Depending on what industry you’re in, your job security may feel a little shaky right now due to COVID-19.

Even if you haven’t lost your job because of the economic impact caused by the coronavirus, or even if you’re able to return to work soon, you may feel less sure of your future career than ever before.

No one could’ve predicted six months ago the situation we’re currently experiencing world-wide.

This is why there really is no such thing as job security. Stuff happens.

The only constant is, business will always be business. Companies will always do what they have to do to keep afloat for as long as possible. Which often means downsizing.

This is why it’s important to invest in what I call “career insurance.”

What is career insurance?

Career insurance is basically another term for comprehensive career coaching. It’s designed to prepare you for any event that may arise in your career.

This includes the expected, like a promotion, voluntary job or career change, or starting your own business. It also includes the unexpected, like a layoff or a loss of business.

Think you don’t need career insurance?  Let me share a few stories with you.

The unexpected layoff

I’m often hired by companies to provide career coaching and outplacement counseling for the employees they have to lay off.

This service isn’t something all companies provide their pink slip employees. So don’t assume your company will do the same for you if you get laid off.

If they do, take advantage of it!!! It’s on the company’s dime and it can help you find your next opportunity much faster than trying to do it all on your own.

Many of the laid off employees I’ve worked with in this capacity were taken by surprise by the company’s decision.

Several have said to me, “I always thought I’d retire at this company. I love my job and the people I work with. And I had no intentions of ever leaving and never thought I would get downsized.”

Lesson #1:  Never assume you’re not at risk of losing your job. Even if your company is in a growing industry and promises to be loyal to you. Business is business and things change. If your company doesn’t provide you any outplacement services, you may want to invest some severance money into career coaching. This is so you can find your next opportunity quicker, and learn how to negotiate a higher salary. Learning such skills will pay for any coaching expenses, and then some.

The need for a change

Teresa* hired me for some career coaching services because she was very unhappy in the job she was in.

She wanted to look for something new, and also explore the possibility of being her own boss. So I got to work on helping her meet these goals.

After only three coaching sessions, Teresa found out her job was being eliminated.

When she got the news, she felt a sense of relief she’d already paid for a career coach and had begun the steps to a successful job search, making the news less of a blow.

She knew our sessions would help put her in the best possible position to find her next opportunity more quickly. She also knew the coaching would help position her for promotion the following year.

Lesson #2:  It’s better to already have some career insurance in place, if and when an issue arises, than to not have it and wish you did. Especially if you don’t receive a good severance package.

Prepare for the worst, and the best

I started working with Shane* at the beginning of the season. He chose my basic package of just a few sessions which we completed several weeks later. When I received an update from him, this is what he had to say:

“All of my worlds have been colliding since our last session, and I’ve only been able to handle it because of the great place we got to with our sessions. So thank you. I just had my interview for my promotion that was in the works earlier this season. Whatever shakes out, the confidence and clarity I gained from our sessions made the interview process really rewarding.”

Lesson #3:  Career coaching isn’t just for leaving your company. If you like where you work, coaching services can help you advance in your company if this is your goal. It can also prepare you for any career curve ball (good or bad) that may come your way.

How to increase your job security

While you have no control over the current pandemic or your company’s response to it, you do have control over your own career strategy.

paNASH’s career coaching services help you develop a strategy to leverage your skills and market them for new opportunities, providing career insurance and improved security no matter what happens with your career.

Is it time for you to invest in some career insurance? If not now, when?

Don’t wait until your current job security is gone. Click here to get started.

Related posts

• Getting Laid Off? The #1 Thing to Ask for When You Leave
• 3 Ways to Gain Control Over Your Career in a Recession
• How to Avoid These 5 Career Mistakes During a Time of Panic
• Why You Need to Think Like an Entrepreneur (Even When You’re Not One)

*Names have been changed for confidentiality purposes. Click here to see client-submitted Google reviews.

Welcome to “Sunday Inspiration,” a bi-weekly devotional for those seeking spiritual encouragement in the pursuit of their passions. Each post comes from an outside resource (as referenced). I hope these posts will inspire and motivate you in your life and career in addition to our weekly original blog posts. Enjoy!

“Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.’” Lk 9:61 NIV

When you squander or lose your money, there’s a chance you can get it back. But not when you squander or lose your time.

One of the saddest stories in Scripture is found in these words: “Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.’” But nowhere is it recorded that he followed Jesus.

And procrastination and perfectionism go hand in hand.

We say, “If I can’t do it right, I won’t do it at all!” No, before you get it right you’ll probably get it wrong.

In every story of success there are chapters of struggle, but they are chapters of learning and growth.

A study was done at Yale University. Graduating seniors were told of the dangers of tetanus and given the opportunity to get a free inoculation at the health center. While a majority of the students were convinced they needed the shot, guess how many followed through and got the vaccine? Three percent!

Another group was given the same lecture, but also given a copy of the campus map with the location of the health center circled on it. They were then asked to look at their weekly schedules and figure out when they could find time to get the shot. Guess what? Nine times as many students got inoculated.

Good intentions aren’t enough. You need to make the call, or make the move. You need to set the deadline, or set the appointment.

“Today” is the tomorrow you were talking about yesterday. So stop procrastinating and do it.

Source: https://jentezenfranklin.org/daily-devotions/stop-procrastinating-and-do-it

I have a few clients who’ve done video interviews in recent weeks due to COVID-19. While phone and video interviews are nothing new, at least not to first-round interview screenings, they’ve temporarily replaced all in-person job interviews during the quarantine.

Companies are likely to continue holding remote interviews throughout the different “re-entry” phases. And they’re likely to continue using them even after the pandemic is behind us. This is simply because it saves the company a lot of money, especially in travel reimbursement expenses for non-local candidates.

Job interviews are already stressful. Throwing into the mix a technology platform that doesn’t always work perfectly can make it even more nerve wracking.

Here are some tips to help make your next remote interview run more smoothly, so you can focus on landing the offer.

Tips for video interviews

When undergoing video interviews, you’ll want to:

• Have a strong internet connection. Make sure you’re computer is close to your router. For an even better experience, you may want to use an Ethernet port to hardwire your computer to the router.
• Close out any programs or apps running in the background. For the best experience, I suggest using Google Chrome as your browser.
• Have everything set up and ready to go well before the interview time. This includes having already downloaded any necessary software for the given platform.
• Use a headset or earbuds for clearer audio.
• Look directly at your webcam instead of your screen. This allows you to maintain good eye contact and reduce distractions from other things popping up on your screen. Practice this with a friend prior to your interview.
• Use the “share screen” option when showing samples of your work from your online portfolio. Make sure you don’t use this option for too long, and ask for permission first before sharing your screen.
• Get comfortable with any silence caused by a delay or lag time in the connection. Waiting it out instead of trying to fill the silence will keep you from interrupting or talking over the interviewer.
• Be mindful of your background. Make sure it’s not distracting and doesn’t reveal anything the interviewer may consider questionable.
• Keep a notepad next to your computer so you can take some notes. Just don’t take so many notes you forsake too much eye contact.
• Let family members know not to interrupt you, and put pets in another room.
• Silence your cell phone.

Tips for phone interviews

Many of the above tips can apply to phone interviews as well. I this situation, you’ll also want to:

• Use the interviewer’s name more frequently in your conversation. This is especially necessary when you have more than one interviewer on the line.
• Smile, even though they can’t see you. They’ll still be able to hear your enthusiasm for the job when you’re smiling as you talk.
• Get comfortable with silence and pauses. They may take notes and need some time between your answer and their next question to finish writing down those notes. When you’re done with your answer, stop talking and resist the urge to fill the silence. Wait patiently for them to respond.
• Disable your call waiting in your call settings.
• Reduce all chances of background noise if using your phone on speaker. This means disabling any alarms or Alexa devices that could possibly go off during the call.

Conclusion

By taking the steps above, you’ll be better prepared, less stressed, and more focused. For other interview tips, see related resources listed below.

Related resources

Blog post: What You Need to Know About Job Interviews of The Modern Era

Free video: The Most Common Job Interview Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

On-demand video course: Steps to Acing the Interview and Reducing Your Interview Anxiety (free e-book included)

With all of those who’ve lost their jobs from the COVID-19 crisis, online job boards are expected to be flooded with job seekers once quarantine bans begin to lift and jobs start to re-open.

Even before the virus, these boards have been filled with a sea of job seekers. This means there’s always a lot of competition on these boards. Which is exactly why they should be a last resort for serious candidates.

A job search can take up a lot of time. In fact, you should expect to spend at least 20 hours a week on your job search. Yeah, it’s a job in and of itself!

Therefore, you definitely want to use your time wisely. You don’t want to waste it sifting through a ton of irrelevant jobs. Because let’s face it, search filters aren’t always good at weeding out the jobs you don’t want.

You also don’t want to waste your time getting lost in the herd. Popular online job boards are often a virtual cattle call.

So where should you look for jobs?

Typically the answer is through networking. But this is a challenge while quarantined. So right now you may have to spend more time searching for jobs online.

Where should you look online besides the go-to sites everyone else flocks to? How should you do so without wasting too much of your precious time?

Here are a few suggestions to help you use your time wisely and find more jobs related to what you’re seeking.

5 best alternatives to popular online job boards

1. Industry-specific online job boards

While everyone else typically starts with the most popular online job sites, it’s better to search for online job boards relevant to the specific industry in which you’re seeking employment. While not all industries have their own job boards, most do.

This is extremely helpful in saving you the time from having to weed out the irrelevant jobs that slip through search filters.

2. Professional association sites

Professional associations related to your industry or job function can accomplish the same thing. Many relevant companies will list their openings on these sites because they know they’ll attract people with the right experience.

I found two of my own jobs through professional associations when I was working in college career services. They were one of the first places I searched both times I was looking to relocate.

Keep in mind however, you usually have to be a member of the association in order to see the job listings or to receive notifications about openings. It’s likely your current company is already paying for those membership fees.

If not, you may have to join on your own and pay the fee out of your own pocket. This could be a good investment though. Especially since professional associations also provide a built-in network right at your finger tips. You can build relationships with other members who may know of something coming open.

3. Company websites

Individual company websites are the best place to start! This is because it doesn’t cost the company anything to post a job on their own site. Therefore, they’ll likely post openings here before they do anywhere else.

The added benefit of going to a company site first is you can learn more about the company’s mission and core values. This will help you know a little more about what it’s like to work there. Of course, you want to ask more about company culture in your interview, but this is a good place to start.

4. LinkedIn’s advanced search

Most people who use the job ads feature on LinkedIn aren’t aware of just how specific they can get with their search. I’ve had to show several clients how to use the advanced search feature because it’s not very intuitive or user-friendly.

Plus, LinkedIn often changes its platform functionality pretty frequently. So, once you figure out how to find something on LinkedIn, you usually have to learn it all over again due to such changes.

As of the time of this writing, you want to follow these steps:

1. Put your cursor in the search bar at the top of the LinkedIn home page without typing anything.
2. Click on the “jobs” button from the menu which appears under the search bar.
3. Go over all the way to the far right of the jobs menu and click “All filters.”

From the “all filters” screen, you can narrow down your search to not just the basic criteria you would expect, but also more specific criteria, such as:

• Jobs only posted in the past week or even the past 24 hours.
• Opportunities with only less than 10 applicants.
• Remote jobs.
• Jobs offering certain benefits like student loan assistance or paid maternity and paternity leave.
• Opportunities with fair-chance employers.
• And more!

These filters let you start broad and narrow down, or begin with a specific focus and expand from there.

5. LinkedIn groups

Joining LinkedIn groups related to your industry or job function is a good way to see the latest information circulating about those industries. This includes which companies are hiring.

Granted, LinkedIn used to do a much better job of separating the job postings within groups from the other group discussions. But you can still find hiring announcements within the group’s feed. You just need to scroll through it more frequently, preferably once a day.

You can also set your notifications to receive updates from your various groups.

LinkedIn lets you join up to 50 groups. And there is some strategy involved in choosing which groups to join, and how to make the most of them. This is something I teach my clients how to do.

Conclusion

If you’ve suddenly found yourself in a job search and you’re already frustrated with online job boards, you have other options. You don’t have to feel like a number or part of the herd, wondering if your resume is lost in some black cyberspace hole.

paNASH can help! Career coaching services include ways to be more strategic with your job search, how to use LinkedIn to its full capacity, how to negotiate a better salary, and more!

Get started by filling out the paNASH intake form to schedule a complimentary coaching call. Filling out the form does not obligate you in any way. I look forward to hearing from you and helping you!

Related resources

• Blog post: Are Career Fairs Worth Your Time and Energy?
• Free video: What NOT to Share on Your Resume
• E-book: Get Your Resume Read! ($4.99 or free with Kindle Unlimited)

Welcome to “Sunday Inspiration,” a bi-weekly devotional for those seeking spiritual encouragement in the pursuit of their passions. Each post comes from an outside resource (as referenced). I hope these posts will inspire and motivate you in your life and career in addition to our weekly original blog posts. Enjoy!

“Begin the…tasks I have assigned to you.” Mt 25:21 TLB

Nicole Unice, director of women’s ministries for Hope Church, says:

“There are ideas I know would be beneficial, yet I hesitate to share too much or dream too big. What if they don’t work? Or people don’t like them? What if the people above me second-guess hiring me? One day I scrawled on my office wall: So what if it fails?”

Question: What are you yearning to try and haven’t because you’re afraid you’ll fail? What programs do you keep alive even though they aren’t serving their purpose? What technology are you avoiding? What learning are you circumventing because you feel old and rusty?

If you don’t have anything on the horizon that might fail, you’re failing as a leader. Unless you push for innovation and creativity you’ll keep attracting the same people.

When you “Begin the…tasks [God] assigned to you’ you’ll have to push boundaries and try things that might fail.”

John Mason writes:

“Don’t be afraid to fail…if you’re not failing you’re not growing. When successful people stop growing and learning, it’s because they become less willing to risk failure. Failure is delay, not defeat. A temporary detour, not a dead-end street. We all make mistakes—especially those who do things. As Paul says, ‘God…gives us the victory through…Christ’ (1Co 15:57 NKJV), and failure is often the first step toward success. Unless you’re willing to take a risk, you won’t get the chance to succeed.”

Today trust God and step out in faith!

Source: https://jentezenfranklin.org/daily-devotions/trust-god-and-step-out-in-faith-1