What Can I Do for Myself in These Times of Crisis?

“Until God takes you, you have to fight, there is nothing else.” — Wisdom of Emiliana Condori

This is quote from a self-made street vendor currently featured in the Netflix documentary, Street Food — Latin America, Bolivia. As I was watching this I was consumed with the wisdom a life filled with challenges can bring to a person. Then I began to reflect on what it takes to meet the difficulties any life can throw at a person and how we might prepare and find the same wisdom inside ourselves.

Higher education is taking more than few blows this year and many institutions within this industry will encounter difficult times. More than a number of colleges have already announced large layoffs. In the coming weeks, more than a few will have to take further belt-tightening measures as students decide not to return to half-opened campuses with strict rules for maintaining their health and safety.

Just recently an article published in Parents Magazine cited research grading over 400 colleges and universities into four categories with a large number identified as “Challenged” or “Struggling”. The Wall Street Journal also published an article pointing to closures among many Business Schools. Such closures will force hundreds, if not thousands more into the ranks of the unemployed wondering what comes next. In particular international higher education will be greatly affected, likely taking much longer to recover.

What makes this cycle even more different is that is compounded by the wave of demands long unmet by students of color. Institutions now have to make concessions as the result of a mass uplifting of consciousness. While long overdue, this will result in additional increased costs and decreases in revenue as students decide to move to other institutions that have always been more socially aware and active.

While expectations are that international higher education will eventually recover from this current crisis, we must both look to the past and understand the current situation is much different. Higher Education was already going through an existential crisis with some senior administrators already claiming their institutions were on “life-support”. The hit to revenue and increase in expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic only hastened what was before a multi-year process of consolidation.

Recovery for those institutions that survive will likely take 5 years and will look much different than previous crisis. While 2001 saw similar declines in international student mobility and increased costs due to measures intended to increase safety, the demographic shift in New England states had not come fully into play and many institutions were still expanding facilities, increasing tuition, and had not been forced to dig themselves into deep financial holes with over 50% tuition discount rates in order to maintain enrollments.

With fewer institutions, staffed by fewer people what is the outlook for individuals, for you? While higher education tends to be an industry built on the accumulation of the personal commitment to a mission by 100’s or 1000’s of individuals, now is the time to focus on one’s own well-being.

Hopefully as you read this you still have a job. If so let’s start with a few items you should be paying attention to now, especially if you are already seeing the writing on the walls.

Build and Maintain Networks

Both within your institution and with colleagues across the landscape of the industry, make sure you are trying to stay on good terms. It is always helpful to have a recommendation from someone in your current/previous institution. Also, as you communicate with vendors ask those you speak with about their jobs. What is the industry like? Are there opportunities and what would they be looking for? Record a personal log of contact information with names, titles, emails and phone numbers. Depending on the situation at your institution you may want to set up an auto-reply on your email that includes a personal email or phone number so in case you suddenly lose access to your work email, contacts that can help in a transition will know how to find you. Insure any memberships to professional associations will still be accessible even after a layoff as these are good instant networks.

Make yourself less dispensable

If you really would like to be one of the last people standing, then now is the time to take on new projects, volunteer for extra work, and do what you can to highlight your strengths. Keep in mind this may simply be prolonging the inevitable but buying a little extra time could be advantageous. The main downside is that as others are laid-off you will be saddled with more and more work. This will leave little time to do some of the things to prepare for the eventual. Also as the situation worsens the toll on your mental and physical health may in the end not be worth another semester or year of employment. Being part of a the closing of an institution can leave permanent mental and emotional scars and will likely leave you in no better position to negotiate a severance package. Remember by this time the institution would have declared some level of protection against law-suits and there will be a long line of others expecting their fare share.

Take Initiative and Prepare for the Inevitable

Contrary to the previous advice, if it is obvious things are taking a dark turn, then you should start to put yourself first. All those extra hours you have been putting in at the office could be better spent revising your resume or CV. Perhaps there are professional development opportunities you could take advantage of? Are there tasks at home that you could take care of now? While some anticipate having more free time once they are unemployed, there are so many tasks to be taken care of once that happens compounded by the mental and emotional strain, it is best to take care of them now. Remember to take copious notes on everything. Later these may come in useful.

Care for yourself first — remember the institution does not exist to care for you so you must put yourself first.

Hopefully these bits of advice will help you maintain some sense of control over an uncertain situation. Often it is the feeling that you have no control that makes situations like these we are experiencing, worse. But what happens if you get the notice and suddenly find yourself packing up the things in your office and heading out the door? In my future contributions I try to offer some advice that will hopefully help you as you move forward into the next phase of your life.

I started this piece with a quote from Dona Emi and so end with another that is intended to inspire you as much as it did me.

“And if this fails, I’ll come up with something else because I care for myself, I love myself and I value myself.”

Alfredo Varela is Vice President at Academic Assembly, a strategic advisory firm specializing in global higher education and reinvention.For more information you may contact him at alfredo.varela@academicassembly.com