COVID-19 | Don’t Put Your Career on Standby

When COVID-19 first hit the news, nobody expected it to have such an impact around the globe. Many companies began putting things on hold but they then realised that our current situation is going to last far longer than everyone thought and employees and employers will have to adapt to survive.

Social distancing, self-isolation and countries on lockdown have forced millions of people to stay at home. It’s not an easy task considering you might not be used to working from home. You may even be restricted by children, trying to balance their education with your work. Thanks to digital technology that is now freely available, working from home these days is more than possible.

This also applies to those who are looking for a job.

It would be an exaggeration to say ‘business as usual’ as we are all learning to work in what seems like a new world. That said, if you’d been thinking of postponing your job search until after the crisis, you could be making a big mistake.

In the first place, the future is very uncertain, particularly with respect to unemployment and financial support. Now, more than ever, it’s important to secure employment.

Secondly, while you are waiting for better days to come, other candidates are ready to start working straight away. .

Here are 6 things you can do to ensure your career keeps moving forward even while much of the world appears to be on standby:

#1. Be active about your job search

Due to the sudden increase in unemployment, competition for each vacancy is likely to be fierce. Even if it appears that companies aren’t recruiting today, they are always interested in outstanding talent. Whether it’s tomorrow, next week, or next month, you need to make sure that you get ahead of the competition.

#2. Don’t be scared to take risks

COVID-19 has spread fear and uncertainty in almost every country. Typical behaviour in times of crisis is that people tend to be overly cautious about everything from investments to career advancement.

However, here is where the opportunity lies: whilst many people are sitting back carefully considering their futures, it leaves the market more open for you. The risks that you take should be calculated but without fear.

#3. Develop your skill sets

It’s quite likely that you’re going to have more time on your hands if you’re working from home or on lockdown. Rather than getting frustrated about your lack of social life or using your commute time to stay horizontal, be productive with your time. There’s a virtually unlimited supply of webinars, online courses, and educational sessions that you can use to improve your skills set. Once you have taken a course or two, be sure to update your social media profiles and CV.

#4. Video interviews are here

Increasingly and especially at the present time, interviews will be held either by a telephone call or video on apps like Zoom or Skype. Bear in mind that the structure and questions will be the same but you need to prepare yourself and your technology. Try having practice video interviews with friends and family, focus on things like the lighting and what your interviewer can see in the background. Watch videos that offer tips and advice for telephone and video interviews.

#5. Pay attention to your personal brand

Regardless of whether you are employed or job-seeking, no time is better than the present for improving how employers perceive you. If you aren’t on social media platforms like LinkedIn, now is the time to join. If you are, look at how you can improve your profile aka your brand, share content and reconnect with others in your field. Google your name and check what employers searching for you will find. If there’s anything on social media sites that isn’t appropriate, delete the content or change your privacy settings.

#6. Prove your value to your employer

If you put yourself in your employer’s shoes, you can imagine there will be certain concerns about having the entire office working from home. Will there still be enough communication? Will employees be productive? Or will they binge on Netflix?

Working from home provides you with the opportunity to prove to your employer that you are trustworthy, independent, and productive even while off-site. This will benefit you in multiple ways: Once this crisis is over (and one day it will be over), you’ll more likely be able to continue working from home for at least part of your working week. Your employer will also realise your responsibility, potential and motivation, all of which increase your chances of advancement.

In concluding, there’s no denying that life as we knew it is going through a change. Not everything is going to go as we had originally planned. But there’s no reason to put your career on hold – on the contrary, it’s the ideal time for the smartest ones to be proactive and seize the opportunities that arise whilst the competition remove themselves from the opportunities that are still out there.