A Day in the Life: BGR Consulting CEO Habibah Waziri...
October 18, 2022
Losing your job at any point in your life has the potential to be a terrifying experience. How you handle that experience will determine what the future of your career looks like, though, so learning the steps you should take now can help get you back on your feet. Contrary to what you may be thinking, immediately diving back into the workforce is not the best strategy for you.
Take this job loss as an opportunity to refine your skillset and develop new knowledge that can help you set up a career in a new field. You may be thinking to yourself, why do I need to launch a new career? The short answer is that the workforce is primed to go through another period of disruption in the near future, caused by rapidly advancing technology. If the job you just held was not in the general field of technology, it’s time to switch up your path. Doing so requires both insight and introspection, as well as the resolve to dedicate yourself to a new craft.
Find a Tech Trend That Resonates With You
Obviously, the first step in refining your skills and knowledge is identifying what you want to do now. This may actually be an exciting experience for you, provided you felt trapped or bored by the job you held before. It’s worth noting that if you really loved your previous job, you can certainly find a way to adapt that field to the future of work. For example, digital marketing emerged as a field and the only difference between that field and standard marketing is that technology has been integrated.
Find a field that resonates with you and has the potential to merge with technology. Forbes has covered certain industries that are on the cusp of technological disruption. Perhaps consider looking into one of these fields and seeing how analysts predict technology may change these, or other, fields.
When you determine how technology will change a field, it will paint the picture as to what skills may be needed to enter that new tech-based version of the old field. It’s important that you pick a trend or career that resonates with your skills and interests, otherwise, you may end up in the wrong career and less happy overall.
Attend a Trade School or Bootcamp
After narrowing down what you think resonates with you personally, it’s time to actually go out and obtain the knowledge needed. Given that you just lost your job, it may not be in your best interest to pursue a standard graduate program. These can be both expensive and time-consuming.
Fortunately, technology has also made education readily available to all. Trade schools and bootcamps are a popular option that has emerged in the last few years. These institutions offer online and in-person learning, along with specialized courses that prepare students for either a specific career or job.
What makes these options even better is that they are far cheaper than a standard graduate program, yet employers still value the graduates of these institutions. If the cost of these options still proves too much, there are still ways to learn your needed skills. Options exist that can teach anyone how to code for free, and pursuing these options is easier than one may think. Simply do some Internet research in your area to see what schools are available.
Relearn How to Interview
You’ve obtained your education and the skills needed to launch a career. Before you actually get hired, you’re going to need to go through an interview process. You may be thinking you’ve got it in the bag, but unless you just landed your old job within the last few years, the interview process has changed quite a bit. Now some companies use digital assessments on candidates that can rule you out before you even get to speak with a real person.
Learn the ins and outs of the interview process for the career path you are trying to enter and ensure you are prepared for that process. Follow certain interview tips, such as the STAR Method, if you manage to land a face-to-face interview. It’s most important to make an impression and stand out from any potential competition.
As mentioned, it’s never fun to lose your job and the experience can be quite distressing. Take solace in the fact that you are not alone in this situation and that you can overcome it with the right amount of resolve. You simply need to identify where the future of the workforce is headed and invest in obtaining the knowledge needed to launch a new career that matches that future. Taking these steps now can help set you apart from any future competition and can cause you to stand out as a versatile and powerful employee, ready for the future of work