How career resilient are you? - Inspiring Portfolio Careers

In uncertain times, resilience is very important.

We are in VUCA times.

Volatile

Uncertain

Complex

Ambiguous

The dictionary definition of ‘resilience’ is “The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.”

What are the ‘career resilience’ success factors?

Resilience is a learnable skill = the ability to ‘bounce back’.

Behaviours, thoughts, actions, attitudes + skills.

Mindset: setbacks are part of life + learning.

Reduce vulnerability to stress. Disassociate from challenging situations – like you are looking at it from a distance, rather than being in it.

Support network, trusted relationships. People you can be honest and open about how you are feeling.

Meaningful work – inner ‘compass’. Follow your values.

See the ‘big picture.’ Keep things in perspective.

Think like an entrepreneur. Be persistent.

Commit to life-long learning.

What would you add?

Resilience is an in-demand skill by employers.

What have been the most testing times in your career?

My 3 most testing times when I built my career resilience

I think the 3 most testing times in my career have been:

Being made redundant in a recession in 1991

I was incredibly lucky – I was able to get a job in the same geographical area, so didn’t have to sell my home with negative equity at a time of sky high interest rates. My redundancy turned out to be a positive thing, as I hadn’t been happy at my employer, (the macho culture didn’t suit me), and I moved to the consultancy side of work, which is much more me.

Having moved to Oxfordshire, doing a self-funded 6-month CPD break just before the credit crunch of 2007.

It was a very difficult time, but I managed to find an ‘inner resilience turbo boost button! I gritted my teeth and ploughed on with my career plan, taking the long-term view, building my network, broadening my career options and developing my career capital for long term success

I am so glad that I did.

Spending 10 months writing 2 books to build my career capital and the book publisher going bust.

So frustrating, but I am glad that I wrote them.

10 tips to build your career resilience

Push out your comfort zone – do something that feels challenging
Read books, watch videos and listen to podcasts about entrepreneurs
Create your own personal board
Get a career coach
If things feel especially challenging, put a chair in the corner of the room, picture yourself in the chair, and give yourself some advice as though you were a consultant
Spend time in nature
Do activities that make you feel energised
Recall times in the past when you ‘bounced back’ – what enabled you to do this?
Set some career resilience CPD goals
Define your personal values – what is really important to you

What tips would you add?

Self-reflective questions

How career resilient am I?

What enables career resilience?

What actions can I take to become more resilient and develop these success factors?

What next?