Being jobless can make you feel depressed and hopeless.
Regardless of your age, or background, unemployment can happen to all of us at a time when we least expected it.
While you may not be able to control if you are being retrenched. You can control how you react to the news.
Applying for jobs you are not qualified for can be counterproductive to your job search. Instead, you can allocate your time each week to become more hireable.
These tips may make your resume sparkle in front of your recruiter.
Ps. Bonus at the end makes headhunters call you instead.
Smart Things To Do When You’re Jobless And Broke
There are many things you can do when you are unemployed. Here are a few that can help you make the most out of unemployment which can be fun to do, and can make you more hirable.
1. Upgrade Yourself
The first essential task you should consider is to upgrade yourself. If you lack a certain skill that is required for a certain job you are seeking, allocate a portion of your time to building that skill.
Take advantage of the hundreds and thousands of free resources online and offline. There are numerous e-books, tutorials, and online courses available for you.
Here are just some examples of where you can find some of the best resources that can help upgrade yourself:
- Fiverr Learn (Professional Courses By Top Experts)
- Codecademy (Learn Coding for Free)
- John Academy (Online Courses)
- Udemy (Online Course as Low as $30)
Refreshing your resume with a new set of skills can greatly help your job hunting much easier.
May candidates have even reported having a 10% to 15% pay increase after taking up some of the professional courses.
2. Be a Volunteer
Volunteer sounds like it will be the last thing you want to do if you are jobless. But volunteering might just be the ticket that can help you in your job hunt.
Not only volunteering is an excellent way to spend your time for a good purpose, if you volunteer in an area related to your job qualification, but it can also often be included as experience on your resume.
Here are some great organizations you may consider volunteering with:
Volunteering may also help to build the foundation for the next most important steps in your job search.
PS. Some organizations pay you a small amount for the volunteer work you have done.
3. Create a Network
Networking has helped many candidates find their dream job. Networking is mainly separated into 2 main categories:
- Reconnecting old contacts
- Forming new relationships
Reconnecting Old Contacts
Depending on your career and industry, reconnecting old contact might just be what you need to get a foot at the opportunity for an interview. These old contacts might be your ex-classmates, ex-colleagues, or internship supervisors.
You can reconnect with them in some simple ways:
- Send them a simple email, SMS, or WhatsApp.
- Call them and meet up for a cup of coffee.
For some, it may feel awkward to call someone whom you have not contacted for so long. But if you value friendship with that particular person, it won’t be long before you start chatting like in the old days.
Let them know the specifics of your job search:
- Industry
- Location
- Types of position
You can check with them, to see if they know anyone who can help you in the job search, and finally follow up.
Forming New Relationships
Depending on your career, sometimes it may be a great idea to forge new relationships. Go to networking events sponsored by your school, industry, and Facebook groups.
Or simply take a course related to your industry, and learn a new skill while you network with people related to your industry.
Each of these provides tons of opportunities for you to meet new people with similar interests. Have fun while networking, but don’t forget to follow up!
4. Join a Temp Agency
Ideally, you may want to get a full-time job with all the perks that come with it, such as job stability and health benefits. But for some, making ends meet without an income can be a problem.
One of the easiest ways to bridge the gap between jobs is to find temporary work. Working with a temp agency can help you get a temp job. This can help you financially while you find your full-time dream job.
While it is not a permanent solution. A Temp job can help you to be in a better position financially and gives you an opportunity to learn a new skill that may come in handy in the future.
Our advice:
“Find a temp job that won’t eat up too much of your time, so that you may have sufficient time to find a full-time job which you can build a career.”
5. Be Your Own Boss (Freelance)
Sick of the 9 to 5 workday? Maybe this is an opportunity for you to be your own boss by doing Freelance.
Not only Freelance can help you to boost your skills, resume, and portfolio. Freelance can actually help you to build up confidence and expand your professional network.
Some Freelancers are reported to have earned up to 5 figures per month by completing some highly specialized projects.
Fiverr is undoubtedly one of the best websites where most Freelancers make their income.
10 Best sites to start your Freelancing career:
- Fiverr
- Upwork
- Freelancer
- Guru
- DesignCrowd
- PeoplePerHour
- Envato Studio
- Craigslist
- Hireable
- 99Designs
Which of these sites have you tried? Write it down in the comments below!
Build a Personal Social Media Presence
Have you ever searched your name on google and seen what did you find?
Our research with 271 individuals who are aged 23 to 38 shows that only 32.84% have searched their name on google before.
Your name is your brand, and building a professional online presence on popular social media sites can help you in your job search. Here is someplace to start building an online presence:
- Google Plus
Fun Fact: Do you know, most employers search your name on Linkedin before deciding to call you in for an interview?
With over 778 Million professional profiles on LinkedIn, your employers will be able to understand you slightly more before deciding if it is worth their time to invite you in for an interview.
And joining a package like LinkedIn Learning will grant you access to Linkedin Premium giving you the added advantage of higher visibility to potential employers.
How to build a positive social media presence for your career
- First, Log in to your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc…
- Then, clean up all your photos so that you won’t want your parents or your kid to see them. Because you can be quite sure that your employers will be searching your social media profiles.
- Next, clean up all those posts about how much you hate your job, or how much you hate your boss. You don’t want them to be found by your potential employer.
- After a massive makeover of your social media, it is time to beef up your credentials.
- Update your LinkedIn profile with your latest work experience and your skills.
- Update a professional-looking photo in your LinkedIn profile. (You will be surprised that there are candidates who put ‘A Grumpy Cat’ as their profile picture on LinkedIn.)
- Lastly, connect with people and companies that are relevant to your industry.
With these 7 steps, you will have built a professional online presence that your employer will want to see and hire.
What Should You Do If You Are Jobless And Broke?
While being jobless can be stressful. There are many things you can do to help yourself in becoming more employable.
Not only there are many free resources that can greatly increase your ability to get employed.
There are also many professional course courses offered by Fiverr Learn or Udemy which cost less than $100 with a certificate of completion. This new skill may help you in your career.
Although, the job hunt can be challenging, being unemployed can offer you extra time to better prepare yourself, and possibly grow more qualified to find your next dream job.
Don’t Give Up!
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