The Habit of Professional Reinvention

If you’re a professional still working from home, the concept of professional reinvention may have already crossed your mind as you sit in on virtual meetings and communicate with your team through email. The professional world went through a massive shift as team bonding events and company outings shifted to virtual Zoom happy hours, and office spaces became almost obsolete. Not many people saw this transition coming, but those who were ready are the successful business leaders who maintain career longevity because of professional reinvention. 

During our interview on ICONN Live with Dorie Clark, she said it best “we need to be ready to reinvent ourselves at a  moment’s notice.” Dorie is a Harvard Business Review Author, Duke & Columbia Business Professor, #1 Communication Coach, and one of the top 50 Business Thinkers in the World. She spoke to us about how professional reinvention is no longer a choice but more of a necessity to stay afloat in your industry during changing times. 

Now the question remains, how can we prepare for these uncertain and unpredictable moments. Dorie shared with us the secrets to professional reinvention: 

Prepare in small ways

Professional reinvention may seem overwhelming if you try to do it in one day. Make it a goal to work towards reinventing yourself, whether it’s in your industry or starting an entirely new business venture or project. Incorporate small daily tasks that make you step outside of your professional bubble. Sign up for courses to expand your skillset or see how you can transition your skills into a new project or side hustle. The most important thing to remember is to always keep working towards a new goal so you can build a dynamic career for yourself. 

Make it a habit

The biggest takeaway from our interview with Dorie is that to be prepared we need to “make a habit of reinvention.” Preparing in small ways becomes effective when it becomes a part of your daily routine. If you can better yourself or expand your professional scope a little bit each day, you’re on the right track to professional reinvention. Habits start to stick after around a month of consistently practicing them, so challenge yourself to take up a new skill every month. It’s easier to form a habit when you write down the desired goal you wish to achieve and work towards it by completing bite-sized daily tasks. This practice will eventually lead you into making a habit of professional reinvention. 

Be smart and always be ready to reinvent

To maintain our careers, we need to realize that our jobs may not be safe in this economic climate. As Dorie mentioned, “nobody can take anything for granted anymore.” Not our current position or career, and we certainly can’t become comfortable and complacent in our industry. The smart thing to do is to always be searching for your next business venture or challenge. Stay agile and on your toes, so when the next significant shift in the professional world comes around, you’ll be ready. 

Professional reinvention is a skill that needs cultivating, so follow these tips to ensure you’ll have career longevity and security. 

Check out the full clip on professional reinvention from my interview with Dorie Clark:

If you enjoyed this interview, check out our other ICONNic Talk with celebrity entrepreneur Ja Rule. 

To watch the full interview, download iconn.live app on the app store and watch on my feed @searchdecoder.

Check out my new book The Psychology of a Website: Mastering Cognitive Biases, Conversion Triggers, and Modern SEO for Massive Results to learn more about some of the topics discussed in my ICONNic talks. 

Matthew Capala

Matthew Capala is a seasoned digital marketing executive, founder/CEO of Alphametic, a Miami-based digital marketing agency, author of “The Psychology of a Website,” dynamic speaker, and entrepreneur.