Navigating Your Career in an Upside-Down World

Work life in turmoil? Here are some ways to rethink-and remake-your career

- DORIE CLARK

FOR ALMOST EVERY PROFESsional, life turned upside down during the pandemic. Whether you experienced job loss or a sudden shift to work-from-home, you likely had to deal with radically changed circumstances. Many of those changes persist to this day. For career expert Lindsey Pollak, whose keynote speaking business suddenly evaporated, “it was terrifying and frustrating.” In response, she sought clarity by creating a roadmap for herself and others in the form of a new book titled Recalculating (Harper Business), a guide for navigating your career during times of great change.

In a recent conversation on my weekly Newsweek interview show Better (Thursdays 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT), I asked Pollak to reflect on her key learnings. (She also wrote a piece for Newsweek about how recent graduates can adapt to the COVID-19 era of work.) Here are a few pieces of а advice she offers for anyone feeling stalled, or at a crossroads.

Start with a growth mindset

Before we change course professionally, we need to believe that change can actually happen. Pollak cites the work of Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, who pioneered the concept of “growth mindset” (change is possible!) as compared to "fixed mindset" (I am who I am, and that's it). According to Pollak, a growth mindset is key. It "starts from the belief that really anything is possible if you put in the work,” she says.