How lockdown is a chance to change your life . . . for ever
WORRIED about your job prospects this year? You are not alone. Employment opportunities are looking bleak for many. The pandemic has already resulted in hundreds of thousands of job cuts – many in the retail, leisure, hospitality, travel and entertainment sectors – and more are expected as businesses continue to struggle.
But thankfully, for those who want to give themselves the best chance of finding a new job, it’s possible to add sparkle to a CV and develop your skills by taking an online course.
From the top universities and colleges, including the Open University, to specialist providers such as Udemy and LinkedIn – and even private companies such as Barclays and Accenture – there are numerous courses available, both free and paid-for.
They range from digital marketing, bookkeeping and Mandarin to child care. But will they make a difference?
Headhunter Amanda Reuben, owner of Bijou Recruitment, is regularly asked whether it’s worth spending time and money on online courses and training. She says: ‘I always encourage anybody to improve their skills. It’s no guarantee of getting a job but it makes you more attractive to an employer and right now you’ve got to make yourself the most appealing you possibly can be.’
With increased competition for jobs, anything that makes you stand out from the field will give you a competitive advantage.
‘It’s all about maximising your marketability,’ says Reuben, ‘ so if you were in retail, you could do an online management course, or learn about ecommerce, or about how to use a database. Or, if you worked on the shop floor, you might want to learn about other parts of the supply chain.’
Rather than click on a random course advertised on Facebook, Reuben advises getting recommendations from industry trade bodies, experts on LinkedIn or by reading online reviews from websites such as Trustpilot.
An added challenge in the current environment is that prospective employers will want to know what you’ve been doing during the pandemic.
‘They will hope that you used your time usefully if you were furloughed,’ says Reuben. ‘Maybe you learned WordPress, launched a podcast or took a temporary job as a supermarket delivery driver – anything to show that you kept yourself busy rather than just lying on the sofa for six months.’
Nicky Patrick has been a presenter for Radio Jackie for the last 17 years and also freelances for BBC Radio Sussex and BBC Radio Surrey. She used to supplement her radio income through outside broadcasts, concerts,
‘My only regret is why I didn’t do it sooner’
roadshows and food festivals. But she says ‘that’s all gone now and l eft a huge dent i n my finances’.
Thinking about what she could do to enhance her employability, Nicky turned to voice-overs. She says: ‘For commercial and corporate voice-over work, it requires a specific set of skills, so I’ve been doing fortnightly lessons with a coach.’
At £ 110 an hour, the lessons aren’t cheap but she says: ‘I feel pleased as I’m learning rather than just relying on my instinct. Hopefully, I can now start looking for work.’
Laura Harnett spent years in the corporate consulting world, managing projects for big brands such as Selfridges. But she admits there was ‘a lot’ she didn’t know about business.
‘I was getting bigger roles but I didn’t know anything about actually running a business and scaling it up,’ she says. ‘If I still wanted to be relevant, I felt I had to have those skills.’
After a successful battle against cancer, Laura started volunteering at a couple of charities and did some angel investing to learn how to run a business on a shoestring. She also signed up to some free online courses. She then invested £2,000 in a growth marketing course by The Growth Tribe recommended by a friend.
‘It was a big investment but it was intense and you got trained by people who really knew what they were talking about,’ she says. Laura successfully applied for a couple of non- executive roles.
Then, in September, she founded Seep (theseepcompany. com), an eco-friendly household cleaning products company which sells sponges, scourers and cloths that are plastic-free and 100 per cent compostable.
‘Having done all the training, I knew I could do it,’ she says. ‘My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner.’