You have a choice during this Covid-19 pandemic. We’re mostly staying home, and now more than ever you have a lot more free time. You could, of course, choose to waste this free time by binge watching on netflix or scrolling your news feed or you could choose to invest that time in doing something productive. One of the most productive things that you could do is actually to learn a few new skills. But what are the skills that you should learn during this COVID-19 pandemic?
When this pandemic is over, what are you going to do? As a matter of fact, it’s only a matter of time, the world starts spinning again. Many people are concerned about losing their jobs. Some have already lost their jobs. It’s nothing but a very unfortunate matter. But things will get back to normal and then those who lost or will lose their jobs, will go out there and look for a new job. Are you ready for that?
Things are different now. Things have changed. Industries have changed. The world has changed. So are you prepared to look into new opportunities or maybe go after that other job that you’ve always wanted? Perhaps get that new promotion or go start that new business.
Whatever you want to do after this crisis, what would allow you to do a lot of those things, are your skills. During this lockdown, we have seen the value of some skills go up. We can also predict the skills that will be of high value by analysing the data we have. But we will get to those specific skills soon. Before that, we are going to look at what are the ideal skills that you should learn. What are the criteria when it comes to learning skills? Well, some of the most valuable skills that you could develop should meet these criteria:
- The skill-set should have an immediate impact on your life, career or business.
It’s pretty simple to understand. You are not looking for a skill that will take years to produce any results. It has to be something you could learn and then implement right away. The skill needs to have a practical value that could get you started in no time.
- It shouldn’t take years to learn.
You do not want to go back to school and take four years worth of education, that’s not something all of us can afford, in terms of time. You are looking for skills that you could learn in months or if possible even weeks.
- It should be something you could learn from home.
You are trying to utilise your time in this lockdown. It’s out of the question that the thing you are looking into learning be available online. If you have to go to a physical location to learn it, it surely won’t serve the purpose.
- You could learn at your own pace.
This may seem less important, but if you can’t learn something at your own pace, you will be faced with a lot of distractions. You want to have the freedom of binge watching when you can. Also, when you can’t you should have the freedom to take a break. If you want to learn things over a number of days or a number of weeks in your spare time, you could do that as well.
So, if a skill-set meets these criteria, those are the skills that you should learn.
In this article, we will look into 5 such skills that you should learn during lockdown.
Now, you can pick any one of them, don’t have to learn all of them to make yourself valuable. All of these skills have been proven as more valuable during this pandemic and also they are here to stay. The pandemic has changed how we view this world in more ways than before and some of these skills are only going to increase in value for years to come. You can surely learn more than one but it’s advised you start with one and then depending on your interest and convenience maybe you could learn more. See which skill-set suits you best and which are the skills that you should learn.
- Coding Skill
Coders or Programmers will always be in demand. And now with this current situation, this will be more true than ever. As we mentioned earlier that the coronavirus pandemic will change industries and the entire world in the process, it’ll be more true for programmers. And that will happen in a good way. Firstly, there will be companies going out of business. But it’s not them rather the companies that will survive will be instrumental to that change.
This situation that we are all in right now, is already making many think what can I do to do things differently? Are they going to automate certain aspects of their businesses? Or maybe they will make their businesses more virtual. In the current world crisis, certain businesses didn’t take the hit. They will look into what worked for these businesses and implement them. In most cases, online businesses did well while businesses with mandatory physical locations took the hit. So, they may completely shut their physical location and manage things online.
Things were going online anyway and coders were in demand for a long time now. But, that process is now going to receive a higher acceleration. Get ready to see your demand going up if you’re a web developer, app developer or a software developer. It’s time your hard work pays off. And if you have an interest in the field but no training, it’s time you took that online training and boosted your career.
Here are a few coding courses you could check out.
- Digital Marketing Skill
This skill is connected with the previous skill in some ways. As we’ve discussed, more and more businesses are going to go online. If they are already online, they’ll be more motivated to try it after this lockdown ends. What was a nice thing to have is going to become mandatory. That’s social media marketing or on a broader level, digital marketing. It’s going to become the new normal. The businesses you couldn’t imagine going online before will find a way to go online. And you will be astonished. But it’s better to be benefitted than astonished from a situation.
If you can build funnels, if you can generate traffic or if you can rank on google, your value is about to soar through the roof. Knowing one of these skills can make you a lot of money. And knowing multiple of them could get you the security you are looking for. If you know how to do content marketing, you will always be of value. And in a time when everyone is locked inside all these skills become more and more valuable. So, learn as many elements of digital marketing as you can. This will increase your employability by being on your resume. It can also generate money for you on the side.
Check out the Ultimate Digital Marketing course containing Social Media, SEO Content, Copywriting, Email Marketing & many more topics in this greatest Digital Marketing course.
- Sales
The ability to sell products or services is the third skill in this list. This means selling things directly. It can be in person, over the phone or live over the internet. Undoubtedly, this is one of the very valuable skills.
With the Coronavirus crisis, companies are considering revamping their sales divisions. They are considering ways to outsource the task. If it’s possible to have a remote sales team instead of having the team present at one single physical location. They’re looking into selling their products or services over phone or the internet without the massive overhead. If you have the ability to sell products or services, they’re ready to pay you a hefty commission. If you can demonstrate this certain skill-set, you are in high demand.
All companies need revenue and thus sales is one of the highest demand professions. They need salespeople and they need qualified salespeople. They need people who can sell now more than ever and they’ll need salespeople even when this Covid-19 crisis is over.
Check out this Strategic Sales Mastery: Elevate Your Business Growth training here.
- Project Management
With the introduction of tools like Slack, Zoom, Asana & Hubstaff, especially because of companies working remotely, we can see the demand going upwards for project managers. So many projects are going on around the world right now that companies will need more and more project managers. So, if you can learn Scrum, Agile and various project management methodologies you’re in demand. If you can equip yourself with the knowledge of project management tools and software, get ready to see your value skyrocket.
Add that to the fact that so many companies are now moving their operations to virtual. So, it’s one of those professions that’s gonna boost in growth for years to come. It doesn’t matter if you deal with people face to face or from home remotely, this is one of the most valuable skills to have these days.
Check out this course on Project Management here.
- Copywriting
Behind every social media post, every email, every single ad or landing page, you’ll find a copywriter. Companies that do any kind of content marketing or advertising, need copywriters. And they will always need copywriters. Because it’s not just a matter of one email or one article, it’s an ongoing process. The world is becoming noisier and noisier with the passing of time. Standing out in the noisy crowd isn’t an easy task, rather very critical. To attain that uniqueness, companies need somebody to keep writing their scripts and social media posts. Every single company that does online marketing, will need skilful copywriters.
If you’re wondering about the difficulty of writing copies, it has less to do with writing and more to do with sales. Copywriting is a learnable skill. Even if your linguistic abilities are not that good, you can become a great copywriter. You can use this skill to work from anywhere in the world. So, you can work from the comfort of your home. And it doesn’t take years to learn.
Checkout this Copywriting course that uses chat gpt here.
In conclusion, amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve gotten a very unique opportunity. It is to invest our time wisely. As we navigate through this period of uncertainty, it’s essential to consider how we can come out stronger. One of the most effective ways to do so is by acquiring new skills.
The criteria for selecting skills that you should learn are clear: they must offer immediate practical value, be learnable in a relatively short time frame, accessible for remote learning, and adaptable to individual learning paces. In light of these considerations, we’ve explored five valuable skills that not only align with the current demands of the job market but also promise long-term relevance.
From coding to digital marketing, sales, project management, and copywriting, each skill offers unique opportunities for personal and professional growth. Whether you’re aiming to enhance your employability, secure additional income streams, or pursue entrepreneurial ventures, these skills provide a solid foundation for success.
Ultimately, the choice lies with each individual. Whether you choose to focus on one skill or explore multiple avenues, the key is to take proactive steps towards self-improvement. By seizing this moment to acquire new skills, you’re not just preparing for the post-pandemic world but also laying the groundwork for a more resilient and prosperous future. As we navigate these uncertain times, let’s embrace the power of learning and innovation to shape a better tomorrow.