6.5 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR EMPLOYABILITY AS YOU STAY AT HOME DURING THIS LOCKDOWN

Greetings to you all, my fellow citizens of the world. I trust that you and your families are keeping well. My prayers are for your physical, mental and financial strength as you experience various challenges and losses during this pandemic.

An enormous thank you to the medical personnel, emergency workers, and essential frontline employees who are making incredible sacrifices on a daily basis to get us through this storm. Together, we will get through this. And that is for sure!

We admit, 2020 has been an epic Steven Spielberg's blockbuster! To say we are awed with the unfolding scenes is to say the least. The coronavirus pandemic is tearing aggressively at the fabrics of everyday life – fast changing the socio-economic paradigm.

Families have been heartlessly torn apart by this biological monster; the labor market is also on the casualty list. According to an alarming Bloomberg report, this coronavirus nightmare could cost the global economy a whopping $2.7 trillion!

Oh, when you hear about the global economy, you may be deceived into thinking the supposedly impregnable American economy would be spared from the claw of this pandemic. But, you couldn't be any more wrong. The American economy is right at the frontiers, bleeding profusely.  

Numbers don't lie, do they? How about we flavor this piece with some statistics to paint the existing reality better?

In the United States alone, the Fed estimates that the coronavirus could trigger as many 47 million losses pumping the unemployment rate to 32%. Do you think the Fed guys are just some bald pessimists?

Nah, the signs are already showing. Another 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the economic devastation of the pandemic bites deeper.

This gets the total count of jobless claims since mid-March shooting up to 26.4 million. Indeed, this already amounts to over 15% of the US workforce.

Here is another statistic to keep you awake at night: nonfarm payrolls in March dropped by 701,000, with the unemployment rate jumping to 4.4%.

Do you know when last we had nonfarm payrolls that terrible? Far back in September 2010!

These ugly features aren't aimed at spiking your blood pressure. They are just to let you know the good sweet summer days are fast receding.

When the coronavirus storm wanes, we are going to see an almost unprecedentedly competitive labor market; a seemingly carnivorous battle among so many for such few jobs.

With about 67 million Americans jobs at a high risk of a layoff, you can't expect to moonwalk into your office anymore!

How are you going to survive this economic tsunami? I will tell you: PERSONAL BRANDING!

Here in this revealing guide, I am going to show you the assured 6.5 Fresh Passion ways to increase your employability during the lockdown, making sure you are the best fit for the handful of job openings that would come after the lockdown.

These strategies will rightly position you for a flood of congratulations in an era of wailing.  

Drooling already, let us go then!

1. Acquire more skills

In the contemporary workplace, career progression is mostly dependent on the academic sophistication of your CV. If there is anything allowed to be overweight in a twenty-first-century dripping with a skinny obsession, it is your resume. The more skills, the better!

When the coronavirus subsides and businesses open, employers will only take in the BEST of the best. Sorry, this is more than just having good looks and a nice beard. They will look at the exclusiveness of the solutions you can deliver. How special are they?

The lockdown is one of the best times to stock up more valuable certifications. Soft skills are some of the best garnishments to get your profile more delicious to employers.

I understand the prevailing norm for this lockdown is to Netflix and chill. However, the fact that it is the norm makes it the generic culture. For someone obsessed with personal branding, for that dude who yearns to step above conventions, you have to take the hard, painful road.

This is to develop yourself. Growth doesn't come easy. You aren't going to learn new skills in your dream, are you? Come on, a level of diligence and self-denial is crucial here.  

You can't risk duplicating skills that are abundant on the counter. Do you know the uglier part? Job seekers are going to get more desperate after the lockdown.

There will be far less integrity in the job market. Yes, highly qualified candidates will take jobs for erstwhile peanuts. Don't blame them, the competition will be a biting inferno.  

Let me ask you a fair question. If I was an employer and you present to me to equivalent skill sets with another candidate who is willing to take far less than your proposed salary, why will I be willing to employ you when the other candidate would do the same job in the same capacity you would? Come on, I am not Bill Gates' cousin, I would go for him, sorry!

But you know what? I would be willing to consider you and pay you higher if you were more SPECIAL!

Research your industry and optimize your career. What are some of the bestselling skills you can add that make an employer salivate for you?

If you are in the sales and marketing niche, you may want to up your web development and digital marketing skills. If you are in the finance niche, perhaps, you can be learning SQL, Tableau, and Excel.

Develop your personal brand. Bring more to the table than others!

 Don't get me wrong, buddy. Not only technical skills are worth your time. You can also furnish your resume with some leadership certifications. We will touch on this later on.

Rewrite your CV/Resume

Don't tell me you want to carry your pre-coronavirus resume straight into a post-coronavirus job market and expect employers to chase after you. You are not going to put new wine into old wineskins, are you?

Apologies, but you need to renovate your CV. It needs more juice, vibe, and sparkle. Garnish your unique selling proposition (USP).

Oh, I hear you asking why.

Well, if you were competing with 10 candidates for an opening before the COVID-19 outbreak, expect to compete with at least 50 for that specific opening after the lockdown.

So this is where your personal branding comes in. Your CV should know show refined peculiarity. Let us assume you have learned some new skills during the lockdown, isn't it good to parade them in your resume?

Given the increased competition after the lockdown, you want your resume to catch your employers much faster. You want them to be falling in love with in the first minutes of glancing through your CV.

This is even more important, considering that there is going to be an enormous sea of resumes to go through for each job opening now. Indeed, you can't afford not to stand out via your CV (illuminating your personal brand) as fast you can.

3. Leverage your social media

Sorry to burst your bubble, but social media is far more than the Drake's flip the switch challenge. Social media is transforming the labor market – optimizing job search and improving your professional visibility.

Given this coronavirus nightmare, you need more than ever to improve your social media presence. It is no fluke that 56% of job seekers leverage social media when looking out for a new role. If you are going to make your personal brand stand out, you need a shinier digital footprint.

More than those pretty cat pictures, share some of your career achievements on your social media platforms. Embellish your social media with alluring testimonials. I will tell you the truth, you are not showing off. Actually, you never know who is looking.

Ensure your social media profile is current. Make sure to align your CV with your online profile. Sadly, I have been bedeviled with countless scenarios where promising candidates are flushed out of the shortlist owing to discrepancies between their offline CV and their social media accounts. This is more common with conflicting employment dates.

There, I almost forgot! Never post inappropriate content on your social media account. IT IS A CAREER KILLER! Your social media account is not so private, after all. Hiring managers and recruiters are digging through your Instagram, Facebook, and even as far to your TikTok account.

How bad would it be when they see those obscene pictures from that your memorable booze night? Uh-oh!

4. Improve your communication and teamwork

When businesses resume and the economy kickbacks, there will be far less tolerant environments for "corporate toxicity". Employers will be avidly seeking team workers and great communicators. Far gone are the times for sporadic, isolated growths. This is the time for coordinated progressions.

While you have your personal brand and should strive for the extraordinary individually, you must learn to pull together with your coworkers. Improve your social skills and tolerance for a plurality of personalities.

Too bad, if you are that guy in the office that smiles only once all summer. You may have to get some Youtube tutorials on how to smile or learn a bit of humor, at least. Good laughter when well-timed doesn't hurt, does it?  

5. Expand your network

It is popularly said that your network is your net worth. A powerful network is as sweet as having the president next door. All you have to do is just reach out when in need.

Having a powerful brand doesn't mean you have to socially quarantine yourself from people. No, you need connects, especially in your industry. Want a shocker?

People have clinched alluring seven-figure jobs from just a friendly recommendation; no grilling interviews! Expanding your network in this lockdown is one powerful way to fatten your employability.

What are friends for? Definitely not just for sharing pizza only! Every friend in your network is an extra beacon to shine your light further to prospective employers.

If you want to go digital, LinkedIn is a very powerful to start building valuable relationships. Aside from LinkedIn, there are other professional platforms like Jobcase, Xing, Lunchmeet, and Bark where you can link up with like-minded professionals. Trust me, this career "web" will get you the goods when you need it.

Now that everyone is on lockdown, how about renewing touch with your professional contacts? There are other avenues to expand your horizons. Look out for your alumni organizations, community job clubs, and hobby groups.

You don't necessarily have to meet them in person. Most of these groups have digital communities on Facebook, Pinterest, and WhatsApp. Dust the cobwebs off those old relationships. You are going to need them much more than ever now.

Don't forget parasitical networks don't last. This is absolutely not the time to ring friends three times every hour for a job opportunity. This is when you should emotionally consolidate such relationships by showing empathy first.

Our society is dripping with gloom. Show them you care, at least. When the storm of this virus clears, trust me, they will remember you and pay you back with a valuable referral.  

6. Show Initiative and Leadership

Here is something you can take to the bank: the post-coronavirus era will see an enormous spike in the need of workplace leadership. More than ever, employers will be seeking transformational leaders who can take the initiative and sail the ship on their own.

Employers wouldn't have the time to babysit their staff any longer. If you want to be the "Brad Pitt" of the corporate world that employers are chasing after, you have to develop remarkable leadership skills.

The good news is the lockdown gives you all the time you want to consolidate your leadership skills. Work on your personality. You need more discipline, tolerance, communication, situational awareness, motivational prowess, and multitasking!

Of course, employers would ask for hard proof. There are several notable online leadership certifications you can grab now and pump up your employability.

Do you want me to tell you some I fancy? Alright, then!

There is the eCornell Executive Leadership Certificate from Cornell University. For risk management, you can go for the Risk Management Professional Certificate from the New York Institute of Finance. Also, you can get a Project Management Professional Certification from the Southern New Hampshire University or Rutgers University.

6.5 Stay positive

I agree you have fortified your employability and are possibly the best candidate for the job. This doesn't mean you would clinch every opening you apply for. Psychological resilience is another recipe that shouldn't be missing.

You have to learn to swallow the bitter pie and soldier on. Having an illustrious personal brand doesn't mean you will never suffer disappointments or failures. What it rather means is that when disappointments set in, you just dust it off like "is that all you have got???"

The greatest temptation to quit often happens right before you are about to experience exponential success.