Recession fear has created many distinct challenges. One of them is expensive and scarce talent acquisition in the face of rising inflation. As a result, many businesses are experiencing cost-cutting in the form of layoffs. Given all of this, how can you sharpen your skills in order to recession-proof your career and avoid being part of the next round of layoffs?
Join industry experts Robin Walter, Mary LeFavre, and Magdelena Romo as they discuss with Highako how you could upskill yourself with job-critical skills and recession-proof your career.
Michelle Herman, Highako: So let's talk about skills.
Because of COVID, there have been a lot of layoffs. Everybody thought things would gradually fall into place and they’d get a job. But with the looming recession, most professionals are facing challenges. What would you advise them? And what do you think are the most critical skills needed right now, to make sure that you're not part of the next round of layoffs?
Robin, would you like to go ahead and start on this?
Robin Walters: Yeah, sure. I believe that everybody should have an up-to-date, relevant, current resume, complete with references, and references that know that they are your references. And always make sure that your skills are always up to date, at any time! if you haven’t used them long enough, go out to Paco, YouTube, or whatever, and brush up your knowledge on it. Otherwise, take it off your resume.
Also, one major soft skill is flexibility. Flexibility will allow you to be able to pivot. Let’s say if your department is downsized, then if you are flexible enough to have skills that are transferable, then you can easily pivot and transfer to career other opportunities. Be the person who volunteers for new projects and takes on new responsibilities. And be sure to highlight those things in your resume! Don't use a street credit for that. And new experiences can even change the trajectory of your career. Be flexible on where you want your career to go. This will help you adapt to a new environment and pivot. For example: Going from working in an office to working at home, and how was that transition? And if that worked well for you, then you know that you have the ability to be flexible and be able to pivot.
Some other important skills are interpersonal and communication skills.
Being able to communicate clearly and effectively, be it written or orally, is definitely a skill that's in demand. For people who are now working from home, it's a different kind of communication and conversation. So be sure that you have an appropriate on-screen presence for those live conversations just like this. So you know what to look at like and what people are seeing. And please use punctuation, when you're having your conversation on emails to make sure that the message is clear. What you intended to say, is actually received. You know, there's an old adage that says: “let's eat grandma”, or “ Let’s eat, grandma”
Other soft skills that I think are going to be important in this situation are creativity, the ability to multitask, critical thinking, leadership skills, and collaboration, just to mention a few.
Michelle Herman, Highako: I think that's great. Absolutely!
Mary, what are your thoughts on this?
Mary LeFevre: Well, obviously, Robin touched on a lot of them. I would like to add to it by saying: Create relationships with your teams and with your customers. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of not only your team but yourself as a leader.
Establish best practices that work across the board.
Credit is credit. No matter where you go, it's the same thing. There are obviously going to be deviations depending on your industry, but having standard best practices that you can pull from is absolutely necessary!
Establish rules for yourself and for your team for your company that work.
Don't just make a rule. Make a rule for a reason. And then of course, without a doubt, results will show! For example. I just talked to a customer yesterday who took three weeks off, and she is their accounting person. And she said it's going to take her almost two months to get caught back up again. So you need to understand, what your dynamic is? What changes are necessary? Where do you need to invest your time? Where do you need to invest your money if you have a budget? Three weeks ago, she didn't have a choice, she had surgery! So what do you plan to do in place for that, so that it never happens again?
Michelle Herman, Highako: Yeah, great points. That's, amazing!
Maggie! I have an interesting take on this question for you. Because you're a little bit more involved with the younger generation who is coming into credit collections. And you're dealing with professionals who are ten or twenty years younger than us. As millennials, I believe, they get such a bad rap! But, we would like to know from your perspective, how are they trying to climb up their career.
Magdalena Romo: I believe, as managers, you have to be able to adapt to the working style of the newer generation.
Allow them to be flexible with their working style, as long as they meet the requirements of the job. You also got to know your staff and talk to them. Understand where they're coming from, and what their career goals are.
One of the things I did: I acquired a new staff, who was almost 15 years younger than me. I spoke to them about their career goals, and where they wish to go from here. And based on that, we listed and set our goals together. So, you know, try to understand your staff, and what their flexibility is. For people who are willing to learn, use resources, such as Highako University. Even I have my team take Highako University courses. I first go through them myself, and understand which courses might benefit them, and then accordingly suggest those courses to my staff. This allows them that time to learn.
So I think giving them the skills, flexibility, and knowledge is very helpful. They are, after all, the new generation.
This is part 1 of a 7-part series "Exclusive Interview: 3 Credit Captains’ Journey to the Top" Watch the entire series below.
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