Changing Careers in the Peak of Pandemic

by Tiffany White

 

Change.

Some of us revel in it.  Some of us run from it.  Regardless, all of us have experienced change acutely this year.  We have seen both our personal and professional environments and relationships change drastically. Daily we are experiencing constant change and our coping mechanisms are on full display. 

What if we add in a career change in the time of COVID-19?  This was my recent experience.  

A career change may be a forced decision due to lack of work, a full layoff, or a need to pivot to keep a business alive. For others, it could be a chance to pursue a new role within an existing workplace, or even change an overall career path.  

Then there are those of us that just happened to be navigating a planned change in career as COVID-19 began to drastically change everything. I was presented an amazing opportunity with a career that would lead to happiness and immense value, though it was presented with an added layer of complexity. My career started with The Haven Coworking one week before COVID-19 arrived in full force of shutting down businesses and our economy.  

As I attempt to process switching careers amidst the coronavirus pandemic through writing this blog, I recognize just how much of my career transition has gone unprocessed.  How maybe my, and maybe many peoples, way to cope is to just keep embracing the change.  Everyday feels both new and fresh, as well as strangely suspended.  We are living through a unique time.

Career change is inherently connected to a state of liminality, existing in a space where the past is gone and the future is uncertain. I believe we may have found the adjective of 2020- liminal.  The order of things has been suspended. One can cling to the past or one can choose to focus on the future and the promise of transformation. Embrace the liminality.  

I view the current state of upheaval as a perfect time to be introspective, to seek the positive and push myself in that direction.  An empowering time to choose a new career that fills me, challenges me and actualizes the best of who I am.  

My gratitude lies in opportunity-  the opportunity to chase a new career while acknowledging that many people lack opportunity. My gratitude lies in my current workplace The Haven Coworking- a community of inspired people, coworkers full of grace and grit, and change-makers working to create opportunity for others.

I have been strengthened through strong and close relationships with those around me.  I have gained new skills in many realms.  Career change in the time of COVID- Moving forward with Gratitude.