What Job Skills Should You Improve On If You Don’t Have a Job

This year – 2020, the pandemic year – was a rough one. If you’re one of the thousands who lost your job and you’re not having any luck finding another, what should you do with your time? Working on your job skills is one option, but what skills should you improve on?

Learning a whole new profession is probably not the best option unless you’re absolutely sure that your current career doesn’t hold a future for you. A new profession would mean learning a new set of skills and building a new network of professional connections.

Instead of a complete change, you can work on a new skill or skills that are similar to the skill set that you currently have. For example, if you were working in the marketing field, learn something new about social media or branch out into affiliate marketing if you weren’t working on that before.

Look into taking free courses such as those offered by HubSpot and LinkedIn, paid courses, or educational YouTube videos. I’ve learned new job skills, new ways to find work, and new platforms and software just by investing a few minutes each day into my professional development. Don’t forget about reading some juicy books that will teach you new skills or a new mindset as well.

Other options include joining Facebook groups for specific fields and industries to find work. These are a source for job leads as well as learning about job finding tips and trends in job hunting and in your industry.

Subscribing to online magazines are another source of information about trends in specific industries as well as the latest information on job hunting.

By learning about latest trends, you can stay on top of the skills that specific markets are looking for. These skills or this software should be the ones that are top of mind for what you’ll learn next.

Don’t forget to read job postings in your field that you aren’t interested in applying for. Maybe you aren’t interested in working for that company or the job isn’t an exact match for what you want, or you aren’t yet qualified for the job. However, it will give you ideas about what is available in the job market and what jargon to use in your job application. 

Volunteer work is also another way to build your skills. Work on projects to develop new skills or keep current ones fresh. Add these projects to your resume.

Improving on your job skills will help you find work in the same or similar fields. It will also keep your resume current and may even open doors for jobs that you didn’t qualify for before your skills upgrading.

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What Should You Do If Your Career Takes A Wrong Turn

Regret is a powerful motivator.

Recently my memories seemed to morph into the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. I thought about the career I used to have, and how stable and comfortable that job had been. It was my dream job, but things changed, and I found myself looking for a new career.

I had decided to take my skill set and become an entrepreneur instead of taking another job, building up my career from scratch at another company, and risk being laid off again. Today, just a week before a new year begins, I face an uncertain future. The future is scary.

It’s scary because so much is unknown about it. Will the pandemic come to an end? Will the economy improve? Will I need to make more pivots to my business so that it will thrive?

When I first started my business, I made some mistakes. Looking back at the wasted time and the wasted money is painful. The regrets are painful. But looking forward, I see a chance to do things better. More wisely. More efficiently.

If you’re thinking about changing careers, or your future is unknown because of COVID, consider these tips whether you’re looking for a job, or working on a business like I am:

  • Assess your financial situation. How much do you have in savings? How much debt? Should you borrow money to pay expenses while you work to get your career back on track?
  •  Look for options in which you can develop your skills while working. Can you use your current skillset to get some employment while you continue to build on your skills by taking courses or learning on the job?
  •  Build a professional support network. I’ve joined Facebook groups and attended online network meetings to get to know people. Through these connections, I have found clients and work opportunities.
  •  Work with a mentor. A career coach or someone with more experience than you in an industry or field can guide you. They can point out what you need to work on, steer you away from making potential mistakes, and share important wisdom with you.

A year from now, I want to feel like 2021 was the year I made progress. At that time, I will look at the past fondly, the present with satisfaction, and the future with bright hope.

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3 Quick Tips to Appear More Confident

How confident do you feel? Do you picture yourself as a self-assured Boss who is unafraid to take on challenges, marching to the beat of a rockstar song? Are you just like the Instagram influencer whose perfect poses garner thousands of likes? Or do you wish you had that level of confidence?

Confidence can be achieved. You may not feel that confidence flowing inside right away, but with these three quick tips, you’ll appear more confident, and that’s a first step!

1. Pose to occupy space and show confidence

To appear more confident, expand yourself. When you’re standing, don’t hunch over, arms folded, or lean into a wall like you’re trying to disappear. Instead, stand up straight, one leg slightly out, or one arm in a triangle shape. You get the idea. Take up a little more space, and keep your eyes ahead, not to the floor.

Your posture is important. If you are walking, take bigger steps with back straight, and eyes forward. Once again, the idea is to take up space. When sitting down, you can put an arm or both arms onto the armrest.

Make sure you show your hands when sitting, standing, or walking. Hiding your hands or standing with hands folded suggests shyness.

For ideas about poses that make you look confident, check out YouTube videos or tips from Instagram influencers on how to pose for the camera.

2. Speak with authority

The words you choose and how quickly you say them can make you appear confident or apologetic. Speak with authority by checking for some expressions that you may be using in your everyday speech.

For example, don’t start sentences with, “I think.” Whatever you want to say, say it without those two words. So instead of saying, “I think that’s the best solution,” jump right in with, “That’s the best solution.”

Another expression to avoid is starting your sentence with “sorry.” Instead of saying, “Sorry I’m late,” try, “Thank you for waiting.” And instead of, “Sorry I forgot your name,” try, “I’m working on remembering names better. What was yours again?”

Another way to appear confident is to slow your speech. Don’t rush your sentences as if the world will end in two minutes. Also, well timed pauses and moments of silence can carry a heavy punch. For example, following “hmm” with silence as if you are thinking before you speak can give you an appearance of authority.

3. Use tonality to convey confidence

Your tonality influences how confident you sound to others. Speak a little more loudly, without yelling, to give your voice more strength. Speaking too softly or mumbling makes you appear timid and fearful. Open your mouth wider and you’ll sound louder already.

Avoid speaking with an upward inflection, as if you are constantly asking questions. If your sentences sound like questions, then people think you aren’t certain about what you are saying. When you speak with a downward inflection, you voice carries more certainty and conviction.

If you aren’t certain how you sound, record yourself speaking. If you haven’t heard yourself speaking before, it may be a little uncomfortable at first, like meeting a twin you didn’t know you had. However, listening to your tonality and how you speak is a way to quickly improve.

Summary

You can appear more confident with three quick steps. Start with your posture. Taking up more space makes you look more self assured. Speaking more slowly, timing your pauses, and using a downward inflection will give your voice more authority and conviction.

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Skills Insight of the Day #7 – Singing

Should singing be a job skill requirement?

It’s a few days before Christmas and Christmas songs are everywhere for the next few weeks. When I was in elementary school, we had to sing Christmas carols in December and Happy Birthday throughout the year. I still sing – I mean lip sync – the birthday song.

When I was a kid, I didn’t know I would be learning a life skill when I learned the words to Happy Birthday. I’ve sung it a thousand times by now at celebrations for family members, friends, and classmates, and I’ve heard it at my own birthday. When school was finished, I sang it at work for coworkers.

Singing is a useful skill to have. If you’re on a road trip, it brightens the mood when you and your coworkers can sing to some tunes. If your first job is babysitting, singing to children is a job saver. Humming to tunes while at your desk (back when working at the office was popular pre-COVID) was also useful. The coworker who hummed seemed pleasant and approachable.

At one point, I had an Asian boss, and if you’re familiar with karaoke and Asian culture, you know what’s next. I found myself listening to coworkers and the boss blasting karaoke songs in a room one birthday party evening.

I discovered that my coworkers (whether they were Asian or not) sounded like professional singers, maybe because of the electronic equipment that enhanced your voice. More likely they sounded pro because they karaoke a lot. They flipped through the song list with the familiarity of someone looking for dishes in their own kitchen.

It was karaoke again when friends from one of my business groups chose singing to be our skill of choice for a talent show. So I found myself lip syncing again, hiding my ugly truth from everyone. An Asian who can’t sing but pretends to is probably the most awkward kind of Asian. I’ve heard Asian friends who love karaoke and aren’t ashamed to sing off key. That’s not me.

Over a lifetime, I’ve perfected the skill of pretending to sing. When you’re in a small group singing Happy Birthday, the ability to lip sync is tested to the extreme. The secret is to stand next to someone with a booming voice. (Like a little fish swimming under the protection of a giant fish.)

Back to the original question. Should singing be a job skill requirement? Maybe, maybe not. It does have its advantages. At the very least, you should be able to sing Happy Birthday.

What do you think about singing as a life skill? Share your thoughts in the comments.

4 Tips to Stay Productive During the Pandemic

How productive have you been this year? Did you accomplish all that you set out to accomplish in 2020? Or were you like many others who tossed out your original game plan and settled for fewer expectations when the pandemic hit? It’s been a challenging year but there are a few things you can do to keep yourself focused during the coming months. Here are four tips to stay productive during the pandemic.

1. Set Daily Goals

Setting daily goals is important, especially if you lost your job, suffered a business loss, or feel depressed these days. Setting at least one major goal, or three doable goals for each day will take your mind off the surrounding negativity and give you a sense of purpose.

The goals can be simple. They must be doable. For example, change from pajamas into something you would want to be photographed wearing. Clean up the kitchen. Finish a Netflix series. Apply for one job.

Finishing some episodes of a TV series won’t save the world or pay the bills, but if you’re feeling down, it feels good to check something off a to-do list. Applying for a job would be more productive job-wise, but if you’ve been job searching for months, one more job application could feel like an Everest climb.

2. Establish a Schedule

Establish a schedule for the weekdays and the weekends. What hours of the day will you set aside for work or searching for work? What times will you set aside for housework, exercise, and fun time?

If you can, schedule time for personal development to learn a new skill or language. Absolutely put aside a few minutes a day to reflect on your accomplishments and what you’re grateful for. When you take the time to reflect on positive things, your productivity will increase.

3. Watch the Time

It’s easy to lose yourself in pointless activities just to pass the time. Pointless activities include playing video games, watching back-to-back streaming programs, or wasting time on social media.

Set a goal: you’ll watch one episode of a series and then go for a walk. You’ll play video games for 30 minutes and then cross something off your to-do list. When you watch how much time you’re spending on what you do, your productivity will increase.

4. Reward Yourself

Remember to reward yourself whenever you accomplish a task or keep to your schedule. Rewarding yourself is important for your mental health and positivity, especially during these times when there is so much to get stressed out about in the news.

Rewards can be simple. Reach out and call a friend. Watch a movie for family night. Have a chocolate (or a handful if you were super ambitious and got a lot done).

Summary

Staying productive during the pandemic is important for keeping positive. There is a lot that you could be negative about in these times. To maintain focus, set goals and a schedule, watch your time, and reward yourself.

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