plan or vision, and then breaks this plan down into do-able action steps. Action steps can support your life, or career plan. Your plan may be as simple as “get a job”. If you are doing a job search, engaging with a career coach, or career consultant can be of great value, as they can help map out your passions, skills, and target a specific role that would be most fulfilling to you, then help market you into your next position. If you are in a position to engage with a professional, certified, or licensed coach, I encourage you to do this. If not, here are couple suggestions. Write down your plan, your goal. By writing it down, it becomes more real. It becomes tangible, and defined. As reported in Forbes, and other sources, studies show that by writing your goals down you are 120% to 140% more likely to be successful in your goals. Once you have a good plan, share it with others. They may have suggestions, and will probably help you with the plan. They will support you in achieving your goals. Next break your plan down into realistic action steps. Again, write these steps down. Action steps should be traceable. Action steps are binary. That is “either you did the action step or you didn’t”. If you want to learn more about my coaching method, and action steps, refer to my articles on the ASCEND COACHING METHOD©.

NEW OPPORTUNITIES: This may seem contradictory, but with the spread of COVID19, there has been growth in some areas. The more obvious example is in health care, pharmaceuticals, and nursing. A longtime friend of mine who retired from nursing is getting on-going solicitations to return to practice. There have also been opportunities in supply chain, distribution, and logistics. Consumers are going out to retail, brick and mortar stores less. They are looking to companies, and systems to deliver products to them at their residence. Home delivery of food, and medications are growing. Another area of growth has been in sanitary masks, and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). These and other shifts in consumption, and safety has created new opportunities in the COVID19 economy. This will continue into 2021, along with a slow migration out of lock-downs, and back to offices, and accelerated manufacturing, and finance opportunities later into 2021. One thing I am sure of, the US Economy is resilient. It has started to rebound, and this will continue given the chance. If you are doing a job search, I would have another suggestion to consider. Don’t get hung up on industries you have worked in before, or job titles. These are things I stress in my career coaching practice. Your opportunities may well come from unexpected industries, or through unconventional channels. Job boards, even discipline specific job boards are only one way to learn of new opportunities. Again, an experienced career coach, or career consultant can be of great value in uncovering other channels to generate job leads. The point is, don’t limit yourself by only considering job titles you held in the past, or only industries where you have past experience. New opportunities may require a remapping of your abilities, and messaging.

NORMALCY SLOWLY RETURNS: As referenced earlier, as more people get vaccinated, much of the “normal” ways of life, and doing business will return. I expect the job markets in health, clinical settings, supply chain, logistics, pharmaceuticals, and PPE to remain strong for much of 2021. In addition, I see a resilient US economy continuing to recover and many other core industries will grow such as manufacturing, finance, technology, and banking over the course of 2021. Part of me does believe that the option to work remotely, that was more or less mandated by the COVID virus, will be a residual change that will stay in place for many of us for the long term. There will be some organizations that put priority on in-office work, meetings, and communications. But the needle has permanently moved toward remote or working from home as an option. And there are great convenient and cost savings reasons this will continue and grow. For job seekers, emphasize traits that support working remotely. Keywords words, and phrases such as “excels in time management”, “self-directed”, and “results driven” can send the right message that you can be trusted to work from home, and meet or surpass expectations.

Our world in 2020 was changed. This has been painfully clear. And it is not our fault. That said, we don’t need to be victims. And it is as clear as a winter starry night, that there is reason for optimism. Vaccines have been produced in a remarkably short time. This is a tremendous achievement. To produce an effective vaccine, and start vaccinations in under a year is unheard of. Some of us have already been vaccinated. I truly see this as the beginning of the end for COVID19/COVID20. We are still operating in a new normal. But as you reflect on 2020, and prepare to live in 2021, I encourage you to consider that despite some limitations, there are still many parts of your life you can still control. You can set your own routines. Your own diet. Your own exercise regimen. Your own goals. The more you embrace this, the less you will feel the victim. One of the biggest things you can control is your mind. Specifically, your frame of mind as you move forward into 2021. People can think positively. Say that to yourself, and act in a positive way. Those that project a positive demeanor are people that other people want to engage with. They want positive people to be part of their lives. Once you have some optimism, you can consider where you want to take 2021. This is the perfect time to make a plan, and set some goals. Once you have created, and written down your plan, break your plan down into do-able action steps. Make your action steps realistic, and traceable. Consider new opportunities. A new world, a new norm can reveal new opportunities. If you are doing a job search, don’t limit yourself to your last industry, or your last job title. New opportunities may come from new, non-traditional channels. If you can, engage with a career coach, or career consultant. An experienced, certified, or licensed career professional can provide great value here. Over the course of 2021, I fully expect much of the normalcy of life, and doing business will return. The US economy has proven it will rebound, if given any opportunity. In addition, working remotely, or working from home will be seen more and more acceptable. There is reason to be optimistic. Good changes, and good, exciting opportunities are on the way. But you don’t have to wait. You can make your first change TODAY. You can make it NOW. And what better time to make a change, as 2021 is here.

AUTHOR: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC is a professional Career, and Executive Coach. For more information see AscendProCoach on the web