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The pandemic has disrupted almost every area of our lives, including how we work and do business. An unfortunate reality of the pandemic is that thousands of people have found themselves out of a job with few alternatives to pursue. If you’re among the many people who have lost their job during the pandemic, find out what you can do to keep your options open while earning extra income below.
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Follow Inspiring Thought Leaders
Being out of a job — especially during a time that’s already so stressful — is often incredibly disheartening. Envisioning a positive outcome is hard, which is why you might want to start by giving yourself a motivation boost. Following bloggers who write about work and career topics and subscribing to career-related podcasts can guide you through this rough patch. Girl Boss recommends podcasts such as Side Hustle School, How I Built This, and Starving Artist to get you started.
Develop In-Demand Skills
Working on new career skills is one of the best ways to utilize your time as you search for another job. Whether you want to look for careers in your current field or branch into a new line of work entirely, you can make your resume stand out by getting additional certifications or degrees. For instance, you could earn a computer science degree and work from home, offering your expertise as a permanent employee or freelancer to virtually any employer around the globe. In fact, MindPluckd explains you’d become more employable even while you’re still a student.
The thought of returning to school during the pandemic might be overwhelming, but luckily you can complete a wide variety of courses online. By choosing an accredited school, you can even obtain an Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree without leaving home. Going back to school for computer science, business administration, healthcare or any other field is an excellent way to launch a better career in the future.
Try Freelancing
During a time with such high unemployment numbers, you may find it difficult to land a full-time job. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any work opportunities out there. A great way to keep your skills sharp while boosting your income is to begin freelancing your existing skills and knowledge. You can do just about any type of work on a freelance basis, so chances are you have a variety of applicable skills that can help you land a gig or two.
Not only does freelancing boost your bank account, it also helps you build invaluable business connections. Performing well on a freelance job can win you multiple projects with the same client. If you’re lucky, you might even find a full-time job by getting your foot in the door with freelancing.
Freelancing also keeps your resume fresh and relevant while you look for full-time employment. Even if you’re not freelancing full-time, it still counts as work. Unfortunately, hiring managers sometimes hold a bias against applicants who have periods of unemployment on their resumes, so anything you can do to avoid gaps in your employment history will improve your outlook.
Consider Volunteering
You won’t get paid, but you are sure to meet a variety of new people when you go out and volunteer. This opens the door to a number of networking connections you might not have interacted with under other circumstances. Not only that, volunteer work can often look good on a resume, especially if it helps you build skills related to your field of work.
Volunteering is also a meaningful way to discover new interests that could potentially lead you to a new career field. For example, volunteering in a soup kitchen could reveal a passion for cooking, adopting out animals at your local shelter could inspire you to pursue a career in animal care, and taking part in a food drive may ignite a love of event planning.
Get a Temporary Job
While it is hard to land full-time work right now, you might find that it’s easier to get a part-time job just to help you make ends meet. It doesn’t have to be related to your career path, and you don’t have to worry about a part-time job looking strange on your resume. If you take on work you don’t want potential full-time employers to see, it’s always fine to leave work off your resume. However, there will be many people who have had to take on short-term work by the time this crisis is over, so don’t be too concerned about what potential hiring managers will think about temporary jobs listed on your resume.
Getting through the pandemic is hard enough, but dealing with a job loss on top of everything else can feel almost impossible. Fortunately, there are many ways to make ends meet while you’re waiting for your next opportunity. Anything you can do to keep your skills sharp and make new business connections will help you make it through these tough times.
