By Funmilayo Oyekanmi and Toheeb Ojuolape
The COVID-19 pandemic has truly brought about a lot of uncertainty and loss for businesses, such that some companies even had to cancel 2020 summer internship offers in order to cut down cost, and I believe that this has affected the summer plans of several undergraduates.
Also, there is no doubt that global work force would also be affected by this pandemic as analyst are starting to see a shift in demand of skillsets that would be needed in a post-covid era.
As Gen ‘Z’ers, it is completely normal for us to worry about how this would affect our career goals, internships and employability.
With this reality in mind, we have come up with 10 productive things you can do during this period to make this lockdown feel less like a career hiatus and more like a career upgrade.
There are alot of online platforms you can take free or paid courses on right now. These courses may be related to your course of study, or any aspect of learning you’ve always been interested in exploring. You’ve always said you didn’t have the time to learn that skill, now you have all the time in the world!
Since virtual internships are almost like the real thing, it can serve as an experience that you can include on your CV.
One of the best ways you can explore new perspective and ideas during this period is by reading books and exploring case studies related to your fields of interest. This way, you get more practical and mind-opening exposure to new trends and information in your field.
Dedicate a part of your day to maximizing social media channels to improve your online presence, most especially your LinkedIn and Twitter accounts.
Network with your peers and professionals and share ideas. You never know where your network can get you to.
You can gain experience from anywhere, don’t limit yourself to corporate organizations. Collaborate with people virtually, volunteer and work on projects.
7) Have Fun!
Engage in your hobbies or in activities that interests you. Relax, don’t rush. And don't feel the pressure to be productive, just let it flow. Hang out with your neighbours and friends, spend quality time with your family, gist and breathe.
Writing is by far one of those great ways through which you can achieve a significant level of exposure for your personal brand and career. Write about things you know. Write about your interests. Write about your aspirations for the future. This way, you not only get to improve your writing skills, which is really important, but you also get to build a solid background and reputation for yourself which could help you secure connections and opportunities. You can start writing today by creating a free Tell! account. Click here to get started
No doubt there’s a lot of mental pressure during this period. It’s quite easy for us to feel worry and anxiety about the current situation of things, but honestly that doesn’t help matters. What you can do to relieve this mental pressure is by exercising, meditating, doing yoga, self-care and reaching out to friends and families that are far away and so on. It really helps.
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The courses teaches young people about mindset change, how to apply for global opportunities, how to ace interviews and write a winning CV and Resumé.
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With all these to keep you busy, we hope you would have a lot of experiences to talk about and so much value to offer after Corona. BE PROACTIVE!
