How To Make Career Planning Successful During A Pandemic

Start with the reasons why you follow a certain career goal. Take a mental walk through your personal life story. Can you identify the red dots that lead to a coherent line? Which experiences in your past were particularly meaningful to you?

You will probably need some time to think about your answers. HHL’s Career Development team has developed two-day seminars and other long-term coaching formats to really get to the root of each student’s individual story. Allow yourself some time to remember moments from your childhood and youth. Which games or family activities had a formative effect on you?

Not only the past will give you more clarity. You can also think about which topics or concepts you can spend hours talking about. Another useful approach is recalling what your friends and colleagues ask you for advice on. Write it down or make a voice recording so that you can get clear on WHY certain things are important to you.

Know your strengths. Identify the way you are different from others. Think about what’s easy for you or what brings you joy. Also, try to recall the times people told you that you really helped them and use that information to see where your work benefits others.

We understand that these questions may sound straightforward and easy, but our experience shows that it takes some guidance to find the true answers. That is why our Career Development teams work with personality tests to further understand and identify your strengths.

Know your impact. Be clear on the contribution you could make to the world. How can your strengths and your personal why come together and make a difference? Don’t necessarily think of impact as solving a global crisis (although that’s great if you can!) – think of it on an interpersonal but also an institutional level.

“Everything has always started and will always start with authenticity.”

Growing a network and assessing the market

We added steps 4 and 5 to Simon Sinek’s approach because we believe these will gain more significance if and when the competition toughens. The answers to these questions will make your career planning successful.

Which environment, companies, or own business — is aligned with the market?

We recommend to always examining three career options which then have to be adjusted to the market situation to provide you with a certain level of flexibility. You should now focus even more on this alignment with the market as the gap between job opportunities in the various industries will widen.

If this doesn’t work, the strategy would be to pursue the minimum; meaning if the desired position, e.g., in business development, is not currently available in the desired industry, try to target the same function in another sector. You can transfer into the preferred industry at a later, more suitable time.

If that doesn’t work either, get your foot in the door by choosing an entry-level job with good opportunities for advancement and then pursue your career goals systematically and in the long run. The first job at an entry-level should always be selected based on its prospects and not on short-term gains.

Think about whom to approach and how to build positive relationships.

The current crisis has proven how important personal connections are. This is just as true about your business relationships. To ensure a long-term career development you will need a strong network that is willing to support you even in difficult situations.

With everything taking place online now be sure to update your profiles on professional networking sites like LinkedIn and Xing. Take part in digital career events and reach out to alumni and professionals who might be able to share their work experiences with you.

Keep in mind that these are difficult times for all of us. Be respectful of people’s times and commitments and don’t take it personally if they can’t talk to you right now. Building relationships takes time and you will be most successful if you figure out how and what you can give to the people you are reaching out to.