CLEVELAND — When Beverly Allen found herself unemployed after Coronavirus pandemic took hold, she wasn't sure of her next move. She had worked in the airline industry for 32 years, but with all the furloughs, she reluctantly took early retirement.
"I'm not quite ready to retire,” she told us. “I still have a lot of work to do and a lot of energy to put into a great company or into a new initiative."
Because her chances of re-entering the airline industry are slim, 3News sought the help of career coach Nancy Karas. Karas provided tips on how to find something new. She also shared tips on where and how to start researching new opportunities.
While many people need money right now, Nancy says, you still need to first ask yourself what makes you happy.
"What would you do if you didn't have to worry about income, family, geographical limitations? If we can't find anything else, we'll scrape the bottom of the barrel later if we have to, but why not start at the top and go for your right?” she explained.
Even in a temporary job, there's a possibility you could meet people who know of opportunities.
Beverly's perfect job is customer service or consulting.
“I was in the top 1% of the flight attendants based on customer satisfaction and survey results,” she says. “I feel that I have some good strengths in running a team, following up with reports, doing my briefings before and after flights.”
After you've figured that out, pinpoint what you liked and disliked about your old job.
“If you see things in a job opportunity that are on your dissatisfied list, why are you pushing yourself into a role like that? I think we have to be really careful about walking into some really wrong situations." explains Karas.
Another factor to consider when looking for a job is work place environment.
"What I loved about Delta is they have a very open door policy,” she said. “So, there is a lot of feedback for ways to improve jobs and processes which builds brand loyalty, customer loyalty,” says Allen.
Finally, with that in mind, research employers in your desired field to see if it's a good fit.
Nancy says you should find out, “What's the culture like? Are they good to people? And those are the things that matter most, not the name of the company.”
Social media is a good place to learn about what a company is up to so you're well positioned for an interview.
“The more I know about people, the more we can connect on a real level versus trying to prove ourselves. And the more they're really going to see your value” Nancy says.