Working in a crisis has its characteristics: several companies leave the market, some simply close, and others experience problems with logistics and supplies. A stressful situation often leads to rash decisions. Someone quits at the first difficulties in the hope of finding a more stable company, while others, on the contrary, hold on to their jobs to the end, even to their detriment. In our article, we will tell you how to behave in the professional field during a crisis and how to find a new job during such a period.
1. Be Proactive When Looking for a New Position
In times of crisis, it is essential to look for a new job in advance before leaving the old one. One month in an unemployed status easily turns into six months or even a year. If you feel that for various reasons, you will soon be laid off, do not hesitate to look for other options and make use of Lensa’s job search options. Do not be lazy to go to interviews with potential employers.
Even when the activity of your company is outwardly stable, pay attention to the area in which you work. The crisis hit hard, for example, the banking sector and the tourism business. In this case, it is worth starting to develop in related directions.
2. Adjust Your CV
The time of crisis will require you to be able to demonstrate to employers how useful your professional skills can be. With this in mind, you should re-formulate the descriptions of your duties in your last job. For example, instead of the phrase “my tasks have included …”, write specifics: “during such and such a period, I have completed *** projects, as a result of which I have attracted *** clients”. Your CV should show your real value to the new employer’s business. If you have completed successful projects, you should attach them as a portfolio.
3. Use Additional Job Search Tools
Posting your resume on only a few free sites will most likely not work. The same goes for job searches. If you are left without work during a crisis, it’s time to subscribe to thematic groups on social networks. Do not forget that most of the attractive vacancies appear in specialized communities.
4. Inform Everyone You Know About Your Job Search
Do not hesitate to ask relatives, friends, acquaintances, and former colleagues to give you a recommendation for the selected company. With a large number of applicants for the position, such a recommendation will be your competitive advantage.
5. Respond As Soon As Possible
There are so many candidates responding to any attractive offer today that HR employees simply do not have time to pay attention to everyone. Usually, the entire pool of applications for a position is processed in parts. If there are no suitable candidates from the first batch, the personnel officer processes the next one. As you can understand, if the application is among the last, its chances of being considered tend to be zero.
6. Contact the Employees of Companies, Find out Their Opinion About the Work
It is one thing when the owner or director talks about the prospects for working in a company, and quite another when ordinary employees share their impressions. To obtain this information, you should not take into account specialized forums focused on statements about employers. As a rule, such platforms are used by laid-off employees to express dissatisfaction with their superiors. Users of these sites tend to blame anyone but themselves for their dismissal.
7. Do Not Limit the Choice to the Standard Work Schedule
There are part-time jobs, project work, and freelance. This is especially important to consider when looking for a part-time job. A fee schedule can be relevant, for example, for copywriters, journalists, designers, programmers, and accountants. Many small firms cannot afford to hire the same accountant full-time. Instead, they hire a specialist on a short-term basis only to prepare for the next tax audit.
Crisis time can always be spent on self-development. Try to learn some new skills for yourself. Every crisis was marked by the emergence of several startups highly valued by investors. It is possible that now is the right time to start your business, especially if you have had such plans for a long time.
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