The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted life as we know it. The world has had to adapt to a new normal, especially when it comes to careers. Here are five ways to make a career change during Covid-19
The coronavirus, one heck of an unexpected event, has disrupted our lives in ways unimaginable. Lives have been lost, jobs have become scarcer and businesses have folded. According to businesstech.co.za a finding from a survey revealed that approximately three million people lost their jobs over the lockdown period, representing an 18% decline in employment from 17 million people employed in February, to 14 million people employed in April 2020. One can imagine the rising numbers of people losing their jobs since then. Times are tough. Everyone is feeling the impact of the pandemic in some way or another, especially when it comes to their careers or income streams. It is important, therefore, to re-invent yourself and your career right now to surf through the waves of uncertainty. Here are five ways to do that:
Upskill yourself: The pandemic has highlighted how important it is to empower yourself digitally. Those who are lucky enough to still work are mostly working from home, connecting with their colleagues virtually. Use this time to further your skills through online courses as many businesses are migrating to the digital world and are adapting to the fourth industrial revolution. Match your skills with the current demands.
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Consider freelancing: Many employees are currently experiencing pay cuts, making the cost of living, even on basic things very high. If you have connections, now is the best time to make use of them to help you find out about any opportunities for freelancing. Use whatever resource you have to research about projects you can take. Since some companies cannot afford to hire on a full-time basis they might consider using freelancers for part-time projects, be on the lookout for such opportunities.
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Brush up on your networking skills: Industry events were a great way to network and meet new people. Since this will not happen anytime soon because of the pandemic, befriend technology and make use of online platforms to connect with people. Make use of platforms like LinkedIn to connect with brands and people, remember that your network makes your networth. Be proactive in building good industry contacts.
Be an industry leader: What are you really good at? Copy-editing? Writing? Project management? Communications strategy? Cooking? Why not guest blog, or open a Facebook page where you share your skills with other people? Initiating these projects will earn you recognition in your field and help make you headhunted.
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Be realistic: The pandemic has brought a lot of uncertainty, especially in the job market. Remember that right now companies might find it hard to afford to employ you, it has nothing to do with you. You are good enough. So don’t be hard on yourself, especially if you are out of the job market currently. It’s hard to not have an income, especially if you have bills to pay and a family to take care of, but don’t give up. Keep looking, use online job portals, such as Career24, Bizcommunity or Pnet to continue applying for jobs. We don’t know when, but this too shall pass, and when the normal we know is restored you should be ready and transformed enough for the job market.
