If you were recently laid off, you’re most likely deciding your next move with all this new free time. Now is the time to rethink the direction in which you want to take your career. If you’ve recently lost your job, choose to think of this as an opportunity to find what you really want to do with your career. And the best part? Recessions have a way of weeding out companies that aren’t well-established or better prepared for crises. CBS News advises, “The logical place to look for jobs that clear that relatively low hurdle is in the industries that are hiring now, such as education, health care, and government.” If you find a new job in these fields, you’re likely to stay for a while despite the economic downturn.
Find a Buddy
Use the buddy system when networking. Request to join LinkedIn and Facebook groups for your targeted industry. During an economic downturn and hiring holds, job hunting could be discouraging and can cause depression or frustration that leads to quitting. You’ll need someone to hold you accountable and cheer you on to keep going. LiveCareer recognized the importance of that accountability when they wrote, “Too many times, we fall victim to distractions from the job search. The trap of sleeping late, watching TV, and playing on the Web can ensnare us. With no one but ourselves to hold us accountable for our job-search goals and plans, time can just slip away. It’s so easy to lose balance between personal needs and wants and our job search.”
Take an Online Course
Use this time wisely; Learn a new skill. LinkedIn has several courses and tutorials on LinkedIn Learning. One way to stand out from the competition is to pack your résumé and cover letter with skills and expertise the other applicants might not have. It might even be the thing you need to make your quarantine more fun, by doing something new. Zapier remarks that learning by doing is the best way to learn, “Humans are natural learners—and we learn best when we perform the tasks we’re trying to learn.” Learn the different types of skills that will be useful to the company and for the role in which you’re applying. Make yourself difficult to pass up and invaluable to them.
Research
Which companies are thriving right now? Make a list of the industries that are surviving or even profiting from the new full-time in-home lifestyles everyone has adapted. Within those industries, search for the top-performing companies and find the one that fits your ideal team culture. And it isn’t hard to find these industries either. Fitness, Delivery, Health, and anything that can be used in-home are doing well right now. The US Chamber reported on 10 businesses thriving during our health crisis, a few of which are: Liquor and Wine Stores and Cleaning Services. You could also research what your next dream job is and where it fits in these thriving industries. Find a new career that you love!
Starting from the Beginning
Accept that you may have to go back to entry-level. And it’s better than the alternative: going all the way back to school. It’ll help you get the hands-on experience you’ll need, and with your leadership skills, you’ll be able to move ahead faster than your other entry-level peers. They say, “dress for the job you want,” but it also applies to behavior. Act like the manager, or leader, you want to be. Promotions come to those who work for them and, essentially, do the job they want to move into. You won’t have to stay entry-level for too long! And until you move up, use SteadyApp to help you set financial goals for you and your family while you adjust to a lower salary.
Consider Contract Roles
Everyone wants to hire a candidate with experience, but with nobody hiring it’s nearly impossible to get experience in a new field. Consider looking for freelance or contract roles, to earn some experience from home. These opportunities will also earn you references to cite during the interview process. Having three to five letters of reference will fill out your application a bit more and help you stand out, even with your minimal contract experience. Testimonials from clients, to add to your website, don’t hurt either!
Tune-Up
That’s right, this is the time for a tune-up. You’re looking for something new, so you’ll have to spruce up your LinkedIn profiles and résumé to use skills and experience you have that can translate to skills and experience needed in this new field. Currently, your profiles and documents likely display all the information needed for your current field or industry. For a complete career change, you’ll have to take all those things in a new direction to get noticed by hiring managers. Tune-up your LinkedIn page, refresh your résumé, and brush up your cover letter for stats relevant to the job you’re searching for.
The way to survive mentally through this quarantine, and to change careers successfully, is to stay productive while at home. Learn a new skill, earn required certifications online, and give your profiles a tune-up with your updated skills and expertise. For more tips on job searching through our current economic climate, keep up with our news and job postings on pdxMindShare!
