According to Fortune Magazine, a prominent job report stated that in March of 2020, more Americans were out of work than at any other time in history.
These are the times in which we find ourselves. In a COVID era where we can find neither toilet paper nor jobs, many people are finding that the old ways of doing things are no longer working.
Don't know how you're going to put food on the table?
Even if you're employed but want to switch careers, you have to know by now that with millions of people in unemployment lines (standing six feet apart), you'll have to get creative in your job search.
That's why this piece of content will give you tips on how to change your career and gain momentum for your job search during this COVID pandemic.
Social Distancing Post COVID-19 Era
We all might really be tired of standing six feet away from everyone and wearing masks.
But the news website "Stat" cited a study that stated that social distancing practices may need to extend into 2022 to keep the pandemic at bay.
Of course, this will impact millions of people. Think of the hospitality industry as one example.
With everyone needing to keep some distance from each other, people who work in positions such as flight attendants, hotel and resort staff, and wait staff may find that their options for work may not be nearly as fruitful as they were pre-pandemic.
Will Life Go Back to Normal?
As much as we would all like life to continue as it did pre-pandemic, this universal wish may not come to pass.
The director of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said that the next outbreak of the coronavirus could be worse than the current one.
So, quarantines and social distancing could turn into our new societal norms.
With this new normal slowly becoming ingrained in our culture, no one knows when the millions of unemployed Americans will go back to work.
It could be one month from now. it could be six months from now. Unemployment rates might not go down for well over a year.
What can we do about all of this?
You could complain.
If you find yourself furloughed or even without a source of any income, you have every right to be angry. Your livelihood was taken away from you. Everything you know was taken away from you and all of us.
Why wouldn't you be angry, anxious, and afraid for your future?
You certainly have every right to grieve your situation.
But you could be angry and sad while binging "Little Fires Everywhere" on Hulu or you could do something about your situation.
But how do you find new work in an era where thousands of people show up to one unemployment office and overwhelm the system with paper and online applications for unemployment benefits?
Don't worry. There's a way. It's not easy. But it is possible.
What You Can Do About Your Situation
If you're out of work, there are a couple of things that you can do in this day and age. You could sit around in your pajama pants and comb job sites looking at the same job ads that thousands of other people have seen.
Or you could take a more novel approach to finding a new career in the COVID-19 era.
You could start by refining your resume. If you don't want to do this task yourself, you can hire a resume professional to do it.
You could fix up your LinkedIn profile and start doing some outreach on that platform. There are plenty of things that you could do to raise your professional profile.
This is the best time to get creative when it comes to the job search.
One tip you should really consider following is being proactive when it comes to contacting prospective employers.
While it's true that many employers are not actively hiring, you're not waiting for these employers to post job ads.
Let's say you want to work for Company A. You contact their human resources department, who says they put a freeze on any hiring activity for the foreseeable future.
You could take this news as gospel and go back to searching for jobs on Indeed.
Or you could go back to Company A and contact the head of the department where you would like to work. Your job is to convince them that they need your services.
If their workforce is currently remote due to the outbreak, talk to the department head about how effective you were in working from home for your last employer.
If it's needed, illustrate how you will be better in your prospective role than the person that's currently holding it.
In a day where millions of Americans are out of work, you have to do what you got to do in order to be in the ranks of the happily employed.
Changing Careers In The COVID-19 Era
Changing your career path certainly wasn't easy before we had to worry about pandemics.
It has become ten times harder in this day and age. But just because searching for work has become a lot more difficult, it doesn't mean that this task will be impossible.
You'll have to be very creative and very aggressive at times.
When contacting employers who aren't actively hiring, it's important not to be a jerk.
While not having an income is a serious issue, the person you might potentially replace will also suffer if they lose their job in a time of unemployment unseen since the Great Depression.
So, while you advocate for yourself and your abilities, it's important to have compassion at this time, too.
When contacting employers, you'll have to think about what you have to offer this employer that one hundred other people can't.
Are you willing to work 12 - 14 hour days?
Will you go out of your way to build new relationships?
Will you spend the last of your severance check on acquiring new skills that will serve you well in the post-COVID era?
If you want to start your own business, think about what you have to offer potential customers.
Is it faster delivery of services? Is it excellent, above the fold customer service?
Is it world-class expertise?
Whatever your unique selling proposition, make sure that your product or service truly is the best on the market.
Anything less and your business won't survive.
