The outcome of the COVID year
So you just got out of the events of 2020, grateful that you came out with your life in tact. Over 60% of companies laid off a lot of their staff to balance their losses. Most people have no jobs anymore. If it doesn’t happen to someone you know, it might still sound like fiction to you. Some close family friends lost their jobs at top companies. Many companies folded, and I had about three friends who suddenly had no jobs because their company was gutted by fire during the heat of the COVID crisis when people got desperate and started looting to survive.
With the gravity of the offensive launched by the deadly virus, everyone is grateful to be alive. Life goes on and people have to survive. Even though the pressure has reduced, businesses are trying to recover, re-strategizing and putting out their best foot to to get things right.
Are you among the people affected by this pandemic? Did you lose your job or business? Now the the new year is fast getting along, the question is, how do you move forward?
The best place to start, is from the beginning. Get back to the drawing board and make your research, which companies should you apply to in 2021?
Things to know about applying to Companies in 2021
Now that times have changed and we are faced with the new normal, mode of work has changed. Most companies still work remote, you should have these changes in mind when you start searching for a job:
1. Prepare to work remote
Majority of companies (local and foreign) now work remote, mostly. Majority of companies in this categories are IT based companies. Now even other company categories, even the education sector has become fully digitalized going remote. Due t travel bans and other restrictions, many Universities and other academic institutions had to resort to remote. An Aunt of mine said since COVID she had not visited her school. She had been lecturing and conducting exams from home. What if she didn’t have the necessary IT skills to do that? Try upgrade. If you were of the old school and not liking computer and IT , this is time to switch, to survive the new normal.
2. Learn (more) IT skills
If you had no IT skills try and learn, because nearly every job you will get now requires some level of IT knowledge. Things are no longer the way they used to be before the coming of COVID. Don’t stop learning. Go as far as you can. Learn as much of technology as you can. Time is coming when you will be grateful you did. A friend of mine that was casually doing some classes with us back then in #python and web development got fired during the COVID massive workforce lay-off. I was surprised when next we spoke, she had taken up an internship role with a software company. Now she has advanced in her newfound IT career, with the added financial benefits. Never stop learning. This is a new dispensation, the world clock now ticks TECHNOLOGY and ONLINE.
3. Never neglect any role
People who are CEOs today, were once interns, starting from junior level and volunteer roles and working their way up the ladder. It is true some people are lucky to get straight to the top without getting through the drill. Everybody is not the same. In stead of staying idle, search out internships, and volunteer opportunities. Start somewhere. A former colleague of mine got promoted to team supervisor after two months as an intern. The director found that he had the skills. How would he have been discovered if he did not take the internship? Start somewhere. You will get to the top someday, just don’t stop moving!