Why your life skills could become your saving grace
If you are one of the thousands of people made recently redundant due to the recession caused by the lockdown, you will probably be feeling pretty low.
As painful and maybe even personal as it might feel, it can help to know that it’s natural for many people to lose their jobs during a recession.
And while your natural reaction may be to hide away to lick your wounds, or even to feel like giving up, it’s important that you gather your courage and strength, and take positive steps forward.
With the right strategy and support, you should be able to get back on your feet with a successful job hunt. And it’s not jus your professional skills that will stand you in good stead right now: your life skills will be just as much, if not more, important at this time. They could even be the thing that gives you the edge over others while looking for a new job.
Here are some quick ideas to show you how you can turn life skills that you may take for granted into new opportunities to earn money.
Becoming a self-employed gardener
If you are an avid gardener, you could become self-employed and offer your services to local people in your city or neighborhood.
You could even find out if you can get qualified by a horticultural society or training school. The Gardeners Guild, as an example, is an association which offers these kinds of tests and certifications.
However, it’s possible to not have any official gardening qualifications and still be able to open your own gardening business – as long as you know what you are doing. You just need to register your business with the government and declare yourself self-employed.
You can use your own tools and equipment, and begin marketing your services to your neighborhood with fliers and knocking door-to-door. If you know how to landscape, this is a bonus because some projects will include physically changing the garden’s layout and land structure.
Teaching others to drive
When working out what skills you can use to earn money from, there’s one that most people overlook: your ability to drive (and your possession of a driving licence).
Many people want to know how to drive, and work as a driving instructor can fit around your other commitments – to a large degree you can choose the hours you work.
To get started, check out your options for driving instructor courses. Because, as experienced a driver as you may be, you need to learn how to teach others to drive properly before you can start charging for the service.
The course can largely be done online, via video call software and accessing course material through the online program. However, you will also need to pass an in-person test to show that you can spot mistakes, read body language and give clear and concise instructions to the student.
There is a buddy-up system which is there to help you learn in between classes. Two people can help each other, such as verbal exam preparation and work through problems that you don’t understand.
Teaching people how to draw
Freelancing is quickly becoming a popular career choice for many people as they can work when they want, and for as long as they wish. The pandemic has shown us that there are many different opportunities to work from home.
So, if you have skills in drawing or sketching, you can join platforms like Fiverr, where freelance services are advertised on a mass scale. Equally, you can build a website and use a marketing service to funnel organic traffic to it. You can also offer your services on platforms like LinkedIn.
It’s important to not give up if you have lost your job due to the pandemic. The fundamentals of the economy are still strong, and the lockdown won’t last forever. In the meantime, use your life skills to find work and pay that will get you by.
Photo by Daria Tumanova
