Dear Friends:
We trust everyone is staying safe and staying healthy during this crisis!
As you know, the economic impact of this COVID-19 pandemic has been far reaching, leaving 30 million+ people newly unemployed, with many highly regarded executives furloughed or laid off in several hard hit industry sectors (i.e., Retail, Travel/Hospitality, Advertising/Marketing Services).
While nationwide the economy is starting to slowly reopen, it will realistically take 6-9 months (and possibly longer) before several industry sectors return to levels of pre-crisis sales and profitability. So in the short-term, it’s best to look for flexible project/consulting work (in addition to full-time positions), draw upon government assistance programs and emergency savings, and reduce discretionary expenditures over the next several months in order to ride out this storm.
If you have been laid off, or are fearful of potential company layoffs, continue to maintain a positive attitude during this pandemic and utilize this timeframe to be pro-active on behalf of your long-term career objectives. A good action step is to update your personal branding materials (resume, bio, headshot, LinkedIn profile, use of social media). EC’s Personal Branding practice is currently assisting several clients with re-branding and then providing targeted outreach support to EC connections to help clients identify new career opportunities. As Lola White, EC’s Chief Personal Branding Strategist, says, “No one should miss the opportunity to take advantage of a good crisis.”
While many companies/sectors are contracting (or in some cases filing for bankruptcy), there are several sectors (i.e., DTC, E-Commerce, Supply Chain/Distribution) that are expanding and adding thousands of new positions (i.e., Amazon, Fedex, Omaha Steaks). If you have modern digital marketing and e-commerce skills and experience, we encourage you to connect with businesses that are currently growing and hiring based upon their excellence in DTC, E-Commerce, and Customer Service operations.
I’m attaching an article written and published recently by my colleague, Darcy Bevelacqua, titled “5 Things You Should Be Doing Now To Enhance Your Long-term Career During Covid-19.” Darcy’s article contains sound advice that you can draw upon and utilize immediately.
As an executive search/placement firm, we made 2 executive placements in May during the “shelter in place” period, and we are aware of active search assignments at several other executive search firms. In fact, this crisis has made senior executives more accessible, since they are working remotely as well, so targeted communications are reaching CEOs directly. Our firm is helping clients to upgrade talent in specific areas (i.e., GTM Bus. Dev./Head of Partnerships, Customer Acquisition) that can accelerate growth and recovery plans. So get into action and explore parallel career paths (internal and external) during this crisis.
Looking ahead, economists project a strong recovery once the spread of the virus is contained and a vaccine is developed, which is almost a certainty within the next 12 months. We urge you to take proactive steps now to be best positioned to capitalize on this impending economic resurgence.
As always, we look forward to hearing from you and catching up and assisting you in anyway we can.
Stay safe!
Best,
Jeff
5 things you should be doing now to enhance your long-term career after Covid 19
by Darcy Bevelacqua
1.Plan for the future
Rethink your current business plan to understand what needs to change to make your company more competitive. Do research to identify innovation ideas you could test Be the solution to identify ways to improve productivity and the long-term growth of the company.
2.Build new digital skills
In the future there will be more need for digital skills ( SEO, content marketing, ecommerce, social media, etc.).Take some online classes while you are at home to build these skills. There are great classes at LinkedIn, Coursera, Udemy, AMA, etc. Most of these virtual classes are self-paced so jump in and move forward to build new knowledge and skills.
3.Be more visible
Post on social networks, schedule calls with co-workers and associates to check in. Do more virtual networking. Attend some on line conferences and meetings to meet new people and keep up with new trends.
4.Engage your team
You may not be an expert at managing remote teams but now is the time to step up and learn. You don’t want to lose your best employees because they didn’t feel valued or engaged. Reinforce their purpose and your appreciation for their unique contributions .Connect via go to meeting or zoom to encourage collaboration and sharing. Don’t forget to celebrate and share good news,
5.Prepare to Pivot
Step up to the plate to take on new roles or lead agile teams trying new things or launching new offerings. Building new skills will make you more marketable in the future.
We are an execuitve search firm who also offers career planning.Please comment or connect with me at Dbevelacqua@executiveconnects.com
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