Is the Covid-19 pandemic messing up your career plans? Dan and Alison answer your questions with the help of Scott Galloway, a professor at NYU Stern School of Business. They talk through what to do when you’ve been laid off with a promise that you’ll be hired back eventually, your goal of moving into management has stalled, or your employer’s inflexible work-from-home policy is forcing you to look for other jobs in a difficult market.

 From Alison and Dan’s reading list:

HBR: 7 Questions to Raise Immediately After You’re Laid Off by Susan Peppercorn — “While some employers can consider more moderate options to laying staff off outright — such as furloughs, reduced schedules, or pay cuts — the fear and uncertainty behind when and if companies will be able to afford to re-employ their workers is resulting in many companies simply shedding employees.”

HBR: What to Do If There’s No Clear Career Path for You at Your Company by Dorie Clark — “In the new workplace reality, individual professionals almost have to take a detective-like approach, investigating and vetting opportunities. That may not be hard in smaller companies, but in large global enterprises, information becomes key.”

Book: The Algebra of Happiness: Notes on the Pursuit of Success, Love, and Meaning by Scott Galloway — “The world does not belong to the big, but to the fast. You want to cover more ground in less time than your peers. This is partially built on talent, but mostly on strategy and endurance.”

HBR: The Right Way to Bring a Problem to Your Boss by Amy Gallo — “None of us likes to deliver a difficult message, but when done correctly, it can be a valuable way to build a trusting relationship with your boss. You know that you should never bring a problem to your boss without a proposed solution. But often we forget to frame the situation in a way that helps us garner the necessary resources or approval to begin moving toward a solution.”