Five things to stay updated in your career amidst COVID

So many people lost their jobs during this pandemic. Many are struggling to get a job. The epidemic has hit hard for everyone and everything. There was sudden unemployment because of WFH and human resources were cut down because of cost-effectiveness. Organizations are looking to cut down costs and save more because of uncertainty. All of a sudden, life moved from complex to chaos for most. People are struggling to get a job. 

Do you have any idea, what is the reason for the struggle? Even though there are layoffs on one side, there are also job openings on the other side. Many companies are looking to hire because they utilized COVID as an opportunity rather than a threat. 

Up to date in Skills:  

Many Organizations spend millions of dollars to keep their employees upskilled. Upskilling oneself is quintessential. If your organization is not spending money on upskilling, you have to invest in yourself. Spending money in gaining knowledge, skills, and abilities is an investment and not actual spending. Always keep updating your skills, read a book, go to a workshop, attend webinars and meetups, and practice new things once in a while. Staying up to date in the market is inevitable. If you are not updated, then you will remain a dinosaur. Do you know what happened to dinosaurs? They go extinct, and so shall you. 

Networking: 

Let us say there is an opening in your organization. Now think about who gets the priority. Most organizations want their employees to refer candidates for open positions. It is a wise move than spending a considerable amount of money on sourcing new candidates. Referrals get more preference and usually come top on the list. 

Do you have someone who can refer you for open positions in organizations you aspire to work on? Are you part of any community? Communities help people learn and grow. Find conferences to attend, attend meetups, webinars, unconferences, etc. Find people to talk to and share your knowledge with. Don't be a sociopath. Get out there and socialize more.

Write and Publish:  

Working in the industry gets you experience. It would help if you found forums where you can share your experiences. Blogspot is free and best for newbie writers. You can start your Blogspot or write articles on LinkedIn. It will also help you fetch followers if your content is good. People earn money just by blogging and writing articles as well.

Share your experiences in the form of WhitePapers too. If you are not good at sharing your expertise, start reading books. You can write a condensed version of the book and give credit to the author. It will help people who cannot read the complete book. 

Have a Coach or Mentor: 

Having a coach or a mentor or both can help you in so many ways. They can help you and guide you toward your aspirations. Work with them, set a plan, have a goal, and continue the process. Coaching is not a one-time activity. It's a continuous process, and it will be ongoing. If you want to move forward in life, having a coach dramatically accelerates that process. 

In case you are suffering from a mid-life crisis, you can also talk to a career counselor and figure out what you want to do further. Maybe changing your career, getting a new job, a new profession, new skills, etc.

Ask yourself if you are on the path toward where you want to go and how you plan to achieve it.  

Read Read Read: 

Stay hungry for more knowledge. Never be content with the level of learning. There is always to learn more. There is no nirvana state when it comes to education. It's a continuous process. Always stay curious, and it helps you gain more knowledge. A day without learning is a day wasted in your career. 

Books are a great source of knowledge. So do whitepapers, published articles, blogs, and other sources of learning. Find things to read from a verified source, as most of the things you read on the internet are a pile of crap. 

Make all this part of your life, and you don't have to worry about losing a job. Even if you lose a job, you don't have to worry about getting a new one. 

With 11+ years of experience in the field, Leanpitch has successfully upskilled 90,000+ people across 12+ countries. Explore our website, Our trainers are internationally acclaimed for their insightful and experiential training.

We upskill and boost your career by providing a wide range of courses such as CSPO, CSM, ICP-ACC, etc. visit our website to learn more about all the courses we offer.