I know people are going through a lot right now. Out of work. No money saved. In need of food. People are freaking out, and rightfully so but, you have to keep a cool head, especially if you have others that depend on you for their survival.
Amidst the chaos, try to find some time to work on -- you. Work on your mental health, and work on your KSAs (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities). Always be learning new things. I don't know about you, but I am taking FULL advantage of all the new (and old) free resources such as LinkedIn Learning, edX, VarsityTutors, and many more that already existed pre-covid, or have popped up due to this pandemic, and you should too.
It is more important now than ever.
Why?
Because I believe hundreds of thousands of American jobs will never return when this pandemic is over.
There are three main reasons why I believe jobs will go away forever. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, the current environment we are living in is ripe for three things:
Recession.
The large-scale adoption and implementation of automation.
Corporate restructuring and turnaround.
What can you do about it? Not a whole lot, except to make yourself more marketable, and take a deep look (audit) at your personal finances.
Check out "7 Ways To Help Recession-Proof Your Finances After Covid". (via Bankrate)
I've posted links on my LinkedIn page to resources over the last few weeks for sites with free classes, and there are so many other websites, and companies, out there offering free educational courses. Use this time during shutdown to study a new skill. Take a course. Update your resume. Start a new business. There's no time like the present. Work on you.
Yes, you should always be doing this but, especially now.
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now.
Look around. A highly disproportionate amount of the people that are out of a job right now are hourly and/or minimum wage workers in the service industry, many without college degrees. I'm not saying having a college degree could have secured any of these jobs. I'm not saying you should get a college