Unemployed for longer than six months? Here's what you should be doing.
The longer you’re out of a job, the harder it becomes to find a suitable job. If you’ve been unemployed for longer than six months, here’s what you should do.
Speak to a professional counselor.
Not having a job for more than six months can do a lot of damage to your self-image and your self-esteem. It might cause you to start losing faith in yourself and your abilities and could also affect your relationships with friends and family. A trained professional can help you work through your questions and break-through barriers of depressions and negative thinking.
Our website is filled with helpful resources that could help you find a job you love. You’ll find career advice articles, like this one, range from cover letter tips, ways to improve your CV, Job search tips advice and so much more. Careers24 also has a handy Job Alert tool. Once you sign up for Job Alerts, we’ll send jobs directly to your inbox. There are 1000s of jobs listed from 100s of top companies that are always being updated. Our regular newsletters filled with companies hiring and career advice will also help you get further in your job hunt.
Consider career coaching.
If you can,Wh consider investing in a career coach to help you better map your journey. They could help you figure out possible areas for improvement such as your interview skills, the way you go about your job hunt etc.
Start networking.
Sometimes it’s about who you know in the industry. Networking is about making new connections and strengthening existing ones. You’ll have to put in the effort to see the results. Start attending conferences relative to your industry or job or participate in online groups that include professionals in your industry. You could also get in touch with friends that graduated with – think everything that could help you make connections on your industry.
Take a course to complement and enhance your skills.
When you’ve been out of work for longer than 6 months, most employers may feel that you’re out of touch with industry trends and haven’t kept up with the latest news. If you can demonstrate by means of a certificate or qualification that you’re actively upgrading and updating your skills, it’ll work in your favour.
Volunteer your time and skills.
Donate your time by helping others learn more about the industry. This is also a great way to keep your ear to the ground and stay top-of-mind within your community. The non-profit organisation might even end up hiring you. Enthusiasm, positive energy and knowledge go a long way.
Have you recently gone through a long unemployment period? Tell us what you did to get through it.
