Time is the most important asset & people want more of it considering how much time pressed working professionals are in today’s modern world. With the spread of Corona Virus, events have been cancelled, restaurants, malls & pubs have been closed & government is issuing advisory to restrict outside movement & stay at home. Lots of corporations have advised their employees to work remotely from home. With very few places to go, life has come to a stand still. Although you may not be meeting people socially, engagement on social media & internet is set to increase. People will turn to online platforms for entertainment, knowledge & information & above all for networking.
Coronavirus driven social distancing is not going to postpone your job search. In Fact this is the best time to build new connections, nurture existing networks & land up with a job.
- Start engaging on the platform of your choice: Pick up a professional platform of your choice & by following hashtags starting commenting on articles aligned with your experience, competencies & role which you wish to apply. Visit profiles of professionals in your 2nd or 3rd degree connections, read through their profile, find their area of interest, start commenting or sharing their articles & send requests for connections. Connections you make now & foster over time may help you land up with your next role. Earmark some time during the week to follow your contact feeds & comments. The best engagement strategy is to start a dialogue by asking open ended questions. This opens up flood gates for meaning conversation & probable networking via phone/video call.
- Update your virtual presence: Use this time to evaluate how you present yourself online? What your social media profile says about you. Does your strengths & interests stand out loud & clear. If not this is the best time to update your profile & build a personal brand. Start with:
- What is important to you professionally?
- Look out for influencers & decision makers in your area of interest & how they have branded themselves. Reach out to those influencers & ask for feedback on your profile & how can you make it more worthy. Incorporate the feedback & create a tagline that explains how you can create value.
- Move up your learning curve: Online learning is a great way to keep your skills updated. Websites such as Coursera & edX provide a perfect way of growing & upgrading the skills. With small fees, some of these courses also provide certificate of completion which you can add on your professional portfolio
- Regularly browse job boards: With companies moving to remote work, a lot of remote opportunities shall come up. Continue visiting job boards to explore remote job in the area of your interest
- Leverage existing networks: This is the best time to reconnect with friends, former colleagues & ex bosses who may be able to help you grow your network. With remote working becoming the new normal, employees are saving a lot of time on commuting. This time can be utilized for networking
Long time supporter, and thought I’d drop a comment.
Your wordpress site is very sleek – hope you don’t mind
me asking what theme you’re using? (and don’t mind
if I steal it? :P)
I just launched my site –also built in wordpress like
yours– but the theme slows (!) the site down quite a bit.
In case you have a minute, you can find it by searching for “royal cbd” on Google
(would appreciate any feedback) – it’s still in the works.
Keep up the good work– and hope you all take care of yourself during the coronavirus scare!