What To Do When You Suddenly Find Yourself Jobless?
How to find a job now. We are living in some really tough times – the world is battling a pandemic, the expanse of which, most of us have never seen. The entire world is in its clutches and global economy is in a state of distress; and in between all of this, there are people losing their jobs. Because companies and organisations are not able to function in their regular modes, they are not only facing losses, but many are at the brink of bankruptcy and at such a time, letting go of some of the staff seems like the only way to stay afloat.
While letting people go might seem like the only plausible solution from the point of view of the employers, for the one losing the job, it’s a whole different ball game. Although it might feel like the end of the world, it is not – there will be a tomorrow and how it will shape up, is actually in your own hands. If you are one of the people who suddenly woke up one day and found out that you are jobless, don’t fret, because you are not alone; there are several other people who are being laid off.
- What to do when you lose your job:
Losing your job is a definite blow to you, but it is not the end of the world – this is the first thing that you need to make yourself understand. Your mental strength will be all important at a time like this and make sure that you have the support of your loved ones. While you will have to spend a good amount of time trying to find a new job, you have to find something that will keep you positive and motivated, because remaining upbeat is crucial at such times.
You will have to get the word out that you are looking for a job, and the best place to start will be people who are already in your domain of work. Although you might not want to get in touch with the people from your ex-organisation, you can most certainly talk to the contacts you made while working there. It is best that you not lie – tell them honestly that because of the tough situations, you were asked to leave and now you are looking for something new.
Networking will be imperative and how you choose to do it is in your hands – you can pick up the phone and talk to them, catch up with them through social media or set up virtual meetings with people who could help you or at least get you in touch with people who could. Build your contact list and get to work – get in touch with every single one of them and let them know that you are looking for a job. Make sure that you give them your contact details properly, so that when something comes up, they are able to get in touch with you. Do remember to remain persuasive, without becoming irritating; always keep your tone gentle, considerate of others and forever genuine and honest.
And when people start to ask you about your job profile and what you are looking for next, there are two things that will be of utmost importance – having a thorough understanding of your skill sets and your resume. You might have a certain skill setright now and they might have served you really well till date, but in the post pandemic scenario, these skills might not be enough or they might not be what you want or need to take your career in the direction desired. If you are locked down at home, this would actually be a great time to reskill yourself or even upskill and learn something new.
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- How to structure your resume
When you are back in the market, looking for a job, the most important thing that you will need ready and updated, will be your resume. Your resume is not just about your qualifications or what positions you have held in the past – it is how a prospective employer will make the decision related to hiring you or not.
Get started on your quest to find a job. Your first task is to make sure that your resume is updated – this means that if you had been in the job since the past 7 years, you would have obviously not have changed anything in your resume. Remove all the clutter – no one really needs to know whether you were the champion in your high school track team (unless you are applying for the post of a sports coach) or how you enjoy baking in your spare time.
Stick to the basics – your educations qualifications, your past job experiences and whether you have acquired any job specific certifications or licenses. In case you have a really long work history, try to shorten the ones where you were not able to achieve much and give more emphasis to job details that pertain to the company that you are applying to. Take the time to customise your resume for each company you are applying to. You need to show that you are a good fit for the company and are amply qualified for the post you are applying for, pointing out all your accomplishments.
While most people will think that things like font and bullets don’t matter, but the fact remains that your resume needs to look good, in order to capture attention, right from the get go. Use a basic font, nothing to jazzy or flashy, keep the size somewhere between 10 to 13, because these are the easiest to read. Adding headlines, which are highlighted in bold, will also add an extra element to your resume. You could even add your LinkedIn profile details, because prospective employers can get a good idea of all that you have done professionally. Make sure that there are absolutely no grammatical or typographical errors and remember to save the resume properly – just resume does not make sense; make sure that you put your full name and save it in a format that is universal.
- How to ensure your resume gets noticed
In all possibility, your resume will have to first go through a computerised process or a screening that is done by some form of artificial intelligence, which means that you need to ensure that your resume stands apart. Here are some of the easiest ways to make sure that your resume gets noticed:
- Check the latest formats of resumes and amend yours to match the same
- Use terms that are most popular and most commonly used, such as graphic designer, content editor and so on
- Rather than any acronyms or abbreviations that could confuse the system, use full forms
- Emphasize on all your relevant experiences and pay special focus on your results and achievements
- If the job profile you are aiming at, requires you to be creative, go ahead and do so
- Keep your resume as precise and concise as possible
- The language should be simple and spellings and grammar needs to be checked
- How to prepare for the interview
Now let’s say your resume does capture the attention of the people who matter and you are asked to attend an interview, this would be the next step that you would have to prepare for. Given the times we are in right now, there is quite the possibility you might be asked to attend an interview via an online method. These videos are a great place to start:
Here are some of the pointers that you need to keep in mind, while attending an online interview:
- Understand the job description properly and prepare yourself accordingly
- Have clear answers to why you are the right fit for the job and remember to sell yourself
- Take the time to learn more about the company and management, as this will help during the interview
- Be prepared for the most common questions such as where do you see yourself in 5 years, what do you hope to achieve in this company and so on
- Spend a few minutes in front of a mirror, practicing your body language and your tone, which needs to be natural and pleasant
- Make sure that you are dressed and groomed properly
- Keep your laptop or system near a light source, so that your face is clear
- Be in a room where you will not be disturbed
- Let your interviewer get through all the questions, before you ask them anything – your questions need to be thoughtful and precise. This would also be a good time to ask about salary, perks, working hours etc.
- Some of the good questions to ask interviewers include asking them about the qualities their most successful employees have or the employees who had previously held the post that you are applying for had. You can ask about why they enjoy working in the particular organisation and what the general scope for growth is.
And finally, keep just two things in mind – remember to be confident and remember that this too shall pass! Now go forth, find that Job & grab it!
References for ‘How to find a job in these tough times‘
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-to-get-your-resume-noticed-by-employers-2063137
https://www.cv-library.co.uk/career-advice/cv/how-get-cv-shortlisted/
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/how-to-prepare-for-an-interview
