The pandemic has changed a lot of the things we used to know or do. Normally, you’d go to the office to work. With so many lockdowns happening, offices had to adjust to allow their employees to work from home. You used to shop for groceries every week; now, you go to the Internet to shop, and you’re always buying in bulk. Whereas you could go outside freely before, now you can’t leave the house without bringing your own protective gear—face masks and shields—with you.
There are a lot of new jobs that have grown during the pandemic as well. While working to create custom poker chip ball markers is still a viable career, most careers have found their way on the web and to you, at home. That’s why most people can still say that they’re developing their office careers away from the office.
Here are some ways you can continue your personal career growth even during the pandemic:
Broaden Your Horizons, Apply Where You Can
Let’s be real: most of the applications you can send today are online, but that’s not what this means. This is to point out that connections are important. Working online makes networking front and center, and all those gurus and mentors are now more important than ever when remotely doing work.
You need to bridge relationships between you and these influencers, especially during summer and the months under the pandemic. They will inevitably hold the key toward those companies or people you need to contact to further your career.
“Business as Usual” Is More Important
If you scheduled appointments before the pandemic, now is not the time to cancel them. It’s even more important to show up in meetings that you’ve set up between you and any mentors or prospective partners. As work found its way online, so did meet-ups and appointments.
You can foster positive relationships with any potential clients and sponsors online through the use of video solutions. It’s like a face-to-face meeting without having to travel and mingle with people or doing a personal meet-up.
Build a Network of the Like-minded
This doesn’t mean that you have to forget your friends. It just means that as you build bridges in the professional side of your life, you should have a network of people who will help further your career.
Learn to have more ‘sponsors’ than mentors. Sponsorship, on the sports side of things, are companies or entities that help grow your team through investments. In your professional career, this means that you get people who can help connect you with new individuals or opportunities, which will translate to further growth that you can’t possibly achieve on your own.
Look for pioneers in the industry or high-ranking officials of a company that you want to get into. If you can’t get to them directly, connect with people who can help you with that goal.
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
You have a goal, and that is to grow your career, even considering that there’s a pandemic. So how do you do that?
With all this free time on your hands, you’ve got more time to study and brush up your skills. Some remote work requires you to only finish your work. What you do after you’ve sent in your final task for the day is yours. There are a lot of free and affordable courses available online. Take some time to enroll or watch some videos on your work and take in the extra growth.
If you’ve clicked yes to an online course, follow through that commitment. People will notice your efforts, and it will translate to more work and, eventually, growth for you.
Just because the lockdowns appeared to make the world stop doesn’t mean that your career has to stop, too. If businesses have found a way to market themselves online and resume operations, then there’s nothing stopping you from making your growth digital. Learn the new tools of your trade, and the sky is the limit regarding your own personal growth.
