Is It Smart To Change Careers During This Pandemic?

Emily had been working as a Customer Service representative for the past 2 years. Coming into 2020, she planned to work towards getting another job by mid-year. For her, she was tired of the long hours, the on-call expectations, and dealing with the work environment. These were the factors that led her to think about a career change.

Then the pandemic struck.

“At the end of March, my employer let 7 of us (employees) go to save money that would help the company stay afloat. Since there aren’t a lot of companies hiring, I figured I might as well start seriously working towards the change I wanted. I am still looking and applying for jobs I can do, there are just not many out there,” she says.

The shock of the pandemic has made planning ahead difficult, particularly when it comes to major decisions like a career move. Unless laid off, many have decided to hold on to their careers until this is all over.

However, this doesn’t mean that you too should put your aspirations on hold.

Although hiring has slowed down, companies are still actively recruiting and looking for strong new talent to problem solve and continue to be resilient in the face of adversity. While less hiring means a more competitive search, you can use this time to your advantage to stand out within your job search and land a job that you are passionate about.

During this tough time, you have the opportunity to enhance your expertise, build your network, and reflect on your next step professionally.

Here are tips that will help you gain the confidence and clarity you need to move forward in your career.

1. Think about how urgent your job search is

If you are currently unemployed, you may feel a sense of urgency to get a job fast. As such, consider your job search a full-time job in itself. Set a timeline for when you would like to get a new role and instead of blindly applying, focus your efforts on leveraging your network to source additional opportunities and keep track of your progress.

If you do not need a job urgently, you may want to wait. Instead, think of how to make your job more palatable.

2. Revamp your CV

Take this time to revamp your CV to highlight your current career accomplishments, education, passions, and skills. To make your work easier, you can take up our free CV review and be guided by our professional CV writers.

Lean towards developing your brand to give employers a sense of your narrative and mission, which will differentiate you from many applicants.

When applying for remote jobs, read the job description carefully to showcase the specific skills that match the job description.

3. Strengthen connections with your networks online

As events are currently unavailable, you will need to find new ways of networking. Seek out like-minded professionals online to spark conversations about possible opportunities and virtual networking events and chats.

Look for professional groups to join on Facebook and LinkedIn, as they offer a wide range of options with groups for every profession, thus expanding your network.

This is the perfect time to make new authentic connections and revive old ones.

4. Boost your skills

Use your free time to take up an online course and ultimately expand your professional toolkit. Having a few certifications under your belt will be helpful when applying for new roles.

Analyze job descriptions by listing each required skill and experience. Then consider whether you have that exact skill, if you have the skill but haven’t used it in a few years, or if you’re lacking the skill entirely. Use that information to determine what you need to brush up on to make yourself an even better candidate when the job market picks up again.

Given the current climate, we are offering several an upcoming Advanced Excel online course that you can sign up for here. 

5. Use the Time to Reflect

Take advantage of the slowing job market by getting clarity about where you want to work and the type of role and title you are seeking.

Create a document that lists your target industry, companies, job titles, and anything in particular that you are looking for.

Be prepared to think about your role more broadly and possibly pivot to an adjacent position that would also make use of your experience and skills. For instance, you might have been targeting a marketing role but with fewer people spending money, the company might be more inclined to hire someone for a communications role during this crisis.

In Conclusion,

During an economic slowdown, it’s important to focus on what you can control—improving your skills and reaching out to your network. You can lay the groundwork now so that when the crisis is over you have opened doors and rekindled relationships.