4 Tips to Fill the Covid-19 Gap

The gap is not uncommon: there are many examples of women who go on maternity leave and others who face temporary loss of employment. However, last year a sudden pandemic outbreak threatened the livelihood of millions of people.

Many people lost their jobs, and they continue to stay unemployed for more than expected time. Various businesses went shut down. However, thanks to the government-backed bounce-back loan scheme that gave another chance for entrepreneurs to restart.

As people found some hope of new normal, they were forced to stay locked in their homes. With such a long gap, many of you faced financial losses. Recouping or getting back to the track is not that easy, and it is not going to be very quick. Still, there are a lot of ways you can make extra effort to fill the gap.

1. Get an internship

Some people are significantly struggling to find out a job. Yet, the economy is trying to get back on track. Still, various companies do not have the potential to hire new staff because of a lack of monetary resources.

Since you do not have a job and take a much longer time to land a new job, you should try to grab an internship. LinkedIn is the best platform where you can build connections and search for companies.

Make a list of some of them and check their website to see if they are hiring interns. You will unlikely get many internship programs, but a few of them can be helpful if you successfully make the most of this opportunity.

To get the internship, you will have to explain why you are looking for it and why you think that you are fit for the role.

2. Choose an online course

One of the significant reasons for struggling to find a new job is the competition is very high. After the pandemic outbreak, most of the people have lost their job.

Of course, when there are many applicants, you need to ensure that you are the best fit for an organisation.

Since you have been idle for a very long time, it makes a wrong impression on recruiters that you did nothing except job search in the span of such a long time.

Therefore, it is recommended that you should enroll in a course that improves your soft skills. It can be either a certificate course or a diploma course.

Having additional skills make recruiters believe that you are a multi-tasking person. Of course, your chances of being hired increase by choosing the right course.

3. Find paid work

Finding a paid job is extremely crucial even if you are not able to land a job of your own interests. You have a lot of expenses to meet, and you need a constant supply of cash.

Though you can get loans without a guarantor for unemployed people, you cannot meet all of the expenses with such funding sources.

Of course, you will feel more difficulty getting a job because millions of people are unemployed and all need a job.

You will have to broaden your search no matter what. You should try to find a part-time job. Various online sites offer different types of part-time jobs like writing services.

You need to create your own profile, look for projects you think you can handle on time and pay yourself well.

If you cannot get jobs in your niche, you can consider other side hustles like babysitting and dog walkers. This time, your focus should be on staying afloat, which you can do only when you earn money.   

4. Be careful with your spending

If you want to fill the gap, you will also have to be careful about the money spent. If you continue to spend more than your affordability, you will naturally end up in a debt spiral. Even if you earn a good amount of money, you will have a shortage of funds.

A rule of thumb says that you should create a budget. If you do not like to do it manually, you can use budgeting apps. Budgeting is crucial to keep tabs on your expenses.

Make sure that you check everyday expenses and try to live off a lean budget. It means you should try to live off essential expenses only.

Unless you land a new job, you should cut back on all discretionary expenses. Get account statements of previous months and see where you can cut back on. The more rigorous you are, the better it is.

Filling the Covid-19 gap is not easy, but you can do it by taking specific measures. The tips mentioned above can help you recover from the losses that you are suffering due to unemployment.