Why are Employability Skills Important

5 Easy Steps to Get Your Career Back on Track

When there’s an employment crisis and your job is at risk — or has already been axed — it’s easy to think the best solution is to change career. But that isn’t always the best policy, even if your industry has been decimated.

How do you decide on the best way forward?

It comes down to your personal situation. Here are the six essential steps to surviving and thriving in an employment crisis so you can decide whether to stick or spin – and how to turn a crisis into an opportunity.

Step 1: Get out of crisis mode

When your job is at risk or gone, you’re probably in crisis mode. The temptation is to rush into action and panic. Resist this urge by taking these three things in mind instead:

Rest and rejuvenate: It might seem counterintuitive, but before you make any decision, you first need to rest and rejuvenate. Get out into nature or immerse yourself in a hobby to de-stress your mind and body. A clear head makes for clear decisions.

Keep things in perspective: Remember this crisis is a temporary glitch – you’ll survive it. More importantly, you’ll thrive again when it’s over. You might need a short-term solution, but that doesn’t mean your career is over.

Reflect on what you want: Take advantage of furlough or a slow job market and think about what you truly want from your work. If you’re not happy in your job – whether it’s the company you work for, the industry you’re in or the role itself – this is a great opportunity to reflect on a better and more satisfying future.

Step 2: Identify the opportunity

Now is a great time to think about what you want from your work and life. Sometimes, crises can trigger periods of renewal and change. If you want to transform your career, start a business or adjust your work-life balance, this could be the perfect opportunity. Think through your goals and objectives, focus on achieving your life purpose and decide how you can best do work that gives you a sense of fulfilment.

There are many ways to work, including freelancing, self-employment and contract work. Be honest with yourself and admit what aspects of your life and work aren’t delivering results for you. While considering what work is available, also consider what you would enjoy. Having a passion for your work will be good for you and your employer, because employees who are passionate about what they do put more into their role and make a bigger contribution to the business.

Step 3: Make yourself employable

Any employment crisis means the job arena becomes increasingly competitive. There are ways to stand out though. First, look at roles that are as close as possible to the process of generating more revenue, such as advertising or sales. Second, identify your existing high-revenue skills and look for opportunities to use them above other skills. If you’re not sure what those are yet, Career Consultants has great exercises to help you discover and develop:

1. How you can increase revenue for the business
2. High-revenue skills such as:

• • Copy writing
  • Selling
  • Product development
  • Delivery or logistics

3. How to sell the benefit you offer (update your CV and LinkedIn profile)

Rebrand yourself

If you want to change your career or pivot to a related role, rebrand your CV and LinkedIn profile to match this shift. It’s essential that you have a polished, professional CV that’s written with both online and traditional hiring manager in mind. Even if you’re searching for short-term roles, apply the same standards and best practices to your search. That’s how you’ll stand out from the crowd and increase your chances of success.

Step 4: Boost your skills

What skills will help you survive an employment crisis – and how do you choose which ones are right one for you? There’s no point deciding tech is the way to go if you hate tech and find it hard to learn. Take stock of what abilities you already possess and how you can use them to achieve your goals. Look for skills from all areas of your life — including volunteering, previous jobs, and hobbies — and find ways to make them fit with your strategy.

8 Job Skills in Demand in a Post-Coronavirus World

There are a lot of unknowns after an employment crisis. Nobody knows how the world will look afterwards. The only certainty is that everything will be different. However, there are eight job skills that will be in high demand after the crisis is over.

1. Adaptability and Flexibility

If you’re going to succeed in a post-coronavirus world, you need to be adaptable as workplaces will be evolving rapidly. Keeping your skills up to date and being flexible about how you work is going to be critical to thriving in the future.

2. Tech Savviness

The speed of change in the world of tech over the past ten years has been breath-taking. And the employment crisis brought about by the coronavirus is likely to push it forward even faster. That’s why staying tech savvy and keeping up with new technology will make you more resilient in the face of future employment crises.

3. Creativity and Innovation

Despite the focus on tech, your human skills will also be critical to your career. Problem-solving and finding new ways to deliver products and services has been the difference between many businesses going under and staying afloat. Even after the crisis, human creativity and inventiveness is going to be a critical in demand skill.

4. Data Literacy

With the right data, companies can predict the impact of disruptions to business and continue to serve their customers during periods of change and uncertainty. But for data to be useful, it needs to be understood and interpreted by data-literate people. Having such skills is going to become increasingly important and is likely to make you very employable.

5. Critical Thinking

When the information you receive can’t always be trusted, businesses need people who can tell the difference between the wheat and the chaff. That means critical thinking. People who can objectively evaluate information and separate fake news from credible data will be valued because they’ll prevent the company going in the wrong direction, wasting resources and possibly failing.

6. Digital and Coding Skills

The digital transformation of organizations will become even more important now. If you’re someone who can keep the digital side of the business running during an economic downturn when in-person business is difficult, you’ll be on the must-hire list. With the online revolution, every company now requires digital skills.

7. Leadership

More people will be working in more fluent teams. That means everyone will be taking the lead at different times. Those with strong leadership skills will be in high demand.

8. Emotional Intelligence

Closely linked to leadership is Emotional Intelligence (EQ). When many staff members are feeling uncertain about their future, connecting with them on an emotional level is vital. That’s why those with strong EQ will be in demand by companies of all sizes.

Step 5: Invest in yourself

Employment crises –the coronavirus pandemic in particular – can leave you reeling. But don’t let the situation get the better of you. Be flexible and stay focused on what you want and what you have to offer.

Look at yourself in the round, taking all aspects of your experience, skills and life into consideration. Don’t just apply for any job that comes along. Make a plan, be deliberate and considered in your actions and, above all, get some professional help.

Now, more than ever before, you need to invest in yourself. That might mean retraining or updating your skills, so it’s important you learn the right skills for the job market and for yourself.

Develop the habit of lifelong learning

The World Economic Forum predicts that in just five years’ time, only 35 percent of the skills we think of as essential today will still be necessary. So the only way to remain relevant in the future employment market is to commit to a lifetime of learning.

That means you need to work on boosting your knowledge and qualifications now. If you want to make a change – or simply increase your chances of being hired – analyse job descriptions you’re attracted to and list the skills and experience required. Do your skills match the requirements? Which ones do you need to bolster?

Commit to learning skills if they’re a good fit for you and will take you in the direction you want. But if learning them leaves you cold, that’s a good indication the job or career path isn’t a good fit for you and it’s time for a change.

As well as paid courses, there are many free online courses available:

• MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses),
• EdX classes (featuring free courses from MIT and Harvard), and
• Microsoft training and tutorials

Get professional support

The other way you can invest in yourself is by getting professional help with your career change and job search. There’s a great deal to consider right now because change is rapid and challenging.

Our career change packages have been designed to help you identify a new career that’s both in demand and right for you. There’s no point forcing yourself down a path that only looks good from the point of view of getting hired. If it’s not the right job for you, it won’t work. Use this employment crisis to re-evaluate what you want and what you have to offer. Make this change a positive one.

Do fill in the form on this page to gain the necessary support, help and advice.