Why and How to Stay Educated During Unemployment

While it may not seem apparent during the course of employment, many jobs and careers become valuable educations. For the employed, each job duty performed for an employer is a chance to use the new employment environment as stepping stone to higher pay and career advancement.

Unemployment can be the best time to create a “textbook” of skills learned at the prior place of employment. It is important to thoroughly review each daily task to avoid omitting valuable work experience on your resume and in future employment interviews. Review work details and document them for future reference. This documentation may present a clearer picture of gaps in education. If this is the case, use the period of unemployment judiciously. Spend part of the available free time taking a study course that increases the value of your existing job skills.

Take it to the Next Level With a Study Course

Coordinate newly learned skills with existing skills to design an advanced career path. For example, newly learned computer skills can lead to a study course in programming. Similarly, if the past employer relied on an employee to write sales or marketing ad copy, this is an opportunity to take it to the next level with a study course in technical writing or advertising in the event of a career change to advertising. Study courses are available online and off. Since most unemployed individuals today rely on job sites to find employment, take the time online to review a study course as a timely way to increase education through online courses.

How to Stay Educated During Unemployment
All employees should always keep a record of duties of a prior job that falls outside the realm of their job description. One of the most overlooked duties may include training a new hire. Even though it may seem insignificant at the time this duty was performed, it is full of potential future career options in management, personnel and human resources training. To stay educated during unemployment, use free time to learn about jobs available even though these may be jobs the individual would not normally consider. The more an unemployed individual knows about a variety of jobs performed by others, the more they learn how the jobs they apply for fit into the full scale of the employment sector. Stay educated about the companies that offer the types of jobs that appeal to the individual. This is another form of education too often ignored. By studying the basic operations of businesses, the unemployed individual makes the next employment interview less stressful and appears more “educated” about specific industries.

The Fine Points of Staying Educated During Unemployment
Unemployment can be as useful to an individual as employment when the true value of this phase is carefully considered. The fine points of staying educated during unemployment include:
. Collecting prior work data for future reference
. Concentrated effort to “see the next step up” in a job or career choice
. Choosing study courses that embellish and enhance previously acquired skills
. Assessing, on a weekly basis, the link between new studies and a future job

Technical or Professional Jobs that Make a Brighter Future

Whether the job is technical such as a career in HVAC, plumbing, electricity or electronics or is a professional job in finance or management consulting, there is never a limit to furthering education. Education is a lifetime effort. To evaluate the best study courses for an individual’s special needs, it is as simple as thinking about the type of job the individual desires most. For those in the technical fields, many aspire to certifications or professional licensing that increase their annual incomes. In the professional fields, the most desirable jobs are usually those with high end job titles and duties that ramp up incomes and employee benefits.

Where to Find Study Courses During Unemployment
There is a wealth of resources to find study courses during unemployment. These include:
. Local colleges and universities
. Online colleges
. Specialised training courses through licensing bureaus
. Government labour agencies
. Referrals from family and friends

Networking to Stay Educated During Unemployment
There is one other important source of education to consider: the business and professional network of associations, former customers and former fellow employees. Make unemployment the most valuable and useful through personal fulfilment and education.