The harrowing effects of the pandemic and self-imposed shelter-in-place (SIP) orders have caused unemployment numbers to soar reaching a staggering 14.7 percent. Over 23.1 million Americans are unemployed — the highest rate of unemployment since The Great Depression in 1948 — and that number continues to relentlessly soar with dubious efforts to determine when the country will reopen. The government’s jobs report shows industries including Leisure and Hospitality accounting for 7.7 million job losses and Retail at 2.1 million. 

Image Source: Statista – Monthly unemployment rate in the United States from December 2019 to December 2020

As the outbreak continues to worsen, tech giants such as Uber, Lyft and Airbnb were also hard hit by the fallout of the pandemic. With such volatility in the marketplace, the economic climate for project managers also remains uncertain as Covid-19 continues to paint a bleak picture of the road ahead. Despite the indeterminate employment patterns, here are eight ways project managers can maintain their competitive edge during the crisis. 

1. Exercise clear sighted thinking: There is no linear path to success, only ways to increase your chances. Having a vision can identify your strategic potential. However, it’s when you put pen to paper can your vision come to life. Writing down your goal by mapping out the long-term strategic and the short-term tactical steps has pervasive benefits in helping you take tangible steps to achieve your goal. Aim to be ambitious with your vision and aggressive with your execution.  

2. Ask for that next opportunity: Skilled project managers don’t get ahead by sitting on the bench and waiting for a project to appear before them. They go out and ask for the opportunity. Set up a 1:1 with your manager to talk about your goals and aspirations. Go to the PMO office and see what your peers and senior project managers are working on. If it piques your interest, ask for their guidance, ask to train under them, ask about how you can help. The important thing is that you ask. Ask for a role — any role. As the saying goes, You only get what you put in. 

3. Grow your existing skill set: Take control of your project management career by developing skills that will enable you to exercise broad thinking and push your career boundaries. Investing in online learning, attending events or conferences, reading articles and ebooks, listening to podcasts and getting hands-on experience are a few ways you can amplify your project management posture. Challenge yourself to deepen your knowledge in your existing domain or learn a new discipline all together. Whichever you decide, practice humble learning and make skills training a healthy habit. 

4. Gain those must-have digital project management skills: Even before the pandemic, digital project management has become the new frontier. But now that the virtual world has taken us by storm, remote workspaces are putting project teams to the test and studies have proven that remote work can (and does) boost employee productivity. For project managers to remain effective at their job, they need to be able to build a remote workstation that enables effective communication, collaboration and the ability to keep work flowing. Navigating the digital work ecosystem means embracing technology such as project management platforms that communicate in real-time what your team is working on, content management systems that enable individual team members to make on the spot web updates, social media and remote working tools such as Zoom that allow for team collaboration and virtual meetings. In this new normal, having the digital ‘know how’ can be the difference between the success or failure of your project.

5. Go outside of your industry: Project managers looking to expand their skill set also need to be able to go outside of their industry. Thinking outwardly and taking an outside-in approach to project management will give you the knowledge and know how to thrive in any industry. And because project management is critical to all organizations and spans just about every industry, you’ll want to consider investing time in deep diving into industries outside of your own. Oftentimes, project managers stay within their industry and comfort zone, but when the unthinkable happens (they get laid off or are out of a job), they have a difficult time finding a role because they don’t have the in-depth knowledge — not because their skills aren’t transferable. 

6. Engage in smart social networking: Chances are with all the added time at home along with the hours of commuting that you forego during the SIP order, you have channeled your energy into other creative ways to grow and maintain your social network. Zoom meetings aside, continuing to develop your personal brand can be a stretch when you are confined to virtual networking. Make sure your social media profile is up to date and communicate with your network on where you are or where you’d like to be. Get that buzz into someone’s ear that you are open to new opportunities because if they might not know of one, chances are that someone else will. Create opportunities to keep the lines of communications with your network open. Engage in conversations by joining a group, following an influencer or contributing ideas to a trending hashtag.  Whether you’re producing targeted content, sharing information or practicing subtle self-promotion, there’s a lot both you and others in the community can gain if you participate in meaningful conversations. 

7. Pursue a passion project: When you’re dedicated to one or two projects, oftentimes you find yourself flexing the same project management muscles. One way to break that cycle and diversify your skill set is to invest some time into a skills-related project. To be a stronger communicator, you may want to take a public speaking course, learn to write business requirements or even develop your own project management blog. Or you may want to strengthen your ability to think strategically and come up with a marketing or a project management plan as an opportunity to start a side hustle. Whatever skill you are looking to develop, take on a project in tandem with your everyday role and gain transferable skills you can incorporate into your day-to-day job. 

8. Schedule some ‘me time’ every day: Coping with the stress of the pandemic, working remotely and maintaining the household likely has you experiencing physical, mental and emotional burnout. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 56 percent of Americans reported that the outbreak has led to one or more negative mental health effects including trouble eating or sleeping, frequent headaches, shorter tempers and other health problems. When you’ve got a lot going on, it’s easy for the day to go by without getting up to stretch, grabbing a bite to eat or going outside for a walk. With back-to-back meetings and deadlines at your heel, sometimes you just need to schedule a break in the day, or even a day or two to maintain your mental health. Make self-care a priority and carve out some ‘me time’ every day, so you can maintain your mental stamina and focus your energy on where it matters most. 

With the pandemic looming over our heads and the growing instability of the job market, it’s in everyone’s best interest to be prepared and find actionable ways to boost your own project management resilience. Finding a project management job and growing your career takes persistence, a growth mindset and the ability to anticipate opportunities. In this current economic climate, while the patterns for employment may shift, adopting these eight habits will help you maintain your competitive edge and increase your chances of beating the odds in the job market.