Managing out of work situations and career breaks

The heights we attain in life are dependent on how well we manage the situations we find ourselves in. Some of those situations are well within our control, whilst some others are not. Being out of a job can be a dicey situation but how we navigate that reality depends largely on how we manage it and respond.

The reasons behind out of work situations can include the following:

• A deliberate career break: Some professionals take a career break to either have more time for themselves and navigate the new realities of child birth, management of a health condition, multiple children or in some cases maintain mental health and escape from a toxic work and mentally draining work environment.
• Relocation: In some cases, men and women can resign from their jobs based on the relocation of their spouses to another state or country. People relocate for greener pastures, academic programmes, new job roles and company posting to new geographies. In a number of cases, the relocating parties take their spouses along. Where immediate job opportunities are not available for their spouses, in many cases, spouses resign from their jobs to stay with the family rather than to stay apart.
• Company collapse or retrenchment: A reputable and well meaning company can underperform and be forced to right size, retrench or even completely shut down operations based on competition, harsh business environment, poor market demand and/or unfavourable government policy. In some cases, the overall strategic direction of the company may change and the business model may no longer be sustainable. In other cases, automation of hitherto manual process may lead to a lower headcount and result in job loss. All across the world, people lose jobs not only because of poor individual performance but because their companies were significantly impacted and had to save the ship first before saving the people onboard.
• Firing: Employees can get fired at work based on consistent poor performance, poor culture fit or acts of ethical compromise that violate laid down processes and policies. In this case, employees can be shown the door.
• A search for clarity and fulfilment: As professionals, we are filled with potential and may decide to view ourselves through different lenses when it comes to the workplace. Some people want to try their hands on something new like a different career, a new industry or want to set up a new business or explore a personal vocation or interest. With very demanding work schedules, sometimes it can be difficult making this switch without compromising commitments at your current job. In response to this, some people take a hard decision to resign from a job and discover themselves before going into the next move. This is a clear the head situation which can have its own pros and cons.
• Unemployment: This happens when people are not even employed in the first place. Out of school, they have not scaled interview processes to the extent that they have recieved job offers but are consistently searching for a job opportunity which one way or the other has not come.

In viewing the situations captured above, the following may be helpful:

• Job loss does not automatically indicate poor performance or bad culture fit.
• One way to validate performance is by providing opportunities. Interviews and assessments can validate competence rather than hanging on to biases, prejudices and faulty assumptions. If the Former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala is out of work, does that negate what she brings to the table, her experience and her competence? The answer is a strong NO.
• Reference and background checks can help companies make informed decisions where they are in doubt and need to ascertain facts. Background checks can help clear doubts to know which of the categories people fall into. Information usually helps decision making.
• That someone did not do well in a particular job does not mean he or she cannot do well in another one. Sometimes, if you probe deep enough, you may discover that an enabling environment was lacking or the individual in question at the time was navigating a challenge. Years later, a colleague found out that an associate had family issues that were unresolved at the time that affected her concentration at work. Empathic and transformational leaders may be able to identify this and provide the support needed. As leaders, we are automatically talent managers. If the focus is on talent, if you see a diamond in the rough, your investment will be needed to bring it to optimal potential. A lot of times, you are the better for it. For every Ronaldo, there was an Alex Ferguson.

There are no hard and fast rules. What works for A may not apply to B, but as we avoid profiling, bias, prejudice, assumptions, discrimination, hasty generalization and faulty assumptions, we move closer to equity, inclusion, talent identification, talent management, optimal performance and business growth. I have resigned from work twice without having an immediate job in the wings because I needed time to write a certification exam in one case, and I needed to explore something different in another case. I passed interviews in flying colours afterwards. Over a decade down the line, I am still here. Do not judge as you may never know whether that talent will be the next Cristiano Ronaldo, Mack Zuckerberg or Ngozi Okonjo Iweala in your work place. Do your due diligence. If there is talent there, it will show. Talent does not hide. It shines.

If you are looking for a job move, after a career break or an out of work situation, you can share your resume to Kehinde.Akintobi@cchellenic.com stating your preferred job in the subject title and we can have a conversation where an opportunity exists. To move forward, you have to take a step forward and this may be your step.

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