Yahoo Finance Out of work or reduced hours: What now?
Have you unexpectedly found yourself out of work or on reduced hours? Don't panic, here are five things that you can now to future-proof your career.
Take time to rethink and refocus
Most people experience a period of unemployment or underemployment at some point in their career. But not all of us respond in the same way.
If you've found yourself out of work or on reduced hours, we bet you've immediately started doing one of two things:
You’ve sprung into action! You’re updating your resume, searching on Seek and looking for every opportunity without a moment’s thought.
Or, you’ve stopped. You feel overwhelmed and you don’t know where to start, so you haven’t. Ignoring the problem makes it go away, right?
We’ve got another idea for you.
Take a moment to chill. We know it's hard, but the best thing you can do right now is to press pause and set aside time to rethink and refocus. Take a day or maybe even a week, whatever you need, to consider all your options (because YES you have options) and come up with a plan.
During this time, ask yourself a few questions. What do you want to be doing in 5 years? How are you tracking towards that? What can you change in the short term to help you reach that long-term goal?
Once you've done this, you're ready to start seeking out new opportunities.
Get your resume sorted
Obvious? Yes.
Important? Also, yes.
No one is surprised by this tip and yet most people overlook the time needed to design an effective resume. We see it all the time – candidates frantically rush through this step so they can start applying for jobs, only to end up with a subpar resume and no job interviews.
It pays (literally) to invest energy into getting your resume right early. If you want to learn more about how to make your resume stand out, you can find our episode on resumes here.
Build your LinkedIn profile and presence.
If you're not on LinkedIn, you should be. If you're on LinkedIn, you can always become more active. Why? Because LinkedIn is a recruiters best friend. Businesses seek out potential talent using LinkedIn, which means your LinkedIn profile and presence matters.
Your profile needs to have a compelling summary, a professional photo and it needs to reflect your unique career story.
Once your profile is bang on, then it's time to increase your LinkedIn activity. Connect with everyone in your network (and why not ask them for a referral or testimonial while you're at it) and be sure to post and share articles and comment on others’. This will make you stand out to potential employers.
Did somebody say upskill?
There has never been a better time to upskill. If you're on reduced hours or waiting for that next opportunity, now is the best time to invest in you.
Many educational institutions, like TAFE, are offering free courses will give you a qualification on completion. Who doesn't love free stuff!
Using your unexpected free time to build your capabilities will show your next employer that you have a high level of initiative.
So, say no to Netflix and say yes to upskilling.
Give back
If you've taken the time to rethink and refocus, you've sorted your resume and LinkedIn, and you've invested in upskilling, you might be wondering; what now?
It's clear we are in a tough job market. And that means you might not find a new opportunity straight away. But your time can be used to give back. It’s a win, win!
Take the opportunity to seek out your favourite charity or not-for-profit and ask about volunteering. There are so many ways that you can add value. And you never know, they may just write you a reference that you can add to your next job application.
For more, you can check out our episode Out of work or reduced hours - what now here.
Emily Bowen and Shelley Johnson host My Millennial Career: a podcast to help you navigate your way through work and build a career you love.
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