This post has been submitted to Todayville by Artur Meyster, Founder of Career Karma

Losing your job at any point can be a disheartening and worrisome event, let alone during a global pandemic. With that in mind, however, try to focus on the fact that there are still steps you can take to ensure that you reenter the workforce as an asset to the future of work. Technology is changing everything about how work is performed, as evidenced by the rise in remote work, and more jobs will be disrupted before the pandemic calms.

On that note, the next steps after losing your job due to Covid-19 should be preparatory steps that can help you thrive in this coming future. First and foremost, however, it is important that you remember to breathe and stay calm. The world may seem chaotic right now, but that doesn’t mean your life needs to be as well.

Reevaluate Your Skills

Regardless of the reason you got fired, it is important that you completely break down and reevaluate your skillset. Unless you were in an intensive tech-based career already, it is unlikely that your skillset will be perfectly aligned with the future of work. 

A study by CNBC found that some of the most prominent skills for the future of work will be based on coding or programming. Jobs won’t necessarily be specifically structured for these skills, but rather careers of all types will begin requiring experience with coding as computers begin to dictate business. 

To acquire this soon-to-be important skill, it may be worth looking into top-rated coding bootcamps that can give participants a beginner’s knowledge of coding languages. However, this is not the only tech skill that will be needed in the future. Perform research during this time while you look for a new job, and determine what you are capable of and what interests you.

Reflect on Your Career Choice

Now that you’ve lost your job, it may be worth considering whether or not your career was really right for you. If you don’t believe it was, take an extra minute to ensure that it was the career that bothered you and not the specific job. 

Perhaps your career was the perfect choice for you and you do not regret entering the field you did. If so, you are one of a lucky few. Realizing that you were in the wrong career, however, is actually beneficial if you just lost your job. This means you are aware that you made the incorrect career choice and can rectify that decision by tackling a new field. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for many who are passed the age of a university student to change careers, but certainly not impossible. 

To that end, identifying and pursuing some easier online degrees can be a perfect choice for someone who just lost their job. There are a number of career options that can provide growth in the future as technology takes control of the workforce, many of which now accept online degrees as an accredited source of education.

Consider Attending a Trade School

On the topic of online degrees, there is likely no better path after losing your job than attending a trade school. This form of education, sometimes called a vocational school, is a quick and efficient method of changing careers as they offer specialized courses that prepare students for a specific career.

The Atlantic covered a study that discusses how trade school attendance has risen to levels that rival traditional education enrollment. This option has become respected by employers around the world, and the fact that some trade schools, such as App Academy, don’t charge tuition until you’re hired make them attractive paths.

Technology and the pandemic are changing everything about the work world, but they are also changing education. In today’s day and age, you are never too old to consider a new career path and enroll in some form of online education. 

Conclusion

Losing your job does not mean that the world is crumbling down around you. Treat this event as an opportunity to revamp both your skills and your career. While it may not seem like it now, doing so can set you up for success in the future. Dealing with the loss of your job, whether it was held for a long time or just began, is a difficult task, but making the best of it and growing from this loss can help you to become an even more valuable asset to any company in the future.