How To Get Ahead of The Game For When The Covid-19 Pandemic is Over
- Career Coach
- Apr 9, 2020
- 3 min read
Written by Becky
As you are all aware, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused much of the world to come to a halt, including our work, travel, leisure and social life. It is an especially daunting time for university students trying to adjust to all of the changes happening whilst still studying for exams, deadlines and looking for industry experience. However, this change and new-found time shouldn’t be seen as a negative! I’m going to give you four top tips on how to get organised and ahead of the competition for when the pandemic has ended.
CV's and Cover Letters
There is no better time to perfect your CV than now!
Many roles have suspended their recruitment processes for the foreseeable future, giving you a great opportunity to work on your CV to make you stand out once they re-open. The Career Studio has now gone digital, which means that out team of Career Coaches are still on hand to help you every day through this pandemic, providing you with tailored advice. Another essential part of the recuirtment process is a cover letter. These are often not focused on as much as CVs, however, they provide a first impression of you to the employer and provide an opportunity to sell yourself enough to make them want to read your CV. You can utilise your time to make a draft cover letter which you can adjust to any job you apply for in the future. Access the cover letter template resources and advice via: careers@staffs.ac.uk.
Draft Applications
Get your applications in quicker by having a draft at hand to alter and submit each time! This gives you more time to target your applications to the role rather than starting from scratch and missing key information due to time constraints. Have all of your standard information (addresses, grades, work history) written in one place and underneath include some examples where you have demonstrated certain skills. A lot of applications will ask you to discuss the skills listed in the job specifications so look at previous job postings and use the STAR technique to write some examples which can be adapted to future questions! (try to stick to approx. 300 words so you can add/remove content if you need to).
S-situation - T-task - A-action - R-Response
this is handy for interview prep too!
Take Advantage of LinkedIn!
LinkedIn is a fantastic networking tool that you can be using. During this pandemic, almost everything is now operating online, so keep up with the trend and network with employers as much as you can! You can use this to browse job opportunities that may still be open, follow up previous opportunities or research/enquire into companies which you are interested in working for. Another bonus of LinkedIn is that Staffordshire University students have access to LinkedIn Learning. Take advantage of this and take some short courses from the comfort of your own home to add to your page and show employers you are still engaging with material related to your career. You can cover topics such as Microsoft office to industry specific software. More information can be found on:
Gaining Work Experience
You may have heard the phrase ‘key worker’ a lot over the past few weeks, and this means that there are job roles which are classed as essential during this pandemic and are in high demand! There are so many vacancies at the moment for roles such as retail assistants, health care assistants and emergency call handlers. These are fully paid, temporary jobs in which you can gain transferrable skills and list on your CV. Alternatively, there are also an abundance of voluntary roles in need of filing, especially for charities and the NHS, some of which don’t even require you to leave your home. Take a look at local organisations and the NHS website to find a role to suit you so you can help your community whilst gaining valuable voluntary experience. Employers often look for candidates who will be open to continuous learning and new opportunities, so any experience you gain in now will
show you are adaptable and versatile!
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Email: careers@staffs.ac.uk
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