Don’t get left behind! Career advice in a WFH/COVID era.

Written by Mark Holmes, MD of leading Compliance recruitment firm, Holmes Search.

You could be forgiven for accepting your career is currently on hold. COVID has significantly impacted our lives for nearly 2 years. You’ve been working from home, had restricted time with your boss/ colleagues and enjoying the flexibility of home working. You may solely be focussed on just ‘getting the job done’.

However, whilst you may be getting your job done each day, you may actually be falling behind in your career. According to Richard Ahern, Global Head of Financial Crime at Barclays, there is a clear divide between those stagnating and exceptional performers.?He goes on to say that those exceptional performers are demonstrating the following traits: significantly increasing their communication with stakeholders, demonstrating a proactive/self-starter attitude, they think about what their manager needs to hear or read before each meeting and is well prepared, they’ve thought about new ways to convey their message to colleagues and other stakeholders, and they go the extra mile by seeking to learn from colleagues within the firm.?Conversely, those who have stagnated are still trying to do things the way they always did, reduced communication and have worrying become invisible.

Sian Dalrymple, ex Deutsche Bank Head of Compliance also gave some excellent advice. Sian has always been known as an empathetic leader of staff and someone who cares deeply about mentoring junior staff.?One of her key pieces of insight is to think about how you apply your companies agile working policy. Her advice to junior staff is to go in the office as much as you can, so you can learn from your peers and seniors about potentially better ways of working. Being present means you’re living and breathing the company culture, you’re able to build rapport, going out for lunch with colleagues so you can ask those questions which may feel unnatural over zoom.

Netis Kennedy who has led Financial Crime operational teams echoes this advice. She spoke about those spontaneous opportunities to learn something (water cooler chats), which are so vital. She said if you’re 100% WFH, then ensure you have scheduled ‘huddles’ with your team to discuss how to resolve current issues. Netis also said it is the responsibility of the Head of the Team to help junior staff progress their career. “Regular team meetings where junior staff are on rota to collect agenda and chair team meetings to give opportunities to raise profile and develop leadership skills. Junior staff selected according to their skills; talents and career aspirations to attend senior governance meetings for profile building and visibility. Give junior staff opportunities to perform research/ ad hoc tasks that will build and showcase their abilities. Lastly schedule and execute consistent one to one session with junior (all reports) staff to maintain connections and opportunities for open communication.”

Katherine Domanski, ex Citi and current Head of Compliance at Bank FAB, says they are currently 100% WFH. She gave some excellent advice around booking zoom calls with senior members of the business so you can get to know products and how the business work. She says it’s a great time to fit 30 min virtual coffee chats into the diary to seek their ‘advice and mentorship’. “I would encourage those with less experience to embrace their curiosity, through asking good questions, booking virtual coffee catch ups with seniors they particularly like or admire (having prepped a few relevant questions to shape the call) and finding out more about different parts of the company they work for.”

Thank you to all those who contributed to the article and for others who gave advice in an earlier article. ?I hope the above shows how you can develop and advance your career, despite your circumstances. For those stagnating, I encourage you to heed the advice above and speak to your boss. It is never too late to come out of the murky pool of obscurity and become a valuable, visible member of your team. You can guarantee your boss would prefer you this way and you’ll be happier for it.?

Congratulations to those who have adapted and continued to develop your career, keep doing the right things and your career will continue to blossom.