Corona pandemic has hit us all very hard. In February 2020, if a pundit had told us that flights would be grounded, countries would close their borders, people would be asked to step out of their homes only with a mask, shaking hands would be considered unhygienic; we would have laughed at it, calling the pundit crazy
We are at a state where having a birthday cake after someone blew on it, would be considered brave & foolish
However here we are, with phase 2 of the pandemic unfolding in certain parts of the world. Many have lost their jobs due to the economic impact of covid
Without further ado, here are five things to do if you lost your job during Covid-19
1. Reduce your cash outflow
As tormented as you may feel, this is the time to think clearly & rationally. When your regular income is cut, you are surviving on your emergency fund. It is wise to reduce all unnecessary expenditures
Sit down and jot down all the obligations that you have, from EMIs to utility bills, to online entertainment subscriptions. List them down with the monthly due amount, irrespective of how small they are
Knock off everything that is not needed or borders onto luxury. You would be surprised how those small numbers add up to a sizeable amount
We do not know how long Covid pandemic will last and how long it will take for the job market to recover. So at the least, keep a 6 months horizon while viewing this
Signing back to get those services is going to be a breeze once you land in a job!
2. Shameless Ask
Update your resume and ask for help from people around you. You are not to be blamed for what happened, so don’t feel bad to reach out
The shameless ask is where you shamelessly ask your friends, family and connections for help, so that you can land back on your feet
Use the social media platforms, be it LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram; anywhere where you can reach out. Do not make your posts cryptic. Appeal to people’s emotions. You would be surprised how helpful they are when you appeal to the good side of people. Here’s a sample template
“Hi, I am the sole breadwinner of my family. I lost my job as my company closed due to the economic impact of covid-19
Please help me find a job. I have a family to feed. If you personally do not know of any openings, please like and share my posts, so that someone in your circle can help me
I have 6 years of rich experience handling clients from various nationalities and have helped them meet their goals. I was working as a Senior Engagement Manager in Y company
If you know of an opening, please DM me. Location is not a constraint. Thanks in advance, from me & my family”
3. Build alternate sources of Income
It is one thing to sit and wait for the eggs to hatch and another to go find your chickens. The latter is always better
You can post your experience in freelancing sites such as fiverr, upwork, Toptal, freelancer , etc. These sites have opportunities on Graphics & Design, Digital Marketing, Writing, VoiceOver, Animation, Programming, Project Management, Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, etc
On the bright side of things, every company, small & big is looking at cutting costs; therefore such freelancing sites would be where companies would turn to
4. Build a personal brand
You are here for the long run, which means, this temporary roadblock shouldn’t stop you from attaining success in your professional career
Don’t solve for today; Solve for the future
You need to focus on building a personal brand for yourself. Personal branding is where you position yourself as an authority in your field
You can do this by writing blogs, making videos, giving talks, publishing papers
This would not just prove you as an authority in the field but this process would also trigger you to learn & experiment and you would stand-out in an interview
The icing on the cake is, when you are consistent at this, you can also make money through Ads, Affiliate marketing, Trainings, etc
Personally I write blogs, make YouTube videos and have recently started with Podcasts (Apple, Spotify). This process has expanded my knowledge as well as build an alternate source of income
As I said earlier, this is for the long run; the key here is to be disciplined & consistent
5. Keep Up-skilling
In the knowledge economy, you never know enough. You need to keep learning new things. You can either go wide i.e. learn related skills to your main skillset (or) go deeper i.e. specialise in a particular skill area
There are many ways through which you can learn. You can read similar educational books or join a course in any of the online learning platforms such as Skillshare, Coursera, Udacity, etc
I hope the above 5 points help you in your journey. If you liked it or know someone who would find this helpful, then please do share it. If you have any suggestions, do feel free to comment