Watching your 401(k) drop, your industry or your company falter, even your job teeter on the precipice can be scary! My friend (and career expert extraordinaire) Andrea Kay offers a great take on this in her recent newsletter:
 “The world may be in an uproar. But that doesn’t mean your career goes up in flames. What’s happening ‘out there’ (which you don’t control) does not control your career… please do not–I repeat–do not feel powerless.”
Interestingly, I haven’t seen or felt any despair, desperation, or even resignation from the people I’ve been working with these past few weeks. In every case they’ve been jazzed about future opportunities and eager for their next career challenge. Perhaps I attract clients who are unusually resilient and optimistic — two of my strongest traits!
If you’re stressed about the current economic situation, look away from the macro and toward the micro — not the entire crisis/recession/credit crunch picture, but instead your own skills and strengths, the companies that will need people like you, the opportunities that you see in this interesting environment. Then go forward with vigor and confidence toward those challenges/opportunities. You’ll feel powerful, not powerless.
P.S. Andrea’s new book, “Work’s a Bitch and Then You Make It Work: 6 Steps to go from Pissed Off to Powerful,” can be your invaluable guide along the way. You can check it out (along with my many books on career topics) at Amazon.