How to Upskill When You Lose Your Job?

How do you get the attention of an employer, especially now when there are many talented peers?

1. Clear employability assessments: Many platforms such as AMCAT, eLitmus, MyAnatomy conduct employability assessments. If you clear such assessments you are given a chance to apply to various job opportunities and send your resumes to recruiters. The exam pattern, syllabus of such assessments are available on their portal. Make sure that you prepare well before appearing for the assessment so that you get a high score and come in the top performers.
2. Stay active on the Job forums and discussion groups: Most of the job applications are posted online and the recruitment drive is hosted virtually. You need to stay active on Telegram channels, job portals, discussion forums to receive regular updates about vacancies. Tell your friends and make a few connections in your domain, so that you can get referrals and you get to know about openings from them.
3. Increase your social credibility: You need “social credibility” to find a job after an employment gap of a few years. Nowadays LinkedIn and Quora are being considered as really good platforms for corporate networking and building connections and reaching out to people, who might actually show you the path or at least help you in reaching the correct point of contact. You can even add your resume to your LinkedIn profile and apply to jobs directly. Refers are the best way of assuring your credibility.
4. Update your resume: In the first instance, it is your resume that gives the first impression about you to the recruiter. Hence, you need to work really hard on building a good resume. Do not forget to mention the reason behind your gap in your resume, stay to the point and present it subtly. Mention all the skills that you have and the courses you have completed.
5. Practice for your Technical Interview: As a first step, you must be aware of all the required/skills that you must master to crack interviews. Solving aptitude tests, good knowledge of one programming language, core subjects (DBMS, OS, Computer Networks), and mastery in data structures and algorithms is a must.

How can you look for networking during this time of isolation? 

Social distancing requires people to come up with more creative ways of building a network. Networking is a lot more than just sending out 15 LinkedIn requests at a time. 

• Search for virtual conferences and webinars. Stay active and solicit questions for gaining attention.
• A popular site that you can refer to is 10times.com,  a website related to information about conferences, trade shows, and various kinds of virtual meetings that involve like-minded professionals coming together. It allows you to sort and filter by industry, location, and sector, with a section dedicated to virtual events considering the adverse effects of coronavirus. It is great if you’re looking for something that is more structured than the usual conversation on your mobile phone.
• Look for the person who has the maximum number of social connections in your group. Who is the person who introduces you to many other people?

We have a few ways that will help you to reach out to people:

1. Create a list of 20 people who aren’t your family members or someone you met directly at work, but look for someone you met through common connections and pen down their name.
2. In the adjacent column, write down the name of the person who introduced you to them. Now, think of your first meeting with this person.
3. Then make a third column and write out the name of the person who introduced you to this person , repeat the similar steps till you have mentioned around 100 names.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I start over after losing my job?

If you lose your job, you can definitely start over:
1. Trust in yourself and identify your key skills.
2. Stay active socially and try to get referrals.
3. Upskill yourself.
4. Clear employability assessments
5. Update your resume
6. Join Job forums and discussion groups
7. Practice for interviews

What if I lose my job?

If you lose your job, even if it is not your fault you are completely eligible for employment. You need to consider this as a temporary setback and start preparing for your dream company. Meanwhile, to manage your expenses you can go for freelancing or a temporary job.

How do you survive when you lose your job?

Losing a job abruptly can be harsh. But, you can survive with the help of your savings and provident fund. Meanwhile, you need to work on yourself and start looking out for better opportunities.

Is losing your job the end of the world?

No, losing a job is definitely not the end of the world. Job loss can be among the most devastating life events both emotionally and financially. You can definitely get over it and start looking out for better opportunities.

What are the top four reasons for losing a job?

The top four reasons for losing a job:
1. Violation of the company’s code of conduct
2. A long period of absence from the position
3. Inability to Work as a Team
4. Misuse of the Company’s Resources

Can you lose your job for no reason?

Sometimes, you may lose your job because of a reason that is not related to you or your performance directly. Such as the firm might get shut down, the unit is only dropped, there is a mass lay-off and so on.

Is losing a job traumatic?

Losing a job is a traumatic event. You may find yourself standing in a sea of mixed emotions. It’s important to remember that this is completely usual. There is no one way to react to job loss – and you will undoubtedly go through your own process of working through it.

Is it better to be fired or to quit?

It is better to quit rather than getting fired. Quitting and getting fired are the two ways to leave your current position but there is a significant difference between the two. Quitting is an informal way that indicates you left a job voluntarily. Getting fired, however, is when you are forced to leave a position. It is easier to explain why you resigned from a job to a future employer rather than why you were fired.

Does being fired affect future employment?

Being terminated, lawfully, from a company has no direct impact on your future career prospects. While running a background check on you, your future employer would typically be told you were terminated, this can affect your career adversely.

Key Takeaways

These employment issues are quite common and so is its solution. The ways to get a job after losing a job are more like suggestions, a job can only be achieved with a lot of dedication and perseverance. In many cases, you get a job quite early. A lot of companies and organizations are coming forth to help the people who lost their job because of the Covid-19 crisis.

Therefore, you must keep on applying and upskilling yourself and keep updating yourself about your latest achievements and courses in your resume and application profiles. Hence, don’t think that if you have been fired or you resigned, you can’t end up having a fruitful career.