Can COVID-19 Be Good for Your Career?
Olivia Burrell-Jackson is recent Master of Public Administration graduate in Georgia who is eager to use her education to better her community. She has a passion to work in a larger capacity with local government especially in the areas of community development and growth.
I remember at the end of December 2019 I wrote down goals-not resolutions- for myself so I would be focused on how I wanted to improve my life. My goals varied: I wanted to get a new job, find a new church home, create more professional and personal relationships, attend more music concerts and travel more. By February 2020 I was on track and crushing my goals until it all came to a halt in March thanks to COVID-19. I did not allow myself to get too worried then because I just knew everything would be fine by the summertime and I could just wait it all out. Fortunately, I did not plan on starting a career as a psychic! After a while, I realized I could no longer remain in stasis and had to find a way to adapt and participate in this new virtual environment. While I do very much look forward to the end of this pandemic, I have been able to identify a few ways COVID-19 can be positive for our career:
The decision-makers at all organizations are being flooded with information from WHO, CDC, local government, etc. regarding COVID-19. This is in addition to their daily tasks that have not stopped. They need more support to stay on top of it all and this allows you the opportunity to shine. For example, I was tasked with writing a standard operating procedural (SOP) guide for my organization for us to use in case of emergencies or other pandemics. Despite having a robust policy manual our organization had never even considered creating something like this. Normally this would be a task for HR or my Director would create this but they are simply too busy right now. Therefore, this task was given to me – a task that played to my research and writing skills, had a long-term positive result for the company, and it was something I very much enjoyed doing. I remember a few years ago I applied for a job that required someone who had experience creating SOP’s and because I did not have that experience, I did not get the job offer. Now, thanks to COVID-19 I have another skill set and experience to add to my resume.
Now, thanks to COVID-19 I have another skill set and experience to add to my resume.
OLIVIA BURRELL-JACKSON
Now that people are unable to congregate together, remote meetings, conferences, and webinars have become the standard. Many of these virtual conferences are free or at a reduced cost. Before COVID-19, one had to be a paying member of an association or purchase tickets to attend these conferences and listen to their panelists. Those fees were pricey-they ranged from hundreds to thousands of dollars-an amount that can be insurmountable for those in the beginning of their career. Entry level employees are the ones who really need this information and the networking opportunities, but the fees become a hinderance. Those fees can also become gatekeepers and affect diversity within the groups and career fields. I remember attending my first ever association event-it was for the International County/City Manager’s Association (ICMA). It was their 100th Anniversary and the tickets to attend cost $300-$500. Unlike the City/County Managers, I was a low-level employee with high ambitions, but my current employer was in no way going to pay for me to attend that conference. The only reason I was able to attend was because as a graduate student the tickets were $25. I saved up for a rental car, spent the weekend at my aunt’s house on a blow-up bed for free, and went to the conference. Attending that conference changed the entire trajectory of my life and career. In fact, I found out about the Careers in Government blog at that conference!
Those of us in the field of government understand it can be more traditional and hesitant to change than other fields. Thanks to COVID-19 for the first time in history more government employees are finally getting the opportunity to work from home. This is something many Executives and Department heads were very resistant to and would never have offered it if it were not for this pandemic. Now they are getting the opportunity to see that the work can continue, it can greatly increase productivity, and maybe they will continue to offer it (at least part time) when COVID-19 slows down. This is fantastic for employees who have never been able to work from home and now can discover if working from home is something they enjoy or not. Those that love it can use this newfound knowledge to filter their job search in case their current position refuses to allow them to continue working from home. Those that realized they prefer going into the office every day, or every other day can use it to inform their job search as well.
I am very aware of how privileged I am to have retained my job in this current climate. I am not blind to the difficulties this pandemic has created and it is certainly not all rosy working from home for me. However, I have been able to find a few glimmers of positivity and focusing on that has greatly helped my mental health to get through this challenging time. I do plan on creating goals for 2021 while keeping my fingers crossed for a better, healthier year for us all.
CAREER ADVICE
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