Unsure how to work on your employability while in self-isolation? Here are our suggestions for what to do without leaving the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
The world is still getting to grips with coronavirus, social distancing and what this means for all of us. As a student or recent graduate, you may well be asking where it leaves your degree and your job hunt \u2013 as well as wondering how to fill your time over the next few weeks. Take a look at these articles on\u00a0job hunting during the coronavirus pandemic<\/a>, and\u00a0internships, work experience and the coronavirus<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the meantime, we can suggest some career-friendly activities to get on with from your bedroom\/sofa\/office\/garden. Once things are back to normal, you\u2019ll have some great things to add to your CV, talk about at interviews or just brag about to your friends and family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Join LinkedIn (if you haven\u2019t already). Connect with your coursemates, follow organisations you\u2019re interested in and give your profile some TLC<\/a>. Some employers also have careers-focused Instagram and Twitter accounts for you to follow. Keep work and play separate<\/a>, though, whether that\u2019s having two different accounts or tweaking your privacy settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may already have a hobby that you can keep up while at home. If you don\u2019t, or your usual hobby isn\u2019t compatible with a restricted space, consider picking up a new one. This could be anything from learning to play an instrument or teaching yourself to code, to sketching your own comic book or flexing your green fingers in the garden. Stuck for ideas? Ask your friends and family for suggestions or read our advice on\u00a0good hobbies and interests for graduate CVs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Set up a blog, YouTube channel or Instagram account devoted to your hobby. Are you a budding bookstagrammer? Or perhaps you fancy yourself as the next Joe Wicks, providing your followers with home workouts? Fashion, photography, art, recipes, dance, poetry, stand-up comedy, magic tricks\u2026 you name it, you can showcase it online. Recruiters will appreciate your passion and you never know who might stumble across your work, or what opportunities it could lead to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Language skills can\u00a0set you apart from other graduates<\/a>\u00a0and you can develop yours without travelling. Whether you choose to build on the vocabulary you picked up at GCSE or go back to basics with a completely new language, there are lots of free online tools and apps available, such as Duolingo or Memrise. When you are next able to travel, you\u2019ll be able to test out your new language skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s never a bad idea to expand your general knowledge. Now could be the perfect time to read up on a topic you\u2019ve always wanted to know more about, whether that\u2019s cryptocurrency, British prime ministers, climate change, artificial intelligence or endangered species. If the topic that\u2019s piqued your curiosity is related to the career you\u2019re hoping to go into, all the better for interview discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019d prefer a more structured approach to learning something new, look for online tutorials (for example, on how to use Adobe Photoshop) or free, short online courses through the likes of Coursera, FutureLearn and OpenLearn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They usually have no entry requirements and don\u2019t require prior knowledge so you can explore any topic that sparks your curiosity in subjects such as business, computer science, law, health, psychology, media and history. Add any courses you complete to the \u2018Education\u2019 section of your CV \u2013 it will show that you\u2019ve been using your time at home constructively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If it\u2019s been a little while since you last looked at your CV, spend an afternoon or so adding in anything you\u2019ve done between then and now. We recommend having an up-to-date \u2018master CV\u2019<\/a> that contains absolutely all of your experience and achievements. You can then pick and choose what makes the cut for different internship and job applications when the time comes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Volunteering is good for your CV, but, first and foremost, you can feel good about making a difference and helping others. If you aren\u2019t currently able to volunteer in person, not all volunteering involves leaving your house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\u00a0NHS<\/a>\u00a0wants check-in and chat volunteers to provide telephone support to individuals who are at risk of loneliness as a consequence of coronavirus self-isolation. Age UK, Amnesty International, Be My Eyes, Missing Maps, The Granny Cloud, The Prince\u2019s Trust and Zooniverse look for online volunteers all-year-round and you can search for \u2018Do-it from home\u2019 opportunities at Do-it.org.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No time like the present to reflect on what you want to do when you graduate. Most of us aren\u2019t set on one career. Look at the\u00a025 different career sectors<\/a>\u00a0and take some time to read about the ones that interest you. Then you can start looking into individual employers in these areas and exactly what opportunities they offer to students and graduates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Understandably, there is uncertainty around how employers will recruit new staff over the next few months. However, you can still apply to the\u00a0vacancies\u00a0advertised. Just be patient if the application process takes longer than expected. Recruiters will need some time to adjust to working from home, adapt the recruitment process where necessary and decide on next steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While you\u2019re waiting to hear back on your job applications, lay the groundwork for the next stages. Practise numerical, verbal and inductive reasoning tests for free on the\u00a0Graduate Benchmark<\/a>\u00a0tool. Then read up on advice on answering over 20 of the\u00a0trickiest interview questions<\/a>, from\u00a0\u2018If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be?\u2019<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0\u2018What are your career goals?\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make a list of all the books you want to read, whether they are fiction or non-fiction, classics or new releases. If you want a more obvious careers angle, you could look for books such as Business Adventures<\/em> by John Brooks \u2013 described by Bill Gates as the best business book he\u2019s ever read. Or perhaps you can make a dent in the recommended reading list for your degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n University societies are on pause for now, so why not start your own? Round up your friends, find a common interest and start an online club together, whether it\u2019s a book club, a debate team, a space for wannabe movie critics or a weekly quiz. This isn\u2019t just a different way to keep in touch with your friends. Founding and running a club will help you develop the soft skills that employers look for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One more thing: we don\u2019t recommend trying to squeeze in everything on this list. Pick a few and don\u2019t put too much pressure on yourself during an already stressful time. You don\u2019t need to be proactive about your career every day. Balance it with other activities, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This article was taken from targetjobs.com – read more here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n You can get ongoing careers support via the following ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n1. Work on your online presence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Maintain or pick up a hobby<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Go viral<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Learn a language<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Read up on a new topic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
6. Take an online course<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
7. Bring your CV up to date<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
8. Become a virtual volunteer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
9. Research careers and employers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
10. Keep an eye out for job postings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
11. Swot up on the recruitment process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
12. Put together a reading list<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
13. Set up a virtual club<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
14. Switch off and relax<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Getting further support from The Careers and Enterprise Team at CCCU<\/h3>\n\n\n\n