What to Do If You’re Facing an Unexpected Coronavirus Redundancy

Coronavirus is currently wreaking havoc on the global job market. Hundreds of thousands of people are likely to lose or have already lost their jobs as a result of the situation. With many of the world’s citizens staying at home right now, jobs in many sectors of the economy are in jeopardy. Here's what you could do if facing an unexpected redundancy:

Slash Your Expenses

Minimising your expenses is the first step to take when you’re faced with an unexpected financial emergency such as redundancy. Take a careful look at your usual spending and give some thought to what could be trimmed. For starters, it’s wise to consider canceling un-necessary services and subscriptions such as Netflix.

Next, evaluate creative ways to reduce even your necessary expenses. For example, it might be possible to slash your grocery expenses. Perhaps you could learn how to forage for nutritious wild food. If you own property, maybe you could grow some of your family’s food in your garden. If not, there are some community gardens in our area that might be of interest. Container gardening is also an option for some renters.

Apply for Support

Special assistance is currently available for some Australian workers who are affected by Covid-19. If you qualify for it, make good use of it.

Contact Your Creditors

Contact your creditors to discuss the situation with them. If you owe money on a home mortgage, it is possible that your bank might be offering repayment relief for hardships incurred as a result of coronavirus. Some other creditors might also be willing to defer payments if you advise them of the situation.

Re-Evaluate Your Career Path

Nobody has the ability to predict precisely how long the coronavirus crisis will last. However, it’s safe to assume that it will not resolve itself immediately. Across the pond, government officials in the United States are preparing for at least an 18-month ordeal. If you can’t afford to be out of work for 18+ months, and your main source of income comes from an industry deemed “non-essential”, it may be time to give some consideration to altering your career path.

An unexpected career change brings many questions with it. What industry should you seek work in, and what skills would you need to get hired?

The first question is a challenging one. Even some jobs that should theoretically be reliable ones have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus crisis. For example, there’s normally plenty of work for child carers; and, thus far, daycare centres have been instructed to stay open, because they are deemed to be essential.

Under the circumstances, this seems like it should be a relatively safe career change. Essential workers in other sectors of the economy, in particular, healthcare professionals, will continue to need childcare services throughout the duration of this crisis. Furthermore, becoming a childcare worker is a no-brainer for some mums, who have already acquired many of the caregiving skills necessary for successfully performing the job.

However, the reality is that the coronavirus situation has negatively impacted the attendance at daycares. Here in NSW, mums have been advised to keep kids home from school and daycare whenever practical – and, with more mums either losing their jobs or working from home right now, there are fewer kids reporting to daycares. The result is that daycares in the area are having a hard time staying solvent.

In the short term, fewer child carers will be needed. It’s hard to say what the long-term prospects look like for this career path; but, in general, before the coronavirus crisis hit, the future job prospects for child carers were projected to be very strong.

The grim reality is that it may be tough to find work in any industry right now. The entire country is experiencing hardships, and many talented people will suddenly be competing for the jobs that are available. Don’t waste any time in starting your job search; and don’t take it personally if you’re unable to find viable work opportunities immediately. Try your best to maintain patience and persistence.

We hope these 4 tips are helpful to you as you navigate the “new normal” resulting from the coronavirus crisis -- and that you’ll be able to stay healthy and strong through it all.