Tips

Things To Do While Unemployed That Help Your Job Search

If you’ve recently been laid off or have lost your job for any other reason, it can be very difficult to get back on your feet. 

However, it’s not impossible. While you might feel a lack of confidence in your professional abilities after losing our job, there are a ton of different smart careers moves you can make while you are unemployed. In the end, these moves can actually propel you forward in your career.

The hardest part about moving on after being let go from a job is the mental preparation it takes to get your life back together. But it’s something you have to do if you want to move forward.

Outlook and perspective have a lot to do with where you go in your life, especially in the more challenging moments. It’s important to remember that this unemployment is just temporary, and you can get up and keep moving at any point you want. It is all up to you.

Here are six moves you can make during unemployment that can help you get back on your feet.

1. Do some networking

Before you landed your old job, you might have had some others, or maybe some professors, friends, or internships that can potentially help you out now. One of the most important pieces of advice to remember when at a job or working on projects is to not burn bridges when you leave because those people can come back into your life as mentors or people who can help you get a new job.

If you have good relationships with old professors and coworkers, reach out to them and see if they know anyone who might be hiring. It’s actually been shown that job candidates who were referred by other employees have a better chance at getting hired.

2. Look through listings

Apart from the obvious ones like Monster, Indeed, Craigslist, and LinkedIn, there are several different sites that have job listings specific to certain areas. While you might feel discouraged at the moment, it is important to keep an open mind and keep looking for new opportunities. Remember, when one door closes, several others open, and these opportunities can be even better or more lucrative than your old position.

3. Start a blog

This won’t work for every field, but it’s a great option for a vast majority of them.

If you’re a tech guru or web designer, you could start a blog about your niche. You can share your expertise with people around the web, and not only do you establish an online presence, but it also shows your authority and knowledge in your field. This helps highlight your skills for future job opportunities. It also doesn’t hurt that you can get paid for it.

4. Join an association in your field

There are several different professional associations that offer advice, benefits, and employment opportunities to its members. Not only does it look stellar on job applications and makes it look like you have been proactive with your career despite the recent pitfall. This can also help with networking.

5. Clean up your online presence

Around 80 percent of all job recruiters are required to do online research on job candidates. Taking the time to manicure your online presence is probably a good idea for your job prospects, especially if you’re active on social media.

6. Take up an online course or some higher education courses

If you would really like to gain more knowledge in a certain subject area, this can be the time you use your time to further your career with education.

If you want to go into political writing and already have a journalism background, you can take some political science classes online. Are you thinking or moving into proofreading or translation services? Consider taking language courses. The same goes for any other field and the skills you would like to gain to further your professional career.

The more skills you have, the more you can sell yourself to potential employers.