The pandemic might have resulted in job losses, but the situation has changed over a year after it started. June 2021 saw job openings reaching 10.1 million, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Despite the numerous job openings, the number of people looking for work can make it challenging for anyone to land a job at this time. The situation makes people anxious, especially those looking for a job ever a year ago.

Even though getting employed at this time can be challenging, people can increase their chances of landing a job by adopting the following job-hunting tips.

Be Flexible

Being flexible gives people several options when it comes to the jobs available for them. They should avoid focusing on a single industry. Instead, they should also consider part-time jobs while waiting for a stable, long-term job. Another option is finding short-term contracts in the gig economy, which they can use as a stop-gap measure for the meantime.

At this time, many people are transferring from one job to another, especially those who used to work in the hospitality and leisure industries. These industries were the hardest hit when the pandemic started since people opted not to travel to avoid getting infected.

People have to look outside their industry and check the availability of temporary employment opportunities. These opportunities can serve as their entry point into a new industry.

Think About a Career Path

With the economy starting to recover, people should also start thinking about their careers. They can use this opportunity to consider their knowledge, skills, and experience to see if they can use them in different industries. This might even lead them to discover other skills that they did not know that they have.

With this, they can start planning a new career path that allows them to reach their goals. This can even result in a major career change. They should start preparing for it even as they continue looking for jobs that fit their interests.

Expand Your Knowledge and Skills

While looking for a suitable job, people can also expand their knowledge and skills. Expansion can include strengthening their existing skills or acquiring new ones that can help them in their career. If they have no bachelor’s degree yet, they can look for a way to acquire it.

People can take online business courses since these courses allow them to study in the comfort of their homes. These courses also offer flexible schedules and accelerated degrees, which means people can finish it earlier if they focus on the course. The interactive learning environment also allows them to work with their classmates on a project even if they are located in different parts of the country.

People can also focus on specific skills, such as mastering specific programs like Microsoft Excel or QuickBooks. The skill they can master depends on the industry that they want to enter. If they want to specialize in information technology, they should brush up on their machine learning, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing skills.

Focus on Resilient Industries

People who worked in the hospitality and leisure industries experienced a major setback in their careers. Even though they can still return to the industry once it recovers, they also have the option of joining a new industry. If they choose the latter, they should look for an industry that weathered the pandemic and continued to grow.

They can join the retail grocery industry, which continued to operate in the middle of the pandemic. The industry continued to meet the demand of the population even though many other companies closed due to the lack of revenue.

People can also join the consumer staples industry, which supplies household items to the consumers. These items include soap, toothpaste, shampoo, toilet paper, and laundry detergent, among others. The demand for these products continued even at the height of the pandemic.

Highlight Your Soft Skills

Highlighting their soft skills will increase their value to employers looking for people who have problem-solving and communication skills. Employers also look for people who can work well with others, especially if the business provides services to customers.

In addition to these soft skills, people should also highlight their multitasking and decision-making skills, especially if they have previous supervisory experience. Employers look for these transferable skills since they can increase the chances of success for any business.

And people with these skills have better opportunities for growth within the business and the industry. They also allow them to move forward in their new career, even if it’s a different industry from the pre-pandemic career.

Finding a job during a pandemic can be challenging unless people apply different strategies to get ahead of their competition.