5 Skills To Gain Before Joining the Great Resignation

Especially if you are planning on flying solo

48 million people in the US alone quit their job in the last year.

The Great Resignation is not showing signs of slowing down any time soon.

We seem to be coming out of the pandemic, but its impact on work is here to stay for the long term. People want flexibility, freedom, and purpose in their jobs, and they are chasing it all.

For many, the way to reach it is by going solo. By becoming freelancers or starting small businesses, people are finding new ways to make a living that don’t require a boss and a company to hand them a paycheck at the end of the month.

Since the pandemic began, 380 out of every 100,000 adults became new entrepreneurs each month, the highest level of new entrepreneurship in the 25 years that these numbers are tracked.

If you want to join the movement, make sure you are ready. Here are some skills you should gain before risking it all.

1. Start With Why

Simon Sinek has a valid point.

You want to join the Great Resignation. But why?

Do you want to work for yourself to avoid having a boss? Do you want the freedom to work remotely? A job that gives you a sense of purpose? Try something different from what you’ve been doing for the past 15 years?

What is your driving force?

Defining it upfront will take you down the right path. Say your motivation is to find purpose in your job. Keeping this in mind, if you see a position that pays a superb salary but drenches your soul, you know what to do: walk away.

You will face hard challenges and need to make tough decisions during this process. It’s important you know your ground, and what you stand for. Only then you can make the right choices.

2. Learn How To Manage Money

So basic it shouldn’t even have to be on this list.

Yet, more than half of Americans have less than $1000 in savings. Countless people live on credit. “U.S. consumers racked up $92.2 billion in credit card debt during 2017, pushing outstanding balances past $1 trillion for the first time ever”, this article shows.

If you are planning on putting yourself in a risky financial position, learn the basics first. Prepare the ground to support you if you fall.

Often, managing money is about managing your own psychology. You might have to abandon your views on the subject or drastically shake them. Be open to learn.

3. Learn How To Handle Stress

Shit will happen.

That’s probably the only truth about life.

But in a risky situation like quitting your job, the odds of shit happening increase manyfold.

If you are not prepared, you will break after a tiny bend. You will give up and claim the world isn’t fair. Sooner than you realize, you will be back in your cubicle at your old job and resume the miserable life you tried to escape.

The secret to success is your mind.

In this interview, Cristiano Ronaldo, the best football player in the world, claims that what makes him so brilliant is his mindset. Not his talent, not the hours in the gym, not studying the opponents. His mindset. That’s the key that unlocks everything else.

Train yourself to be mentally strong.

“To be steady when the world spins around you. To act without frenzy. To hear only what needs to be heard. To possess quietude-exterior and interior-on command” — Ryan Holiday

4. Sales, Sales, Sales Everywhere

Realize that everything in life is a sale:

• Your team going with the approach you suggested to solve a problem: sale.
• Your friends agreeing to meet at your favorite restaurant: sale.
• Your partner agreeing to go on holiday to your preferred destination: sale.

If you quit your job in hopes of finding a better one, you need to sell yourself to a hiring manager.

If you want to be a solopreneur, you need to sell your product or service to clients.

If you become an entrepreneur, you need to sell your vision to investors.

Selling is not about being pushy and forcing people to do what you want. It’s not about numbers either. It’s about realizing that everything in life is a transaction. It’s about understanding human psychology.

5. The One (or Two) Thing(s) That Make You Special

Did you quit your job to become a writer? Let me break it to you: there are more wannabe writers than stars in the sky.

Are you an original, impeccable writer with hundreds of hours of practice under your belt? Things are looking better. But there are still plenty of those out there.

Are you a doctor-turned-medical-writer? A travel writer who spent the last 3 years on the road? An engineer who is as good at solving complex issues as at explaining them? We’re beginning to get somewhere.

If you quit your job to reinvent your career, either as an employee, a freelancer, or a solopreneur, you need to set yourself apart from the competition. Employees are easily replaceable. Freelancers are one too many. You need to become special. Be the one person that company, that client is can’t do without.

You can do this by becoming brilliant in one area. Or you can combine two different skills that complement each other, as we saw in the examples above. This is what Tim Ferriss calls a “specialized generalist”.

Having a skill set that sets you apart is a golden ticket on your way to freedom. Make sure to grab yours.

Takeaway

All the points mentioned above should come only after the first, essential step: assessing your current situation.

How are you in terms of money? Can you live without a salary for a while? How many people depend on you? Which benefits will you lose by quitting your job, such as health insurance?

Once you do this and decide that it’s worth moving forward, do it! If you have the skills above, you will be fine. Don’t let fear get in the way. Remember: the cost of inaction is often higher than the risk of action.