Women’s Career Outlooks & COVID-19

COVID-19 has changed our lives in ways that we could never have predicted. The changes are many…and mighty. They are personal ….and they are unique to every household. I wouldn’t pretend to understand all the impacts that the pandemic has had on so many lives. Research is recently allowing us to glimpse into the windows of understanding some of those impacts.

Are you in the 50% of all women who say the pandemic has adversely impacted their career path?

(Liu, 2021).

In times of challenge and crisis, what choice(s) do you consider? Sometimes we drift into a direction, a choice, a path…sometimes we make conscious choices…and sometimes we are forced into them by issues outside our control. COVID-19 posed such challenges for the female workforce, and especially for working mothers.

What impact has the pandemic had on your career path? Has it brought you to moments of inward contemplation about your choices? Have you spent moments or even a significant amount of time, reconsidering where your time is spent each day?

In times of crisis, we have a choice – we can cling to what we know, wait it out, or we can make bold choices. For many people during this pandemic, it’s an opportunity to reconsider, to re-evaluate, and to make changes.

The opportunity to recreate your future in a fashion that is aligned to your unique skills, your unique personality, and your unique passions is here. Women are overwhelmingly looking for increased flexibility (78%), according to a recent survey by MetLife. I can relate to those women! Twice as many women say they are considering a career change than those surveyed before the pandemic. Instead of seeking the next ‘job’, consider your skill sets and narrow those to the skills that you really enjoy. Start with the idea of what you love to do and then consider where you can apply those skills.

While it is a different way to look at career search, I implore you to give it a try – start at the point of writing down what your perfect day would look like.

Get out your journal and answer these questions:

• What time of day are you at your best?

• What would you be doing during a ‘perfect’ work day?

• What kind of things would you be doing?

• Where would you be doing this work? (at home, in a room with others collaborating, on a beach alone? 😊) .

Just explore your imagination for a moment and craft that day. Then answer this: How do you feel as you think about it? Calm, inspired, joyful, terrified, lonely? If you are feeling anything less than pleasantly fulfilled, then go back to the day’s definition – is it really what YOU want? Sometimes we are told what we want and we have to work hard at differentiating our own desires from those that need us.

I ask you to write down the expectations of others…write them on post it notes, or index cards, or make a written or an electronic list…then put them aside. I put them in a drawer so there is a conscious movement. These expections obviously do not disappear, but I find it hard for people to see their own full potential within the weight of their own and others’ expectations.

So now…what? You have this great dream crafted. But is it possible? Today, “women are 1.3 times more likely than men to have considered stepping out of the workforce or slowing down their careers—particularly mothers, senior women, and Black women” (Boston University). Leaving the workforce may be exactly right for you…but if it does not feel right, then consider other options. Do some research online to see who does the type of functional work you outlined in your perfect day. You may be surprised at how many jobs or careers connect to the skill set you naturally bring to the table.

Really? YES. I used this process when I left a 27 year career, determined not to ‘find another job’ doing the same thing for someone else. With this approach I realized that the actual elements of the work that I loved and that I was good at could be used in any industry, in a variety of ways. The list of ways to apply these talents was vastly different than the ‘list of companies and jobs’ that I could apply for. Try it! Let me know what you think!

This blog is really about the idea that you have CHOICES. You can be in control of your path, even when it feels like you have no control.

If you have decided to retire or to stay home with your children….there is still opportunity for you think about how to spend your time in the places that really meet your uniqueness. This guiding principle will help you say yes to the right things and no to the wrong opportunities.

Want Help? contact Tammy today for your free consultation!