As the global Covid-19 pandemic now enters into its third year, professionals are now beginning to return to their offices, daily commutes, and ways of life pre-pandemic. On the one hand, it’s encouraging that life is returning back to “normal,” but on the other, it feels strange that things just are going back to the way things used to be. At the very least, this pandemic should be a big wake-up call for us all to reevaluate whether the ways we were living and working before this pandemic can and should be the ways we continue to live and work moving forward.

Former corporate lawyer turned author and founder Eloise Skinner describes her own professional awakening catalysed by the pandemic in episode 81 of the Career Relaunch® podcast. We talk through the challenges of balancing multiple career endeavours, the seemingly inextricable link between our professional jobs and personal identities, and the importance of honoring your own values and interests no matter what others think.

In the Mental Fuel® segment, I also describe what I would consider one of the biggest professional tragedies of this pandemic.

Key Career Takeaways

1. Balancing multiple career endeavors between your full-time job and side projects often means you can’t fully commit your energies to either, forcing you to decide where to devote your focus.
   
2. Feeling grounded is often directly tied to having a defined professional title and clear career path, so leaving either behind is not easy.
   
3. Figuring out what you want to do with your career starts with focusing on what YOU want instead of how you think others will react to your choices. Consider your values, what excites you, and what gets you out of bed in the morning.
   
4. The pandemic has resulted in each of us letting go of things we assumed were just part of everyday professional life (regular hours, commute, etc), but we all have an opportunity now to reevaluate exactly how we want to work.
   

Listener Challenge

During this episode’s Mental Fuel® segment, I talked about identifying at least one change you want to make in your career (or life) that you feel would allow you feel better about where it’s headed. Insist on having something that’s important to you that you’re just not getting enough of right now or at least keeping your eyes peeled for opportunities where you might find it.

About Eloise Skinner

Eloise Skinner is an author, teacher and existential therapist. She is also the founder of two businesses, The Purpose Workshop and One Typical Day. Eloise’s newest book, The Purpose Handbook, was released in late 2021. And the proceeds from this book are shared with Career Ready UK, the UK’s national social mobility charity. She also has a seat on their youth board.

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Interview Segment Music Credits

• Leimoti – Blossoms
  
• Jakob Ahlbom – Crossing the Rubicon
  
• Lama House – Where Legends Dwell
  
• Wonder – Hazy
  
• Expand – Hazy
  
• Rannar Sillard – Siljan