Manifesting your professional destiny

11/17/24

November 17, 2024

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How do you control your own professional destiny? That’s the essence of the question I'm getting a lot lately. It's coming from people I know in my professional network.

Right now, especially in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tech industry, layoffs have been prevalent over the last 18 months or so. It’s happening to most organizations that employ professionals. Here are some things in play at the moment: 

  • Inflation has increased (and even though it’s come down a bit, it’s still high)

  • That means access to venture capital dollars is more expensive (and investors still expect a return – that’s the model)

  • The above makes it more expensive for companies to borrow money (to hire employees) so they are forced to “do more with less,” which means cutting portions of their largest expense – employees…’Hey, AI can do their work, right?’ (to some extent, but not at all entirely…plus, you still need people who know how to use and optimize the AI…I digress…)

I’m in a similar, though not exactly the same, boat too. I’m not currently laid off, but I’m in a contract role that will end, and I have to figure out what’s next. Not everyone is fortunate to have a known end date from which to work backward and figure out their next step – for that I’m grateful – but it’s definitely tough out there. 

Still, how do you take control of what’s next – specifically finding new work – when a good deal of the process is out of your control?

The best answer I have is: 

By getting started now on doing the work toward what’s next. And it’s going to require a little help from your friends.

What you can do right now to get started (especially if you haven’t been laid off yet):

  • Update your resume and LinkedIn profile with your most recent/current role. I always like to update these with my latest role about a month into starting that position, so it’s always up-to-date. Then from there, about once or twice a quarter I’ll go back and update the role with progress I’m making. Do this with each new role on the regular and these elements will always be current and ready to go.

  • Figure out what you value, what you’re good at, what you want/where you want to go professionally, and what kinds of industries/organizations can likely get you there. You need to be super self-aware (sometimes easier said than done – have others who know you, help) in order to be able to identify what the next good-fit opportunity looks like.

  • Identify the titles of people at those organizations you think might be a fit who would hire someone like you to work for them, then start connecting with them on LinkedIn. This is where the rubber meets the road. Connecting with others to grow your network of professional friends will accelerate your progress toward your next role far more than you can understand today. As you find individuals to connect with, reach out genuinely, and try to offer value before asking for their help. If they’re willing, set up Zoom or Google Meet virtual coffee chats – anytime you can have a live interaction, the better. Try to help them in some way, and let them know how they can help you (specifically describe what kind of role you’re looking for or the type of person that would be helpful for them to introduce you to, if they know any such individual).

  • Rinse and repeat

I hope this can help. Feel free to hit reply and let me know your story, if I can help, I'm happy to do so.Here's a bit about my own journey with this:I started doing this back in about March of this year, and have been able to grow my LinkedIn network from about 2,500 connections to now more than 7,660.This has led to 2-6 interviews per company, totaling about 5 companies (still haven’t landed any of them, though some are still in play).It's also led to a small side coaching/consulting gig and affiliate/referral revenue, all of which has added up to a few thousand dollars – nothing to live on, but I can definitely pay my mortgage for a couple of months.

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Sharing from my LinkedIn:

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The next Songwriters Round Town event is on Thurs. Nov. 21, 2024 at the Imaginary Tea shop in Waunakee, WI. 7-9pm.There’s no cover charge, or cover songs. This is all about a curated group of invited songwriters getting together and sharing what they’re working on, the songs they’ve written they love the best, and their passion for the craft of songwriting.

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Stay positive. Stay healthy. Be kind.

Sincerely,Nick VenturellaStrategic/Creative Professional