About the Author
Kat is a Wisconsin-based freelance writer who focuses on careers, productivity, and self-development. She has written content for The Muse, Trello, Atlassian, QuickBooks, Toggl, Wrike, and more. When she's not at her desk, you'll find her spending time with her family—which includes two adorable sons and two rebellious rescue mutts.
When you’re interviewing for a new role, there are a number of things you care about.
Of course, you want the salary you deserve and adequate benefits. You want to know there’s room to grow and develop within the company. And maybe you’re keeping an eye out for some extra perks—like flexible schedule options or tuition reimbursement.
Regardless of what your priorities are, we’re willing to bet that this is on your list somewhere: company culture.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought a lot of unfamiliar concerns along with it. Suddenly our normal, everyday decisions—like whether we should visit a friend or head to the grocery store—have a lot more weight to them.
Beyond wiping down groceries and stocking up on hand sanitizer, many people were saddled with newfound career fears and struggles.
Nobody likes to feel like they’re sitting in the passenger seat of their own career—but that seems like your standard mode of operating this year. The world has been turned on its head, and the unexpected twists and turns have most of us feeling more out of control than usual.
Remote work has been increasing for a while, but the COVID-19 pandemic certainly kicked it into high gear.
It always starts innocently enough. Maybe you’re in a meeting with some colleagues you don’t regularly interact with. Or perhaps you’re at a networking event or happy hour with some industry acquaintances.
Somebody shakes your hand or offers a friendly wave and says, “It’s really great to meet you.”
Sigh. There’s only one problem: You’ve actually met this person before—maybe even several times.
You have plenty of goals you want to achieve. But, you’ll be the first to admit that you aren’t really making any progress.
Even worse? It feels like you’re being left behind. It’s as if you’re beginning a marathon and everybody else is whizzing past you at record speed—while you remain at the starting line with your feet stuck in the cement.
What gives? How come everybody else seems to be scoring these big wins while you stay in place? Let’s look at a few potential reasons.
For the most part, you like your job. You can handle your responsibilities with confidence, your boss is invested in your growth and development, and you’re learning a lot.
But, that doesn’t mean things are perfect. Your biggest complaint? You don’t feel like you’re totally meshing with your team.
This isn’t news to you: It feels like the world has been turned on its head.
Businesses are closing and entire industries are suffering. Schools are shut down for the foreseeable future. Professionals have found themselves working in entirely new environments. Everybody is worried about their own health, as well as the health of their loved ones.
Daily habits and routines have had to shift, and decisions that used to be inconsequential now seem monumentous.
You prefer to have some independent time to process information, while your colleague would rather jump right in and spitball some ideas on the spot.
Your boss’ desk is so organized that it looks like it belongs in an office supply catalog, but yours is usually a collection of papers and half-full coffee mugs.
You thrive in high-pressure situations where you need to think on your feet, and your team member likes to rely on tried and true systems and predictable processes.
You’re starting a brand new job. It’s exciting, but it’s also intimidating.
You barely know how to navigate your way to the office bathroom and back, and you still haven’t found where the coffee filters are hiding. You’re enlisting the help of some mnemonic devices (and some strategically-placed sticky notes) to try to remember everybody’s name.
THE FINE PRINT:
Myers-Briggs® and MBTI® are registered trademarks of the MBTI Trust, Inc., which has no affiliation with this site. Truity offers a free personality test based on Myers and Briggs' types, but does not offer the official MBTI® assessment. For more information on the Myers Briggs Type Indicator® assessment, please go here.
The Five Love Languages® is a registered trademark of The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, which has no affiliation with this site. You can find more information about the five love languages here.
