Career Fire Drills: How to Prepare for a Career Crisis Before It Hits
We were chatting with a firefighter last weekend and realized he'd been on the crew that put out a fire near our old house in San Rafael. That was the day we started taking emergency preparedness seriously.
I was working from home when a helicopter flew in low over the backyard and dropped its bucket into the lagoon behind us. Then I saw the smoke. From our upstairs window, we could see flames on the hill, about 700 feet away.
We grabbed what mattered most: our cat, our financial documents and a few keepsakes. Our son was at school. Thankfully, CalFire had it under control about an hour later.
As I was reflecting on this memory, I started thinking about the other fire drills in my life, especially in my career.
I've had my share of career emergencies. I've been laid off and had moments when I realized I couldn't keep working in a particular job, for a particular manager, or at a particular company.
Over the years, I've learned to think strategically about my career and plan three to five years in advance. What are my long-term goals? What experiences, training and relationships do I need to start working on now to get there? Underneath all of it is one guiding value that has driven my career: I want to be in demand while doing something I love.
That planning comes down to four things:
The Work. What do I want to be doing three to five years from now?
The People. Who do I want to be working with? Which key relationships do I need to keep healthy, and which new ones do I need to build?
My Growth. Which skills do I need to sharpen now, and which will I need in the future? What's my plan to build them? What experiences will help me get there?
My Experience. Given my goals, what experiences will let me test those skills and prove my impact?
Here's an example of how that played out for me in my most recent career transition.
I knew I wanted my own coaching business within three to five years. So, I made getting more coaching experience a bigger priority and got my leadership team on board. They paid for more training and supported focusing more of my time on coaching.
One thing I did was set up an internal coaching practice. I also took on a formal role coaching people inside the company, which took about 20% of my time.
I also designed a large program: developed the processes, policies and procedures; marketed the program; recruited our external partners and negotiated the contracts. This gave me a safe place to continue building my skills and work out the business processes I'd need for my next chapter. And boy, was that a smart move.
When I got laid off, of course I was scared. But I had a plan that I'd been building for years.
When your job becomes the crisis: Planning a career transition
Not every career emergency is a layoff. Sometimes it's a slow burn: the work stops fitting, the culture shifts, or you wake up one day knowing you can't stay. I've been in all these situations myself.
Before you run, ask yourself one honest question: Is this a career change, or the wrong job, the wrong manager, or the wrong company? Each needs a very different plan. A bad boss could be remedied with an internal transfer or a similar job at a different company. But those strategies will be inadequate if you realize you’re in the wrong career.
If you’re considering a career change, you don’t have to start from scratch. Consider what skills and experiences you are taking with you. My clients are often surprised by how much of their experience transfers. The hard part is learning to describe it in the language of the place you're going. Then consider your runway: how much time and financial security do you need to make the move thoughtfully rather than reactively?. And look for opportunities to test the new direction. For me, that was the internal coaching practice. For you, it might be a side project, a stretch assignment, a volunteer opportunity or building relationships and talking to people already doing the work you want to do.
Your career fire drill
The day of the fire, the hardest part was figuring out what mattered while the smoke was rising. Your career works the same way, so act now.
Set aside 30 minutes this week and answer these questions:
Where do I want to be in three to five years? Write it down, even if it feels fuzzy.
Who are three people I should reconnect with this month? Reach out to one of them today.
What's one skill I need for where I'm going, and how will I start building it?
What experience would prove I can do the next thing? How might I get that experience now?
Then put a date on your calendar six months from now to run the drill again.
I hope your career never catches fire. But if it does, I want you to have a plan, so you don’t have to be overwhelmed by the smoke.
If you're feeling the smoke, or simply want a plan before you do, let's talk. Book a complimentary 30-minute conversation to explore where you are, where you want to go, and how to start building your plan.
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