Career Directors

Global Membership Organization of Professional Resume Writers & Career Coaches

6-Figures. No Stress. Career Biz Success!

Author of Resume for Dummies
  • Dashboard
  • Store
  • Cart
  • Forum
  • Login
TwitterLinkedinFacebookGoogle +YouTube
  • Home
  • About CDI
    • About CDI
    • Press Room
    • B2B Service Providers
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Learn & Grow
    • Resume Writing Certification & Training
      • Certified Advanced Resume Writer (CARW) Credential
      • Certified Executive Resume Master (CERM) Credential
      • Certified Master Resume Writer (CMRW) Credential
      • Certified Resume Specialist (CRS+X) Credential
      • Resume Mastery Course with CARW Certification
      • Resume Writing Master Mentor Consulting Program
    • Career Coaching Certification & Training
      • Certified Employment Interview Consultant (CEIC) Course
      • Online Job Search and Reputation Management (OJSRM) Course
      • Master Career Director (MCD) Credential
    • Business Success Programs & Coaching
      • Career Business Profit Rocket Individualized Consulting
      • Join the Fly Higher Tribe and Watch Your Business Soar
      • Your Career Website Roadmap: Boost Your Profits & Performance
      • Your Easy Pathway to Profit: Six Figure Flight Plan Program
      • COIN for Career Pros: Raise Your Prices with Ease Course
      • Entrepreneurial Wisdom Course
    • Awards & Competitions
      • Resume Award Winners (TORI & WBRW)
    • Member Forum
    • Expert Webinars & Teleseminars
    • Renew Credentials
  • Join CDI
    • Why Join CDI
    • Member Success Stories
    • Become a Member
    • Affiliate Advertiser Membership
  • Find a Career Pro
    • Career Pro Directory
    • How to Select a Company
    • Blog
    • Free Expert Resources
    • Resume Award Winners (TORI & WBRW)
    • Innovator Award Winners
  • Blog
  • Contact
Home » For Job Seekers » Career Management

Career Disaster: Prevention or Recovery–It’s Your Choice

Posted on 12.18.17

Let’s face it: career management doesn’t sound exciting or even particularly attractive. But, then, neither does career disaster!

Disaster in general is one of those topics most people would rather not think about. After all, a disaster is what only happens to other folks, isn’t it?

Well, no.

Seat-of-the-Pants Career Management

You’ve probably heard a lot in the news lately about the ugly revelations coming from Hollywood. One recent story noted that yet another long-established career had basically gone bust because of it, with the indication that more could follow.

Did the perpetrators of the disreputable conduct not realize they could face repercussions down the road? Maybe they just figured if they tried hard to keep it quiet, it would stay hidden forever. That’s one version of “seat-of-the-pants” career management–although clearly an extreme example.

Now think in terms of your career (in most cases, you wouldn’t have such an extreme challenge as Hollywood’s). It’s critical to take full ownership of the situation, Failure to make a conscious effort to manage your career in a consistently positive manner comes with a potentially severe cost.

Career Disaster: Prevention or Recovery?

Not all disasters can be prevented. That’s a given. If lightning strikes a tinder-dry forest and ignites a blaze that destroys thousands of homes, including yours, you can’t do much, if anything, to stop that from happening. All you can do is try to stay safe during the disaster and assess the recovery situation afterwards.

By the same token, if your company’s new product hits an unsuspected quality issue that requires a massive recall, heads might roll. Even if yours isn’t immediately at risk, you might not be completely sure of keeping your job. You need to do a rapid assessment of the danger to your career, as well as to your current job, so you can identify possible options for next steps to take.

Career Disaster: Prevention Tips

While you can’t anticipate every possible career disaster, you can implement actions that might either prevent or minimize a disaster. For example:

  • Create and implement a short- and long-term career management plan that covers any potential obstacles you’re aware of. Include a checklist as a reminder, if that works for you, and build in a periodic review to help make sure you stay on the “safe” side of career disaster.
  • Evaluate actions you’re considering based not only on their probability of success, but also on ethical and legal implications. If you’re not an expert in those areas, consult with someone who is before you take an irrevocable step.
  • Build a strong professional network that includes both peers and senior executives whose judgment you can trust. These should be people who will tell you what they think, even if it’s not exactly what you were hoping to hear.

Whenever you have a choice, pick career disaster prevention over recovery. It’s much less stressful and much more likely to help you ensure long-range career success!

Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Share on StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon
Share on Reddit
Reddit
Digg this
Digg

Filed Under: Career Management Tagged: career disaster, career disaster prevention, career management, long-term career management plan, professional network, your career

About the Author

I partner with senior managers and executives who want to land a new position as quickly and profitably as possible. I help them maximize the effectiveness of their resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile and interview skills to achieve that goal.A Successful Career

  • Subscribe below and receive new posts once a week.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Leave a Comment Cancel

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

#26 Top 100 Career Blogs

Subscribe to the Blog

You are already subscribed.

Recent Posts

  • Video Tip: What You Focus on IS What You Will Sell

    February 19, 2019
    Let’s face it, as a resume writer, career coach, or full career service provider, you want the best for your clients; you want them to …
  • Recruiter Voice on What Job Seekers Should Do When Working with a Recruiter

    February 13, 2019
    Do your clients work with recruiters in their job search? Do you wonder what could make clients’ experiences more successful? When our clients don’t hear …
  • What’s Your Superpower? (Or Knowing Your Strengths and Leveraging Them) Part 2

    February 13, 2019
    In a previous post we showed you how to focus on your strengths. That’s a pretty powerful feeling. But it’s not just a feeling.

Categories

  • For Career Industry Entrepreneurs (45)
    • Career Superhero Corner (21)
    • CDI Certifications & Courses (7)
    • CDI Competitions (10)
    • CDI Conference (13)
  • For Job Seekers (325)
    • Award-Winning Career Leaders (14)
    • Bio Writing (4)
    • Career Change (46)
    • Career Coaching (36)
    • Career Management (74)
    • CDI Certified Career Coaches (4)
    • CDI Certified Resume Writers (9)
    • CDI Trusted Bloggers (2)
    • Cover Letters & Communications (30)
    • Employment Trends (16)
    • Executive Insights (38)
    • Federal Employment (2)
    • International Job Search (11)
    • Interviewing & Salary Negotiation (59)
    • Job Search (150)
    • LinkedIn Profiles (38)
    • Military Transition (9)
    • Networking (59)
    • New Grad Campus (7)
    • Online Reputation (15)
    • Personal Branding (36)
    • Resume Writing (101)
    • Social Media (28)
  • Uncategorized (1)

Learn More About Training & Growth

  • Fly Higher Tribe for Career Biz Success
  • Resume Writing Certification & Training
  • Career Coaching Certification & Training
  • Business Development & Consulting
  • Awards & Competitions
  • Expert Webinars & Teleseminars
  • Member Forum

Learn More About Membership & CDI

  • Why Join CDI
  • Member Success Stories
  • Become a Member
  • CDI’s Superhero Origin Story
  • The CDI Dream Team
  • Press Room
  • Contact Us

Learn More About Everything Else

  • Find a Career Professional
  • Blog
  • B2B Service Providers
  • Free Job Seeker Resources
  • How to Select a Career Service Provider
  • Innovator Award Winners
  • Resume Award Winners (TORI & WBRW)

Copyright 2019 Career Directors, All Rights Reserved

Looking for something? Visit the Sitemap

Recommend this post

You can recommend this post to several users by putting 1 email on each line


Lost your Password

OR

  • Login with Facebook