{"id":9870,"date":"2020-04-16T09:57:34","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T07:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bmkedev.wpengine.com\/?p=9870"},"modified":"2021-11-04T11:47:29","modified_gmt":"2021-11-04T09:47:29","slug":"keeping-your-career-afloat-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/keeping-your-career-afloat-covid-19","title":{"rendered":"How to Keep Your Career Afloat During the COVID-19 Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Our lives have taken an unprecedented turn over the past few weeks with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country is now under partial lockdown as the government is putting in measures to curb the spread of this new pandemic. This has adversely affected many businesses and with the economic slowdown, it is easy to lose focus on your career.<\/p>\n<p>Even though times are tough right now, you shouldn\u2019t lose focus on your career or stop growing as a professional. Here are some ways to ensure you stay afloat and motivated in through these challenging times.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69f5606bd02c0\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69f5606bd02c0\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/keeping-your-career-afloat-covid-19\/#Do_Not_Stop_Applying_for_Jobs\" >Do Not Stop Applying for Jobs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/keeping-your-career-afloat-covid-19\/#Make_Informed_Decisions\" >Make Informed Decisions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/keeping-your-career-afloat-covid-19\/#Learn_a_New_Skill\" >Learn a New Skill<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/keeping-your-career-afloat-covid-19\/#Stay_Connected_with_Your_Colleagues\" >Stay Connected with Your Colleagues<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/keeping-your-career-afloat-covid-19\/#Network_with_Other_Professionals\" >Network with Other Professionals<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_Not_Stop_Applying_for_Jobs\"><\/span>Do Not Stop Applying for Jobs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As an active job seeker, it is important to keep applying for open positions. Your success in job applications is determined by your activity in the job application, applying for jobs you have a greater chance at and the state of your CV. The economy may be moving at a slower pace but it doesn\u2019t mean that companies are not hiring. Continue sending out your job applications and\u00a0<a class=\"article-body-links\"class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/job-seeker\/cv-review\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">review your CV<\/a>\u00a0to ensure it earns you an audience with a potential employer.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Make_Informed_Decisions\"><\/span>Make Informed Decisions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Most companies are now working from home and it is an entirely new way of doing things for most people. Being self-aware at this time will help you have the most optimal output in your work. Understanding times and environments within your house you feel most productive is key in your performance working at home. Understand your strengths and weaknesses, whether you are a night owl or early bird and set aside a place in your house to be your work space. Create a schedule that leverages on your strengths and ensures your tasks are completed.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Learn_a_New_Skill\"><\/span>Learn a New Skill<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Whether you are currently employed or seeking employment, use this time to learn a new skill. If you are not actively looking for a job, you should actively grow your career. Take advantage of the available\u00a0<a class=\"article-body-links\"class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">online courses\u00a0<\/a>on different sites. This is crucial because you might not know what direction businesses will take after the pandemic, thus you are better off improving your current skill set to remain competitive. This also applies to active job seekers; a new skill to add to your resume will make you stand out.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Stay_Connected_with_Your_Colleagues\"><\/span>Stay Connected with Your Colleagues<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The current unprecedented events have affected us all in various ways. It is, therefore, important to check up on your friends from work and find out how they are generally holding up. Take advantage of the virtual meeting spaces such as google hangouts, Zoom or Skype to just catch up about work, home and how you are all coping with the current situation. Talking about things with your colleagues will help everyone relieve some stress and also keep you motivated to face the challenging times that lie ahead.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Network_with_Other_Professionals\"><\/span>Network with Other Professionals<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>At a time where video and virtual meetings have become the norm, it is recommended that you join those that are relevant to your industry and career. You will find valuable information from experts on how to thrive through the current situation. BrighterMonday has been hosting webinars and live streams in different sectors like education sector. Take advantage of these online sessions to connect and network with employers and experts in your respective industry or sector. If you are interested in joining the next Brightermonday webinar, you can always contact us for more information. These along with many other webinars hosted online to provide you with the opportunity to network.<\/p>\n<p>Below is a short video from one of our live stream giving tips on how you can optimize your job search and grow your career despite the current challenging times.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"article-body-links\"href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BrighterMondayKenya\/videos\/838823493296310\/\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BrighterMondayKenya\/videos\/838823493296310\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our lives have taken an unprecedented turn over the past few weeks with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country is now under partial lockdown as the government is putting in measures to curb the spread of this new pandemic. This has adversely affected many businesses and with the economic slowdown, it is easy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":9871,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"content_author":[],"class_list":["post-9870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9870"},{"taxonomy":"content_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightermonday.co.ke\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_author?post=9870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}