All is not lost if you are cognizant of Skills to acquire to survive through COVID 19 pandemic. As you well know, Corona Virus, the new respiratory disease, has had continuous effects across the globe. Hundreds of thousands of the world’s population have died while others are fighting the infection from its effects. The World Health Organization has since recommended safety guidelines to ensure safe interpersonal interactions. All in the name of slowing down the rate at which the population is getting infected.
Unfortunately, the guidelines have birthed new setbacks. The topography oscillating the job market has slowly been tilting. The restrictive lockdowns and “the work-from-home” directives have been no better at prompting a redefinition of life and soft skills. New modalities have had to be implemented for businesses to stay afloat.
Companies and employing institutions have had to re-examine their strategies and to look for more cost-effective methods. If you look around, you will see all this evidenced by the massive job losses and reductions. It is that season where you need to defend that job that you need. To keep that paycheck coming or at least get that job you desire, here are essential skills.
The looming re-opening is not a rumor anymore. It will be dutiful for you to not only cash in the losses but also think of a way to bounce back socially, economically and even health-wise with the given guidelines.
Here are four important Skills to acquire to survive through COVID 19 pandemic:
Four key skills you need to acquire to survive through COVID 19 pandemic.
1. Strategic management and Leadership Skills
Many times, you may have thought that these skills should only be preserved for those in the top corner offices. You will be surprised how much of a misconception that may be. Everyone needs leadership and management skills. You need these skills, even more, to make it through this season.
Good leadership is priceless. If you look closely at countries, organizations, or even companies that are soaring past the COVID 19 tide, great leadership must have stood out. While there are notable differences between leadership and management: Celebrated leaders have always been excellent managers.
Mind you; a powerful leader must not necessarily be born; we can create them! Use that free time you have to sharpen your leadership and managerial skills. Again, if this is not your stronghold, do not back off: add it to your bucket list as one of the Skills to acquire to survive through COVID 19 pandemic. You can browse through the available management classes and see the program that best suits you. If possible, do not stop there. Explore the option of subscribing to mentorship clubs for leaders. Here, you can meet like-minds who can guide you through.
2. Skills in Creativity and Innovation
One of the novel lessons from COVID 19 is the importance of “thinking out of the box.”
Trust me, before this pandemic took over the world, most people relied on income from salaries and wages. Today, most of those income-generating streams are clogged. Counts have been left jobless while others are on unpaid leaves. Sadly, the never full stomach still craves to be filled.
It is now not time to mourn over the lost livelihoods. If looked at objectively, creativity and innovativeness may save the day. Was it not for some creative mind, would you even have your current job? Most of us are leaping the fruits of another person’s innovation.
Those who have succeeded in the past did come up with real solutions for real-life problems. Again, being creative does not necessarily mean you have to get back to class. You can make it your business to enroll in one of the online creativity boot camp where you can acquire skills to harness your creativity mojo to survive through COVID 19 pandemic.
Look around you; your house, compound, market place, community, or even the amenities around you. Is there something that sets you off balance when it is not well done or when absent? There you go, that’s the real-life problem we are talking about. Now, think for a feasible solution. And there you go- an income inflow.
Get that unique and feasible idea. Try to utilize locally available materials if you can. It is not a question of the wealth you have at hand. In any case, it is your creativity that can make you prosperous. In doing so, you are helping give job opportunities to new entrants and satisfying a need that might have been previously downplayed.
3. Digital and technological skills
Gone are the days when digital literacy was let to be for only a chosen few. Ever since COVID 19 took the wheel, you must have noted that the human race had to literary go online to survive. The more COVID 19 is spreading its angry vines around the globe, the more being tech-savvy is hailing to be as crucial as a basic need.
Service delivery is now via electronic platforms. It is at this age when online stores have been seen to thrive as the physical one’s closed doors. The population has been forced to replace old habits with new ones. Since most of those technologies have reduced the overhead costs for some expenses, companies may retain some methods.
If this happens, you do not want to be left behind. Enroll yourself in Digital literacy class. Some of those skills you can quickly learn by yourself in the comfort of your house.
If you know the necessary skills in digital literacy, you can expose yourself to learning nearly anything else in the world. There are so many free e-courses being offered. Look at illustrative videos and lessons to make sure you understand. It will also help if you take a test to evaluate comprehension and for certification.
Some of the Other digital and technological skills you may need to learn include: using social media management and marketing, database management, graphic and web design, and data analysis. Knowledge of cybersecurity is also imperative in protecting you as you access the internet.
4. Financial management skills
The other day statistics indicated the rise of suicides and mental health cases. If you dig further, these cases are said to have been occasioned by financial strains and despair.
For most of us, COVID 19 has opened us to acknowledge the importance of saving for eventualities. Be careful with this; it is not just a matter of saving up cash but having the right types of investments. A little knowhow on financial management will spice you up to knowing how to invest right, especially during and after the pandemic.
In conclusion
As the numbers of new infections rise, our global economy’s fate lies in your ability to seize opportunities and make the best out of it. While everyone is asking, “what next?” be ahead of time and acquire as many skills as possible. Let that free hour not just pass underutilized.
