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Elizabeth Garone
If you ve lost your job, taken a severance or redundancy package or ventured
into the great unknown of time off between jobs, the first few weeks of
unemployment can be both frightening and freeing.
The fears about finances and finding the next job can often give way to a
temporary sigh of relief, especially if you ve got several months of pay to
tide you over. Suddenly, you have time to catch-up, to start that exercise
regimen you ve been putting off, erase your sleep deficit, spend more hours
with family and friends. But don t kick back for too long.
Once unemployment extends beyond a few weeks, beware of letting one day slide
into the next as if it s an extended holiday. In some places, like the United
States, it can be much harder to find a job when you re unemployed, so making
the best use of your time off the clock is crucial.
Use your time outside the 9-to-5 to take the kind of action to get yourself
noticed. Here s how to employ those free hours wisely and toward your next
big career move.
Back to school
Taking a professional course demonstrates initiative and dedication to
self-development, wrote Neil Matthams, recruitment team leader at Sydney-based
recruitment firm Talent International, in an email.
Employers and recruiters are also well aware that qualifications can be quite
expensive, according to Matthams who works out of the company s Perth office.
That can be a good thing.
A potential employer may get a positive insight into an applicant s character
if they are willing to invest in their development even when they have reduced
disposable income, he wrote.
Courses should be in sync with your field, according to Jorg Stegemann,
managing director of Paris-based Kennedy Executive Search & Outplacement. We
are in a specialist market today, he wrote. If you have worked in marketing
for 10 years and now take a course in finance hoping to become a finance
manager, it won't work. [It s better to] learn the latest trend in marketing
and complete your profile instead of diluting it.
Start a professional blog
When it comes to being unemployed and standing out from the crowd, a
professional blog can help set you apart.
If you have a professional website that includes your CV, plan on adding your
blog stream to it. Also, make sure to attach a link to it as part of your
contact/correspondence details, wrote Mattham. If it s in this position on a
CV, it can t be missed.
The reason bloggers impress hiring managers is that [blogging] demonstrates a
love and enthusiasm for what they do, wrote Matthams. Therefore, if you re
going to include a blog on your CV, it would make sense to write a blog that
relates to your profession or line of work.
Software developers, for example, could blog about the latest technologies or
projects that they are doing at home while engineers could blog about new
projects in their cities and what challenges they might face, he said.
There aren t any set rules on how often you need to blog. It really doesn t
matter as long as the content is interesting and demonstrates to the reader
that the blogger has a passion for what they do, wrote Matthams.
But remember any recruiter or potential employer could be reading your posts,
so be prepared to discuss them in an interview. Make sure to keep your personal
online presence separate from your professional one.
Exploit your network
Being unemployed offers an opportunity to grow your professional network,
according to Dave Ciliberto, senior vice president of career transition at New
York-based organisational and talent consulting firm Partners International.
Be clear on what you need from people when you contact them.
The more specific you are, the more people can assist you, said Ciliberto.
Also, don t forget to ask them if there is anyone else that they suggest you
contact.
You will need to prepare answers to questions such as What do you want to do?
and How can I help you? said Ciliberto. Too often job seekers will assume
that people in their network will know what kind of position they are looking
for or what their skill set and expertise are, he said.
But that is rarely the case and you don t want to make extra work for them.
Avoid making assumptions and avoid the fear of asking for what you want. Be
specific and let your network [of contacts] know exactly what you are looking
for and what you can do.
Consider consulting
Contact outsourcing and contract employment firms in the fields that interest
you, suggested Ford R. Myers, president of Pennsylvania-based Career Potential,
LLC. Often, the work can turn out to be quite interesting and challenging and
potentially lucrative, he wrote.
In some cases, these consulting or contract assignments turn into full-time
job offers after the company gets to know you.
Consulting for any firm or contact is better than doing nothing, whether it s
making a business plan for your brother-in-law s tattoo shop or preparing tax
returns for a friend, wrote Kennedy s Stegemann.
Write it on your CV and on LinkedIn to show that you are in the driving seat
of your career, he suggested.
Volunteer
Volunteer for a charity or non-profit organisation even if it is only for a
few hours a week. How much time is up to you, said Partners International s
Ciliberto.
For Matthams, a stint volunteering during a period of unemployment always
stands out on candidates CVs, because it shows that they didn t just sit
around but kept themselves busy and kept their skills sharp while giving back
to the community. It might not be as hard as you think to find volunteer work
in your field of expertise.
A web designer (could his services to a local charity whose website needed
updating, suggested Matthams.
Presentation matters
But none of these actions will impress anyone if you don t present them well
on your CV or resume, warned Matthams. Lumping your most recently completed
courses with ones you took years ago significantly reduces the impact of what
you ve achieved, he wrote. More importantly, the person reviewing the CV won
t be able to see how you ve been spending your time.
Employers and recruiters spend just 5 to 7 seconds scanning each CV or resume,
according to Birmingham, UK recruiting firm BeHiring. Their eyes usually dart
straight to the description of your last role, according to Matthams. So, that
s where you want to put what you ve been working on while unemployed.