Moving Forward in a Pandemic

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We can’t move back, just forward.

However, despite living and working with COVID-19, and facing even more challenging times ahead, we need to stay focused, and we need to believe that things don’t stay the same forever.

Now is the time to refocus and surround yourself with like minded and positive people who share the same beliefs and values.

I have worked in recruitment for over 20 years and have seen these changes before.

Going through the recession in the 90s and the credit crunch in 2009, I had to refocus, adapt and change along with the market. This increased my skills, made me resilient and challenged me to work in sectors I never worked in before.

My career started in recruitment in Edinburgh, specialising in Construction, Technical and Engineering, before moving back home to Derry.

Derry thrived in the shirt and clothing manufacturing business and I was recruiting for that industry, from Sewing Machinists to Pattern Technologists to Designers. Once this declined, we saw the increase of call centres and IT companies. Now we have a diverse range of industries from start-ups, App developers and SaaS. We have new roles that didn’t exist before now e.g.  Digital Marketeers, Internal Sales, and Customer Support as well as specialised Software Developers.

After the credit crunch, social media and digital marketing increased. This was when  I decided to update my skills with my Digital Marketing Diploma to help me move forward.

What you can do now to move forward:

  • Update your CV and your LinkedIn profile so you are job-ready.
  • Get a friend to proofread your CV.
  • Focus on your transferable skills.
  • Always add a covering letter to any application, summarising what you can offer.
  • Practise interviews and don’t be complacent, it’s a competitive market.
  • Understand what competency-based interviewing is and practise questions beforehand.
  • Set up alerts on google for certain types of jobs so you never miss out
  • Look at your skills and ask yourself if you could set up your own online business.
  • If you have a skill, start marketing and selling yourself, there are so many tools to choose from and start off small.
  • Start selling on eBay and progress from there.
  • If you are creative and good at craft, could you design products to sell, starting small?
  • Create your own Business page on Facebook/Instagram and start from there.
  • Join networking groups to promote and sell your product or service.
  • Pay it forward and it will come back to you: we need to help and support each other in these challenging times.

These are some tips on how to refocus, be proactive and keep moving forward.

If your job doesn’t exist, then why not create one yourself?

If you need help recruiting or with your CV/interview skills contact me on 07751856436 or email cm@cathymoranrecruitment.com