The pandemic and its economic fallout have caused many of us to feel like we’ve lost control over our professional lives. But there are steps you can take to get where you want to be, whether that’s restarting a career move, protecting a job you love, or finding a new one.

Kathleen McGinn, a professor whose specialty is career mobility, reflects on what moving ahead means these days and gives advice on when and how we should be pushing ourselves to advance. Then Daisy Wademan Dowling, an organizational consultant and executive coach, shares tips for protecting your job in a recession.

Our HBR reading list:

• “How to Sell Yourself When Your Job’s at Risk,” by Daisy Wademan Dowling
• “Managers, Encourage Your Team to Take Time Off,” by Sabina Nawaz
• “Coronavirus Career Limbo,” from Dear HBR:
• “Reinventing Your Career in the Time of Coronavirus,” by Herminia Ibarra
• “How Will You Measure Your Life?” by Clayton M. Christensen

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Our theme music is Matt Hill’s “City In Motion,” provided by Audio Network.