Most people start thinking seriously about their career when something forces them to: a restructure; a role that has stopped feeling right; a change in boss. When things are going well career management feels like a luxury. But the leaders who navigate job transitions most successfully are almost always the ones who have been doing the groundwork proactively, long before they needed it.
Here are five habits worth building before you find yourself in a hurry:
1. Get clear on your long-term career vision. I frequently see very senior leaders who have progressed their careers without ever having stopped to intentionally consider what they want to achieve. They have said yes to opportunities, been promoted, followed previous bosses and done a great job which they are rewarded well for. At some stage, this could stop. Invest time now thinking about what is important in the next stage of your professional life.
2. Know where you get your energy. No matter how senior you become, you can still find roles that play to your energising strengths. Just because you can do a role doesn’t mean it’s the best role for you. Whilst all jobs have some elements that you enjoy less, aim for something that overall feels enjoyable and fulfilling. The questions worth asking yourself regularly are these: When has the time flown by? What activities leave me feeling energised and fulfilled? Those answers tell you something important.
3. Maintain your network before you need it. Keeping in touch with your professional contacts can be one of those things that gets dropped the moment life gets busy, because it never feels urgent. However, if a crisis hits, you will desperately need support, and people are unlikely to move quickly for someone they barely know. The best time to invest in your relationships is when you have nothing to ask for. Show up to events even when you are settled. Keep in touch with people you have enjoyed working with. My earlier blog on the benefits of networking shares more.
4. Protect time for external mentors. When the day job is busy, conversations with mentors get pushed back. I see this pattern constantly, and it makes sense in the short term, but the cost accumulates. Build your own personal boardroom, a small group of people you can go to for different things, rather than relying on one mentor for everything. Protecting even a small amount of time each month for these relationships pays dividends for your existing role success as well as for future opportunities.
5. Manage your visibility intentionally. The best outcome as a candidate is not having to approach a headhunter at all, but having them approach you because you are already visible, already known for something specific, already on people’s radar. That comes from speaking on panels, contributing to conversations in your industry, being active on LinkedIn, and being featured in industry publications. None of this has to be time-consuming. Even a small, consistent presence is far more effective than a sudden burst of activity when you are between roles and it’s great for your employer branding in the current role as well as your personal brand and future opportunities.
If redundancy does hit, be kind to yourself. You are essentially moving through the grief cycle, and your confidence may take a hit however composed you appear on the outside. My earlier blog on grieving a job loss explores the emotional side of this in more depth.
The leaders who manage transitions most gracefully are rarely the ones who started planning when the crisis arrived. They are the ones who never really stopped. A little intentional effort spread consistently over time makes an enormous difference when it counts.
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