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Experience gap?  Here are 9 top lockdown activities to include on your CV

We all know that relevant work experience was hard to get during the pandemic as many employers were busy reorganising themselves to stay afloat.  Luckily, there are other ways you might have gained and developed valuable employability skills over the last couple of years, which you can confidently use on your CV.

Have a look at the activities below to see if you recognise some of them from your own lockdown experience:

  1. Any university related activities, e.g. mentoring, peer support, course reps, PASS leaders etc.
  2. Volunteering of any kind, also informal support of people in the community e.g. elderly neighbours who could not get out to shop
  3. Membership of relevant professional associations, bodies, groups or action groups
  4. A hobby: e.g. learning a language, fitness, sports or cooking.
  5. Online enterprising activities, for example producing a blog, vlog or running small business e.g. on Etsy or Ebay
  6. Commercial awareness: e.g. through virtual employer or careers events and engagement with professional bodies/ associations.
  7. Online courses from Linkedin Learning: short or longer with so many topics to choose from
  8. LinkedIn pro-activity: using LinkedIn to join groups, write articles, share your work, connect with professionals, or reach out to alumni, tutors and peers – don’t forget your LinkedIn profile is essentially your online CV
  9. Keep building your portfolio, whether it is for your general course CPD, or a portfolio of practical art, sports, architecture or other examples of your work.

 

Some of the most frequently asked-for skills by employers are communication skills, self-management, initiative and creativity and many lockdown activities can demonstrate these very well. Employers are aware that students and graduates have not had access to the usual opportunities and will look favourably on students having made the most of the time in lockdown in different ways.

For inspiration on how you can communicate your skills effectively, please see the  Career Skills Workbook

If you would like to discuss your CV and how to make the most of your activities, please book your careers appointment on Careers Connect.

Christina Keiller • 04/04/2022


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