Speaker 1 (00:00): How to keep your career on track during a
global pandemic. In light of everything going on during this global pandemic, I want to
share with you my top tips to ensure that you keep your career on track, but also some
valuable tools and resources that you can use as a job seeker during this time. Now,
before I get started, I want to acknowledge that this is a difficult time for many people
and I want to be sensitive to that, but the information that you are going to learn in
here today is meant to help you to keep on track with your career and to actually make
progress amidst everything that is going on. Let's get started. My name is Cindy Makita.
I am a career strategist and coach and I help people land their dream jobs daily. If you
are new to my channel, welcome, make sure to hit that subscribe button and click the
bell to be notified whenever I drop a new video.
Speaker 1 (01:00): I have been getting many messages from job
seekers around the world with regards to what to do about their job search during this time.
It's kind of crazy with everything that is going on. But in this video I am going to
show you exactly how to keep your career on track during covert 19 there are two main
things that I want to cover with you all today. The first is how to keep your career on track,
some tips that you can actually use right now to ensure that you make progress with
your career. But I also want to share some valuable tools and resources for displaced
or laid off workers, but also if you are a job seeker during this time, what should you
be doing right now to keep your career on track? While the first thing is work on yourself,
marketing materials, that's your resume, your cover letter, and your LinkedIn profile as
a job seeker.
Speaker 1 (01:56): And if you are working from home now you have
a prime opportunity to use the additional time that you have to really work on your
Self-Marketing materials. Now these materials is what is going to be on the front line,
marketing you to your potential employer and now with the masses of people applying online
because everything is remote, you have to be sure that your resume, your cover letter
and your LinkedIn profile stands out and that it catches the eye of the hiring manager so
you have a prime opportunity to really hone in and work on those self-marketing materials
to effectively sell yourself. Not only do the employers that are hiring right now have
very limited time on their hands with everything going on, they are also so many people applying
to online applications. That means that if within a few seconds a hiring manager cannot
see that you are a good fit for the position, they will toss your resume.
Speaker 1 (02:55): Be sure that when you are enhancing your resume
that you are including key skills and key work experience that showcases that you are
the best person for that position as quickly as possible. For your cover letter, you want
to be sure that you are showing that you are a great cultural fit for that position. So
your resume is going to show that your work experience and your key skills match up with
the job description, but your cover letter showcases your personality and cultural fit.
And then there's LinkedIn profile. Every body, every job seeker and professional needs to
be on LinkedIn. Now more than ever is a prime opportunity for you to attract career opportunities
through this online platform. If you have not yet watched my video on how to optimize
your LinkedIn profile, click here to watch it, but be sure that your LinkedIn profile
is enhanced on all levels.
Speaker 1 (03:51): Not only can you be found by recruiters, employers
who are hiring right now will also use your LinkedIn profile as an opportunity to screen
you as a candidate. Be sure that your LinkedIn profile is up to date. The second thing that
you can do to ensure that your career is on track is to practice your video interviewing
skills. Now more than ever when things are remote and there is less in person contact
hiring managers and employers will be utilizing video interviews to screen candidates. You
have to be able to effectively sell yourself through a video interview. Think about a pro
football player. They don't wait until game day to practice, right? Game day is execution,
so that means if you really want to nail your video interview, you have to practice beforehand.
Don't wait until you get called in for video interview to practice. Then practice right
now, simple things like recording yourself, speaking directly to the camera and seeing
your gestures, seeing how you communicate, replaying the recording back to yourself to
really pinpoint areas in which you can improve can really help you nail your video interviewing
skills because we don't know how long this will last and for how long everything will
be virtual, now is a prime opportunity for you to really hone in on those video interviewing
skills and ensure that you're able to effectively sell yourself on video.
Speaker 1 (05:22): The third thing that you can do to keep your
career on track during covid-19 is to build your network. Professional networks and connections
are so important within your job search. And now is a great opportunity for you to get
on LinkedIn and grow your network, connect with people from your dream companies or ideal
employers, and foster existing relationships and professional networks that you have. So
not only is it a great time to grow your network, it's also a great time to strengthen the existing
relationships that you currently have. Some employers don't always post their job openings
on boards like LinkedIn or indeed, some let their professional connections know about
the fact that they're hiring. And that is the way people find out about job openings.
So if you are building and growing your professional connections and especially connecting with
people from your dream or ideal companies, you're able to find out about information
that is not readily available to all job seekers.
Speaker 1 (06:27): Build and grow your connections. And LinkedIn
is a great place to start. Build those connections, foster good and meaningful relationships and
that will keep you on track for your job search. Before we move forward, if you are a job seeker
or if you have recently been laid off as a result of covid-19 drop me a comment below.
Let me know any career-related question that you have and I will be sure to answer it.
Just know that you have my support during this time. Okay, now I want to discuss what
to do if you have been laid off as a result of covid-19. Well, the first thing you want
to do is to take a moment to breathe, reflect on what has happened, process your emotions,
but before you move forward to the next steps and applying for more jobs, you want to make
sure that you've taken the time to recoup and to process what has happened and to deal
with your emotions before you move forward.
Speaker 1 (07:24): You want to enter your job search confidently
and ready and so take the time to really just process what has happened before moving forward.
The next thing to do is to seek unemployment insurance or benefits early. You want to make
sure that your finances are in check. So if you need assistance, visit careeronestop.org
if you are in the United States and canada.ca if you are in Canada. I will post the link
to these resources in the description of this video, but before you even start applying
for more jobs, make sure that your current finances are in check by seeking unemployment
insurance or benefits if needed. And the third step is to apply for jobs that are in demand
right now in order to quickly get back into a job. There are many companies that are hiring,
and if you look online at the jobs that were very recently posted, i.e. Within one week
to three weeks, you can find jobs that employers are hiring for right now.
Speaker 1 (08:24): The longer dated they are, they may not be
hiring anymore. But if you search online for jobs that are actually in demand right now,
you have a better chance of landing employment as soon as possible. I have a list of companies
that are hiring right now, both in the U S and in Canada. I will post that link to the
description of this video to help you along your journey. And lastly, look for remote
or contractual work opportunities, platforms like Upwork, Fiverr and Freelancer allow you
to apply for contractual jobs online. So if you have a skill that could be done remotely
or virtually, apply for jobs that are contractually based and allow you to take on small projects
at a time to keep your income flowing and to keep you on track. Remote and contractual
opportunities are a great way for you to utilize your skills but also to earn an income at
the same time.
Speaker 1 (09:22): And so to recap how to keep your career on
track during covid-19 number one is to work on your self-marketing materials like your
resume, your cover letter, and your LinkedIn profile. Ensure that they are Bulletproof
and that they effectively sell you to the potential employer. Number two is to work
on your video interviewing skills. Number three, network network network. Use platforms
like LinkedIn to build and grow your network, but to also foster the existing relationships
that you have. And if you have been laid off or you are displaced worker, the first thing
you want to do is take a moment to process what has happened and to process your emotions.
Then moving forward, apply for unemployment insurance and benefits if needed and the next
steps apply for jobs that are in demand with the top companies that are hiring right now.
Again, a link to these resources in the description of this video.
Speaker 1 (10:20): The most important thing that you can do right
now is to not give up. Yes, it is a difficult time for many people, but now is an opportunity
for you to make progress in your career through the steps that I mentioned in this video,
the people that come up on the other side successful are those that don't neglect this
time but take it as an opportunity to learn and to grow and to make the most of the circumstance,
no matter how difficult it is. Keep positive, keep your mind in the right place, work hard
right now to advance your career and you will see progress down the line. To help you along
your job search and to ensure that you are a prime candidate, download my free guide:
the five steps to an outstanding LinkedIn profile. It also includes a checklist so that
you can be sure that your profile is marking all of the targets. A link to the download
is in the description of this video. If you found this video useful, give it a like, comment
below any career-related question that you have amidst covid-19 share this video with
your fellow job seekers who are also needing assistance during this time, and don't forget
to subscribe to my YouTube channel for weekly related content. I will see you next time.
Bye bye.