Being unemployed can be quite challenging, as often times, our focus is on getting regular credit alerts, especially the ones that come once a month. Why not? We have ourselves and families to take care of, and these things become harder when one’s employment status changes from employed to unemployed.
While it is important to pick up a new skill, it is important to gain these skills in those areas that interest you, not necessarily because everyone is doing them; however, because your target is to use the new skill to get employed, you must ensure a clear balance between interest and employability. That is to say that any new skill you acquire should be of interest to you, while also being an in-demand skill. If you are the type that has background in numbers, statistics, analysis, presentation, generating insights; however, you were in a career in sales or any other, being unemployed should drive your thoughts towards your innate interests while linking them to an in-demand career. Perhaps, you currently do not have this background; however, you know what interests you, and you know what you are capable of, you should find an in-demand career that aligns with your interests. That means you may have to learn new processes, methods, technologies, procedures, among others, but these things are worthwhile when you finish your learning journey. In the previous example, one with such interests and background may consider going into data analysis, data science, data engineering or related fields.
To pick up in-demand skills, online courses can be an excellent guide, as they provide a structured approach to learning. Learning platforms such as Coursera, Udemy, edX, Alison, and many more can be perfect places to hit the ground running. If you are on a zero or near zero budget, taking advantage of free resources such as YouTube can be of immense benefit, as various content creators who are knowledgeable in your intended area would often deliver video tutorials that would help you acquire the new skill.
A key driver of making this transition is your ability to remain consistent with your learning without losing interest. This is often a common phenomenon among learners, especially those learning a skill to land a new job, and they usually expect quick result which may not always be staring at them that quick. Being able to plan your learning hours within each day, week or month helps you set measurable learning goals; hence, you can estimate how long it may take you acquire the skill up to a certain level. To do this, you must know the various components or contents of your intended learning, and the duration of each component. If you are taking various courses on different learning platform, you must take into account the duration of the courses, and how long it takes you to practice what you learnt. Depending on what you’re learning, practice could take as much time or more as reading the course content or watching the videos.
As you embark on this journey, find out what skill resonates with you, ensure it can get you out of your unemployment situation, remain steadfast and disciplined in your learning, edit your CV to reflect your capabilities, and start applying to new jobs as soon as you are ready to a level you feel confident about your new skill.