It’s totally normal to feel stressed, anxious, and isolated. Yes, these are super scary times, and yes your work is probably slowing down. However, this doesn’t mean your career needs to come to a full-stop.

Instead of wasting your time away watching the news and counting coronavirus cases worldwide, use your time wisely to reevaluate your career and formulate a new strategy.

Here are some simple ways that can help you be productive and move your career forward amidst the current global crisis.

1. Take a moment to reevaluate your career

With more time on your hands, this is the perfect opportunity to think long and hard about what you’ve accomplished and where you ultimately want to be. Are you satisfied with your current job? If not, why? Do you want to eventually become an entrepreneur? Do you want to shift industries? Do you want to go back to school? Use this time to conduct informational interviews and discussions (on the phone or via video, of course!) with people who could help and share their knowledge. Draft a business plan if you’re thinking of launching your own business once things calm down. Connect with people on LinkedIn if you’re looking for a new job. Take online courses if you’re thinking to shift industries. Just because you’re stuck at home doesn’t mean you can’t do wonders for your career. 

2. Work on your online personal branding

This is the perfect time to pull out your resume and update it. Make sure to do the same with your LinkedIn profile. If you want to impress future recruiters, place particular focus on key accomplishments while highlighting your quantitative and qualitative contributions. This may also be the perfect time to build an online portfolio or launch a blog. Nowadays your online presence is part of your personal branding and can also be utilized to impress your future employer, or to lay the groundwork for your eventual business. 

3. Continue job hunting

Yes, many companies are currently hiring freezing or even laying off staff. But many others are also recruiting. Amazon is a perfect example; they’re hiring 100,000 new workers to meet the huge increase in demand now that everybody is online shopping. Other industries are also profiting, such as online learning, grocery stores, technology companies and the likes. This crisis could lead to opportunities for many industries. Sure, it may seem that the world is suddenly on pause, however it’s not the case. Keep connecting with people, do informational interviews, apply to jobs, and keep standing out. 

This isn’t the time to put your career on hold. Instead,  streamline your strategy and plan your next career move. The world will eventually bounce back, and so will you.