5 ways to get ahead in Lockdown 3.0!
We’re in lockdown 3.0 and despite the obvious restrictions, there is still lots you could be doing to improve your employability. Here are 5 quick wins that you could start doing immediately:
#1 Join LinkedIn
We cannot recommend LinkedIn enough. If you don’t have a profile or haven’t worked on one properly then this is your ideal opportunity to get going. LinkedIn makes your details available to hundreds of recruiters, enables you to search for live jobs and also gives you the opportunity to network within your professional field of interest. LinkedIn have their own dedicated student area and it is a great place to get started:
https://university.linkedin.com/linkedin-for-students
#2 Invest time to read
Make reading around your area of career interest a habit. Employers love it because it demonstrates commercial awareness and a passion for the job. Spend 15 minutes per day or an hour every few days looking up what's going on in the world. It will also make life easier preparing for interviews and help to avoid last minute panic cramming. Signing up to business news updates or downloading an app will help you get a business slant on daily issues. We like CityAm, Reuters and Bloomberg. Join groups on social media and professional networking sites such as LinkedIn or even Facebook for thought pieces and instant news. You can also follow companies on these sites (and Twitter for example) for their latest news. Take advantage of student membership of a professional body for industry specific updates - there are over 80 in the UK and often student membership is free or very reasonable. Finally, try to keep up to date with general news as an awareness of major issues is very important e.g. Brexit.
#3 Pick up some new CV friendly hobbies and interests
With more time on your hands, this is your opportunity to get involved with some extra curricular activities. You could join some university societies, pick up a new hobby or get involved with something that you are passionate about. A lot of University clubs and societies can no longer meet in person due to lockdown but many are still operating online. Joining the University finance or politics society for example will broaden your horizons and network. Going beyond saying you are interested in ‘fashion’ by starting a blog about it would look fantastic on a CV. Seeing what you can do for a charity or volunteering is also a great option – check out www.do-it.org to see what you could do. Your involvement in any of the above will help you develop fantastic transferable skills and really enhance your CV. If anything, it will also help you stave off some of the boredom!
#4 Look at your CV/online presence
It’s time to sit down and double check your CV and review what employers can see about you online. Does your CV lay-out and formatting look right? Are there any spelling or grammatical errors? Have you made sure to highlight every transferrable skill that you’ve developed in your work experience and extra-curricular activities? Coming back to a document with fresh eyes means that you can really critically evaluate it. This also goes for your online presence. Make sure that your CV and LinkedIn profiles match. Give your social media a deep clean and remove anything that you think a potential employer would find unprofessional. Don’t let anything count against you getting a job as you’ll look back and kick yourself.
#5 Develop a new skill
Why not take the opportunity to obtain a CV bolstering skill? There are lots of free online courses and tutorials you could take to learn new skills such as Microsoft Office applications and Adobe PhotoShop. There are thousands to choose from in all sorts of topics ranging from basic accounting to computer programming and coding. Try looking at Coursera, FutureLearn or OpenLearn to explore your options.
