By David P. Otey
These are challenging times!
Among other things, this is a challenging time to be writing an article on career development. As I write this, it is approximately two months before you are likely to be reading it. What changes may be in store for us during those two months? I am astounded at the changes we have experienced so far. Patterns of work, commerce, classroom education, and daily life are being disrupted. Unemployment is skyrocketing. Uncertainty abounds. The Covid-19 pandemic will almost surely come to define this age and generation. What, then, can be said about taking steps to advance your career and ensure your future?
I am reminded of what President Dwight D. Eisenhower said in 1957: “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” In an emergency, he went on, the first thing to do is “to take all the plans off the top shelf and throw them out the window….But if you haven’t been planning you can’t start to work, intelligently at least,” he said.1
Let’s assume you have been planning. You have been hard at work in a dynamic and exciting field of science; not only that, but you have also been planning the next steps in your career. Now it may seem as if that plan is completely off-track. But is it?
Consider some of the elements that factor into your career success, beyond the obvious need for technical skill. Some of the key factors that have been identified are these2:
- Communication skills
- Your network
- Resilience
- Personal and professional balance
If these elements have not been a part of your plan until now, they should be. And if they have been, now might be a good time to look at them more closely and see what opportunities are presented by the recent, unusual conditions.
For example, in the work that I do—typically speaking and training on communication topics such as how to give more effective scientific presentations—both travel and face-to-face networking are important. At the time of this writing, both these things are essentially off the table.
So, instead, I have intentionally spent more time engaging in virtual networking through several organizations I belong to. I have had virtual meetings with a consultant who is helping me with my business development—even though we live and work in the same metro area. (Besides, jumping on a video call beats jumping in the car to face Denver traffic.) And, although I have worked primarily from home for more than a decade, I am being more careful to distinguish work time from non-work time in the interest of maintaining a better balance.
Where do you see opportunities to turn your pattern disruptions into new avenues for growth? What follows are a few suggestions.
First, consider the new ways we have been embracing technology to communicate. How conversant are you in using Zoom, GoToMeeting, Adobe Connect, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and other such platforms? Not just as a participant, but as a host or moderator? I predict that even after the dust settles and all the planes, trains, and buses resume their routes, many of us who are accustomed to travel will continue collaborating remotely to a greater degree than before. Part of your career planning, therefore, should include becoming skilled in at least some of these platforms.
That means, if you have already been working on your presentation skills (and I certainly hope you have), now is the time to expand those skills into the world of webinars. As I write this, I have just come off of two straight weeks of presenting webinars on topics I had previously presented in person, and in coming weeks I have additional, major presentations to give virtually. I have learned, as have so many others, that there is more to webinar success than merely screen-sharing my slides, talking through an outline or script, and asking for questions. It is more important than ever to know how to engage an audience, because if they are not in the same room as you, distractions abound.
Consider learning how to use the interactivity features of your preferred platform. Get your audience interacting early by posing a question or offering a poll, and then build on that as you go. Because webinar audiences are more easily distracted by their phones or their environment, it is even more important to change your delivery mode from time to time to recapture their attention. And although webinar audiences may have little tolerance for “fluff,” it is still important to build their empathy for you by showing them you are a real person. Include a brief story about how and why your topic became important to you—important enough to want to share it.
If necessary, create your own account so you can practice hosting a meeting or webinar, and enlist the aid of a friend or colleague to be a practice attendee. You will gain comfort much more quickly this way.
Another networking opportunity is provided through the online communities. With 45 different communities to choose from, you are sure to find one aligned with your interests. Be thoughtful about your contributions to whatever discussions you join; you want others to see you as someone who is both knowledgeable and generous with your information. But don’t be afraid to ask questions, too.
Third, consider your resilience in the face of our current challenges, and what you can do to build that resilience. In my own life, I have become more resilient the more I have learned to attend to both my physical and mental well-being. For me that means regular exercise, consistent sleep patterns, and a meditation practice. I cannot pretend to know what you need; I encourage you to dig deep into your self-awareness and identify your own needs. If you are an extravert who is suddenly cut off from friends and co-workers, how will you compensate? What will be your relief valve if you are at home with children who would otherwise be in school?
A sense of perspective can help. So can maintaining a hopeful outlook and being goal-oriented.3 Building connections with other people is often cited as one key to resilience, so be sure to put the necessary effort into nurturing ties with family and friends even when you must be distant from them. Our family has long enjoyed board games, so we recently used Zoom for a family game night across three locations in two states!
And always remember this: we don’t respond to what happens to us; we respond to the stories we tell ourselves about what is happening to us. If by chance this edition of the AAPS Newsmagazine happens to reach you while pandemic-related restrictions are still in place, consider carefully what your narrative is. Are you stuck in an awful situation? Or are you taking inconvenient, though temporary, steps to contribute to public health and watching for opportunities to learn and grow while doing so?
I cannot know your situation. But if it seems that time has paused for you somehow, I hope you can take advantage of that pause to gain perspective on what it will mean to re-start. What will you start moving toward, both personally and professionally? What relationships will you nurture in the meantime, and how? And what skills will you build? The answers to these questions will have much to say about your path in your career and in your life.
REFERENCES
1. 1957 November 15, New York Times, “President Draws Planning Moral: Recalls Army Days to Show Value of Preparedness in Time of Crisis” by William M. Blair, Quote Page 4, Column 3, New York.
2. List comes in part from “Understanding Career Success and Its Contributing Factors for Clinical and Translational Investigators,” accessed 4April2020.
3. “Building your resilience,” American Psychological Association, accessed 4APRIL2020.
About the author: David P. Otey, MA, MBA, is a frequent speaker at AAPS meetings as well as a workshop presenter on communication and leadership skills for scientists. His books include The Speaker’s Quick Guide to Telling Better Stories and The Speaker’s Quick Guide to Technical Presentations. He can be reached directly by email or through his website. He resides in Golden, Colorado.