In the first column in this "Career Control” series – published on 3 April – we looked at the psycho-emotional impact of leaders getting fired from their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis or deciding it’s time to "fire themselves” by voluntarily seeking a new career opportunity.

This second column will help leaders to examine where they are in their careers right now and where they could be in future; and then begin developing a concrete action plan that can help them survive in the short term and come out much stronger in the longer term.

The place to start for any current or future leaders is always with themselves.

The APEX model of career development calls this the Assessment stage in which leaders research what is happening (or not) in the world of work right now and what might happen in a very uncertain future.

"If this crisis goes on for a long time, there will certainly be an impact on the type of skills employers will consider while hiring. There will be changing perceptions on working remotely and what careers to pursue,” says Karoli Kolokonyi, who is advising future leaders as the Director of Careers & Alumni Affairs at Kepler, which operates a university program with more than 500 students in both Kigali and the Kiziba Refugee Camp.

But more importantly, leaders should conduct a very frank review of themselves by answering (in consultation with trusted advisors) the following 10 questions before proceeding any further:

1. What do I enjoy most about my current (and/or previous) work?

2. What do I enjoy least about my current (and/or previous) work?

3. What are the most useful (and transferable) knowledge and skills that have I learned in my current (and/or previous) work?

4. Am I ready for a new work challenge?

5. Am I really ready for a new work challenge?

6. Would I be willing to relocate myself (and my family) for this new work challenge?

7. What would be an ideal job or work for me now, if I had no constraints?

8. What is stopping me from pursuing that ideal job or work?

9. What are my top three priorities for the next year or so in terms of my work and life outside?

10. What other important career/life issues do I need to reflect on right now?

Once leaders have a clearer idea of what is out there and what they want, they should set a clear vision and specific goal/s for their career and life over a realistic period of time, which is usually one to two years.

Then they can begin creating a concrete plan of action that should have three elements:

1. Fallbacks – what they can do (to earn money short term, for example) but don’t really want to do. Often, this list might include their current work

2. Dreams – what they would love to do but the timing is not right now

3. Options – what they would like to do, what the job market is asking for and what they can pursue right now

Some leaders may well decide at the end of this Assessment phase to no longer seek employment elsewhere and instead they might want to set up their own business or even opt out of the world of work for a while by devoting more time to their families, going back to study, writing that novel or traveling the world (after Corona).

For those leaders who want to seek new employment, the Preparation stage of the APEX model will help them get ready for their new work search.

Common tasks include: updating their CV, resume or bio; getting professional photos and personal business cards made; creating or updating their LinkedIn profile (and own website); crafting a general cover letter that can be adapted for each potential opportunity and feed into the crucial first three lines of the "About” section of their LinkedIn profile.

Experienced leaders need to be especially careful to make sure everything is true, accurate, relevant, concise – no one will read a nine-page CV – and humble as they need to appear competent but not arrogant or over-qualified.

Potential leaders of the future will need do the same in order to get the attention of a potential job giver but with a more qualitative focus due to their relative lack of relevant work experience.

"They will need to show that they are tech-savvy, problem-solvers, flexible, willing to learn, trustworthy and effective communicators,” says Karoli of Kepler.

Once the current and future leaders are fully prepared, then they can move on to the Exploration and eXecution stages of the APEX model, which will be discussed in the next column.

If you want to comment on this column or any other related issue, please send an email to: 

jeremy@jeremysolomons.com

The views expressed in this column are those of the writer